Read & Reflect
Articles, reflections, news, and homilies — thoughtful Catholic content for the faithful, published regularly.
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Vatican News
Pope Leo XIV names third Chinese bishop in 3 months
Father Paolo Liu Honggang was ordained bishop of the Diocese of Datong in China’s Shanxi province on Monday.The Holy See said Pope Leo XIV appointed Liu bishop of Datong on Aug. 10 after approving his candidacy under the mechanisms established by the Vatican’s agreement with Beijing on the appointme...
Vatican News
This is Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of September
Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of September is for the care of water.“Imagine a hot summer day, after hard work or a long walk, you finally take a sip of cool water. Feel how relief and energy flow through your body,” the Holy Father said in a video released Sept. 1 on X.He added: “Mo...
Vatican News
Vatican diplomat says Moscow mission focused on peace despite no concrete breakthrough
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher said diplomacy remains a possible path toward ending the war in Ukraine after high-level talks in Moscow produced no concrete breakthrough.Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states and international organizations, met with Russian Foreign Minister...
Vatican News
Pope Leo XIV says Eastern synods can remove patriarchs for serious reasons
Pope Leo XIV on Aug. 29 said bishops of the Eastern Catholic Churches can remove their patriarchs when assembled in synod, though the Holy Father said the pope must still give his assent to the proposal. The pope made the declaration in an apostolic letter issued motu proprio titled Mutua Concordia....
Vatican News
PHOTOS: Pope Leo XIV takes part in historic Marian procession on Lake Albano at papal summer house
Pope Leo XIV took part in an historic boat procession on Aug. 29, becoming what the Vatican said was the first pope to travel across the waters of Lake Albano at Castel Gandolfo during a procession for the Feast of Our Lady of the Lake. The town of Castel Gandolfo has been home to the papal summer r...
Vatican News
Pope Leo XIV appeals for release of Haiti hostages, prays for flood victims in Nepal and Tibet
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy — Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called for the immediate release of hostages taken in a deadly massacre in Haiti, appealed to authorities to protect the population from violence and prayed for victims of severe flooding in Nepal and Tibet.Speaking after the Angelus in Castel Gandolfo...
Vatican News
Pope Leo XIV warns against entrusting human-life decisions to machines
Pope Leo XIV warned Friday that decisions affecting human life are increasingly being entrusted to machines as he called for ethical safeguards governing artificial intelligence and other digital technologies.“One of the serious problems today is the fact that decisions concerning human life are bei...
Spirituality
Get Behind Me, Satan: Why Does Jesus Rebuke Peter?
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time In last Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus called Peter “the rock.” This Sunday, He calls him “Satan.” What happened? Gospel (Read Mt. 16:21-27) In the verses preceding this passage, Jesus and Peter had a remarkable exchange. Peter identified Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God;...
Spirituality
The Three Pillars of Faith—In Lived Reality
Imagine you are stuck in traffic. You are late, and there will be consequences. You cry out with a plea in your despair. Suddenly, your car is raised aloft by angels. You fly over all the traffic and land softly at your destination a few minutes early. This is not the Catholic Faith. Imagine you are...
Vatican News
Augustinian priests: St. Monica had ‘great interior strength’
Since the fourth century, Christians have revered St. Monica, the mother of Church Father St. Augustine, as a woman of unwavering faith in God.In an interview with EWTN News reporter Valentina Di Donato, two Augustinian priests living in Rome explained why the woman they refer to as their “grandmoth...
Vatican News
Pope Leo XIV: A good family is the best way to prevent drug addiction
Pope Leo XIV has highlighted the importance of the family in preventing drug addiction in young people, saying that there is “no better defense against drugs than a good family.”The pontiff made these remarks during a private audience on Aug. 27 with participants in a conference on drug abuse, promo...