The Church of St. Luke

The president again claimed Pope Leo XIV "seemed to be saying" Iran should be able to obtain a nuclear weapon. The Holy Father has never said this and has spoken against nuclear weapons.

While the Holy See has yet to make an official announcement, the French Bishops’ Conference announced in a May 6 communiqué that Pope Leo XIV is expected to visit France in late September.

The pontiff will meet with clergy, religious, and government officials, celebrate four public Masses, and visit social service centers and a migrant reception center.

The poll shows that Americans have a negative view of Trump's direct criticisms of Leo at a time when the pope is generally popular and the president's approval is shrinking.

The poll shows that Americans have a negative view of Trump's direct criticisms of Leo at a time when the pope is generally popular and the president's approval is shrinking.

Following the resurgence of violence in Nigeria, the judicial vicar of the Port Harcourt Diocese has called for Christians to promote peace while not ignoring the need to protect their lives.

“The pontiff is a strong advocate of climate and environmental protection, and we hope that his voice may serve as an example for humanity,” researchers wrote.

“The pontiff is a strong advocate of climate and environmental protection, and we hope that his voice may serve as an example for humanity,” researchers wrote.

Christian leaders welcomed the Kerala and Tamil Nadu outcomes but voiced alarm at the BJP's historic sweep of West Bengal and a third-term win in Assam.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church is the guardian of hope, whose members are called to speak clearly against all evil and in defense of human life, Pope Leo XIV said.

The Church, as "the pilgrim people of God on earth," he said during his general audience in St. Peter's Square May 6, "reads and interprets the dynamics of history through the Gospel, denouncing evil in all its forms and proclaiming, in word and deed, the salvation that Christ wishes to bring about for all humanity and his kingdom of justice, love and peace."

"As the guardian of a hope that enlightens the path," he added, the Church is "invested with the mission of speaking clearly to reject everything that mortifies life and prevents its development, and to take a position in favor of the poor, the exploited, the victims of violence and war, and all those who suffer in body and in spirit." 

The pope's remarks were part of his continuing series of reflections on the documents of the Second Vatican Council, specifically, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, "Lumen Gentium." His May 6 catechesis was dedicated to the Church's eschatological dimension, that is, the transcendent, transtemporal and transhistorical nature of the kingdom of God.

"This is an essential dimension which, however, we often overlook or downplay, because we are too focused on what is immediately visible and on the more concrete dynamics of the life of the Christian community," the pope said.

"The Church is God’s people journeying through history, which has the kingdom of God as the purpose of all her action," he said. "We are therefore called to consider the community and cosmic dimension of salvation in Christ and to turn our eyes to this final horizon, to measure and evaluate everything from this perspective." 

The Catholic Church lives in human history at the service of the coming of the kingdom of God in the world, he said. "She proclaims the words of this promise to all and always." 

That means the Church is not proclaiming herself, he said. "On the contrary, everything within her must point to salvation in Christ."

Despite being at the service of the kingdom of God, "the Church is called to recognize humbly the human fragility and transience of her own institutions," which can never be treated as "absolute," he said.

"Indeed, since they exist within history and time, they are called to continual conversion, to the renewal of forms and the reform of structures, to the continual regeneration of relationships, so that they may truly fulfil their mission," Pope Leo said.

As members of the same body, he said in a summary of his remarks in English, "we too are called to renewal. We do this by remaining in communion with Christ and one another. The entire Church is most closely united in our praise of God in the liturgy." 

The Church "does not identify perfectly with the Kingdom of God, but is its seed and beginning, for its fulfilment will be granted to humanity and the cosmos only at the end," he said in his main catechesis.

Those who believe in Christ can walk this pilgrimage on earth, marked by injustices and suffering, without being either deluded or despairing, he said, as "they live guided by the promise received from the One who will 'make all things new.'"

That is why the church, as a guardian of hope, urges her members to clearly reject evil and promote God's kingdom of justice, love and peace, he said.
 

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