Read the latest news from regional and global sources, presenting different voices and perspectives.

Pope Leo XIV and Japanese Diplomacy
Japan’s diplomatic relations with the Vatican date back to the arrival of Francis Xavier (1502–1552) and the subsequent history of the hidden Christians. This is not remembered by the Vatican as a history critical of Japan’s persecution of...

Pope Leo calls for an ethical AI framework in a message to tech execs gathering at the Vatican
By Clare Duffy and Christopher Lamb, CNN (CNN) — Pope Leo XIV says tech companies developing artificial intelligence should abide by an “ethical criterion” that respects human dignity. AI must take “into account the well-being of the human person...

The new synod document: A brief guide for busy readers
On Monday, the Vatican released a document offering guidance to Catholics on the latest stage of the global synodal process launched by Pope Francis in 2021. Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration Mass in St. Peter’s Square on May 18, 2025. Credit:...

How to spend your holidays according to the Popes
As Pope Leo XIV’s takes some time off at the Pontifical Villas of Castel Gandolfo from July 6 to 20, Vatican News looks at what past Popes have said about holidays. By Amedeo Lomonaco A break from work to restore physical strength, a chance to...

Pope Francis’ reforms show good results in Vatican finances
The Vatican's Institute for Works of Religion (IOR) is healthier, more transparent, and conforms better to international standards than before Francis' reforms. The Institute for Works of Religion (IOR) now ranks “among the world's most solid...

Alexandru Floares: Revolutionizing Healthcare with AI-Driven Precision Medicine
Studies show that more than 40% of cancers are diagnosed at advanced stages, drastically reducing survival rates. Meanwhile, medical errors account for nearly 2.6 million deaths annually, making it one of the leading causes of mortality. With such...
Lessons from the Vatican, a Muslim view
Recently, Pope Leo XIV appealed against the recent senseless killings of people in Benue State, Nigeria. He said: “On the night of 13th/14th June, in the town of Yelwata in the Guma Local Government Area, in Benue State in Nigeria, a terrible...

What Pope Leo XIV and the Vatican can do for Ukraine
The legacy left by former Pope Francis in Ukraine was mixed at best. With the Catholic Church now rallying round its new leader Pope Leo XIV, there is a chance for stronger relations between the Holy See and Kyiv. June 16, 2025 - Mark Temnycky -...
Catholics supporting the denial of 'nutrition and hydration' are not in communion with the Church
Catholics supporting the denial of 'nutrition and hydration' are not in communion with the Church Barbara Kralis, RenewAmerica analyst May 4, 2005 Updated June 3, 2005 It is a rare person who has not heard of the recent cruel homicide of the...

More rain forecast as death toll from Texas flooding passes 80
By Jim Vertuno and John Seewer Associated Press KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — With more rain on the way, the risk of life-threatening flooding was still high in central Texas on Monday even as crews search urgently for the missing following a holiday...

The Hospital on Carlo Acutis’ ‘Highway to Heaven’
MILAN — Days after Carlo Acutis offered up his suffering from leukemia for Pope Benedict XVI and the good of the Catholic Church, the 15-year-old breathed his last in the pediatric oncology ward of San Gerardo Hospital of Monza, Italy, on Oct. 12,...

Pope Leo XIV wants to prioritize AI. He’s using the Vatican’s bioethics think tank to do it.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Pope Leo XIV has appointed a new president for the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life, a bioethics think tank that Catholic conservatives criticized under Pope Francis for departing from official church teaching on issues...

Pope Leo embraces active role as Vatican peacemaker, aiming for end to Russia-Ukraine, Middle East, other conflicts
WASHINGTON — In a little over a month since his election to the papacy, Pope Leo XIV has appeared to embrace his role as a head of state to promote Catholic principles about peacebuilding, an analyst told OSV News. His actions as a head of state...
Brand Bharat must offer values, not just a western replica: Ram Madhav, President, India Foundation
In a world where global equations are shifting rapidly, India finds itself at a crucial juncture, neither a passive bystander nor a mere emerging power, but a nation expected to shape the contours of the 21st-century global order. At this...

Pope Leo Says End World Hunger. MAGA Objects.
@Vatican Media Pope Leo called for an end to “the global scandal of hunger.” He went on to denounce the use of starvation as a weapon of war. He called starving people to death a “cheap way to wage war.” That should be an obvious truth to any...

Pope Leo XIV Receives UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the Vatican
Guterres, 76, is the ninth secretary-general of the United Nations, a position he assumed on Jan. 1, 2017. Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday received U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres in an audience held in the study of the Paul VI Hall at the...

What might help Pope Leo fix troubled Vatican finances? His American-ness.
VATICAN CITY (AP) — As a bishop in Peru, Robert Prevost was often on the lookout for used cars that he could buy cheap and fix up himself for use in parishes around his diocese. With cars that were really broken down, he’d watch YouTube videos to...

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati’s incorrupt body to be in Rome for Jubilee of Youth
Vatican City, Jul 7, 2025 / 14:15 pm The coffin holding the incorrupt body of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati will be in Rome for veneration during the Jubilee of Youth July 26 through Aug. 4. According to the Vatican’s jubilee office, the coffin...

AP: An American pope could be the key to Vatican’s financial recovery
The election of Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff, could mark a turning point in fixing the Vatican’s deeply troubled finances, according to a recent report from AP News. The Vatican is currently grappling with a €50 – 60 million ($57 – 68...

Pope Leo orders the removal of Rupnik’s ‘rape art’ from Vatican websites
Images of artwork created by a disgraced celebrity cleric accused of rape have disappeared from official Vatican Media websites without explanation, almost a year after the head of the Vatican’s communications outfit strongly defended his...