Bulletins, Newsletters, and Flocknotes

The Holy Father Leo XIV, accepting the invitation from the Executive Director of the World Food Programme, will visit the organization’s Rome headquarters on Monday 22 June to meet with participants at the annual session of the Executive Board, staff members and their families.

The following is the text of the Video Message sent by the Holy Father Leo XIV to the participants in the tenth Austrian World Summit taking place today in Vienna, at the Hofburg Palace:

 

Video Message of the Holy Father

I am pleased to greet all of you taking part in the   Tenth Austrian World Summit. Sustainability, integral ecology and care for creation have been concerns for many decades. The Church has always been aware that the ecological question has a moral dimension. Indeed, the environmental crisis “is not an isolated issue, but rather the ecological aspect of the contemporary socio-economic crisis” ( Magnifica Humanitas , 43).

In your own efforts to respond to the present crisis, I would like to encourage you to keep this broad context in view, and to suggest to you three themes, based upon the Christian virtues of faith, hope and love, which I trust may assist the work of your Summit.

Let me begin with faith. While to some, faith may seem to have little to contribute to questions of climate change and environmental protection, the religious dimension is in fact essential to address these issues adequately. Those who believe that our world was created by God and is inherently good are compelled to assume an even greater responsibility to care for creation, since this is the requirement of their faith. “Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience” (Pope Francis,  Laudato Si’ , 217). Furthermore, believers from many traditions understand ‘creation’ as a divine gift. Likewise, various religions maintain that life is sacred and therefore must be respected. We can say, then, that religious faith reinforces the overall desire to protect life and care for nature.

This perspective underlines the profound ethical foundations to which I drew attention in my recently published Encyclical Letter  Magnifica Humanitas , namely the equal dignity of all human beings and the value of fundamental human rights, both of which can be adequately ensured through the proper implementation of the principles of the common good, the universal destination of goods, subsidiarity, solidarity and social justice (cf.  Magnifica Humanitas , 51-81). They should “be considered collectively, so that it becomes clear how they relate to and complement each other” (ibid., 46). These essential personal and social matters are intimately connected to the climate crisis, which as I said is one manifestation – and a critical one – of the wider socio-economic crisis. Indeed, unless they are addressed, no technical solutions for protecting the environment will have a chance of achieving their desired end. In this perspective, we must pay particular attention to the poorest and those most vulnerable to environmental degradation. I would like to encourage you to keep them at the forefront of your minds when evaluating, planning and implementing potential projects.

This brings me to the second theme: hope. Due to the global nature of the challenges we are facing, it is clear that many people are concerned. There is, indeed, a growing awareness that peace is threatened by a lack of respect for creation, the plundering of natural resources and a progressive decline in the quality of life due to climate change. These challenges require international cooperation, together with cohesive and forward-looking multilateralism in order to find effective solutions.

Frequently, however, in deliberations and negotiations about these issues, various fears emerge: fear of changing course, fear of losing power and fear of uncertain outcomes. Only by overcoming these fears can we work together to find the right solutions. It is here, I think, that religious leaders and communities can offer a special insight for supporting ambitious social and environmental efforts, for the Bible is full of examples of how people’s fears can be overcome by hope, which ultimately is a gift from God himself.

In this perspective, then, despite the naysayers or cynics, hope can be a powerful driving force. In this regard, it is not merely desirable but also genuinely possible that the progress at COP30 can be followed up with a just transition toward societies where the common good takes precedence over profit, and economic models are rooted in solidarity and human dignity. Yet, this requires wealthier countries to meet their obligations to support poorer countries financially. We also need the development of a new person-centered international financial framework to ensure that all countries, especially the poorest and those most vulnerable to climate disasters, can reach their full potential, with the dignity of their citizens respected (cf.  Message to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30) , 7 November 2025).

Finally, I come to the theme of love. I would like to stress the importance of cultivating a genuine culture of care for our environment, which includes what Pope Francis called “civic and political love” (cf.  Laudato Si’ , 228-232). Such love is the key to authentic development, since “in order to make society more human, more worthy of the human person, love in social life – political, economic and cultural – must be given renewed value, becoming the constant and highest norm for all activity… In this framework, along with the importance of little everyday gestures, social love moves us to devise larger strategies to halt environmental degradation and to encourage a ‘culture of care’ which permeates all of society” ( Laudato Si’ , 231). It is my hope that your deliberations will promote this culture of care and thus contribute to the civilization of love.

Dear friends, with these thoughts centered on faith, hope and love, I pray that your Summit will be fruitful in promoting the much needed dialogue for seeking effective solutions to protect the wonderful gift of creation, and I willingly invoke upon you all God’s gifts of wisdom and peace.

Today, 15 June 2026, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV received in Audience, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the President of the Republic of Korea, His Excellency Mr. Lee Jae-myung, who subsequently met with His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of His Holiness, and His Excellency Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations.

During the cordial talks held at the Secretariat of State, the parties emphasized the good relations between the Holy See and the Republic of Korea, and noted the positive contribution offered by the local Catholic Church to Korean society, particularly in the fields of education and social welfare.

Attention then turned to preparations for the upcoming World Youth Day and to certain aspects of the regional and international situation.

From the Vatican, 15 June 2026

The following is the text of the Message of the Holy Father Leo XIV for the Sixth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, to be held on the fourth Sunday of July – this year, 26 July – on the theme: “I will never forget you” ( Is 49:15):

 

Message of the Holy Father

I will never forget you (Is 49:15)

Dear brothers and sisters,

Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord promises that he will never forget any of us. He assures us that he has engraved our faces on the palms of his hands (cf.  Is  49:16) and that his love is greater than a mother’s love for her child (cf.  Is  49:15). The prophet gives us a glimpse of an intimate and intense dialogue in which God addresses, in familiar terms, each person individually and the people as a whole. Even today, we can read these words as referring to each of us, and everyone can hear that “I will never forget you” spoken directly to them.

These are words that fill us with comfort and hope. They are the answer to an agonizing feeling that troubles the heart: “The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me” ( Is  49:14). How often in Sacred Scripture, especially in the Psalms, does prayer spring from the despair of those who feel that their lives are of no interest to anyone and are being neglected! The painful feeling of being forgotten is, unfortunately, shared by many people, and among them are quite a few elderly people.

God’s love, which forgets no one, offers itself as an act of justice and a response to the anonymity in which human life all too often ends up lost. The lives of many elderly people, in particular, seem to be covered by a veil that blurs the features of their faces and shrouds them in oblivion. This is what happens in homes where loneliness reigns and also in those care facilities where each person’s uniqueness risks being reduced to a bed number or an illness.

The celebration of the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly is an opportunity to rediscover that the Church is called to be a mother to all and that at any age it is always possible to recognize ourselves as sons and daughters of God. May this day, therefore, be an inspiration for everyone, especially the young, to revive the beautiful custom of visiting their grandparents, the elderly members of the family and even those who have no one to visit them. Bring them, through this message and your presence, the closeness and affection of the Pope. Ensure that the words of the prophet, “But I will never forget you,” take the form of a tender and affectionate encounter. “In an era that favors speed and fragmentation, the human person still yearns to receive care and recognition from attentive minds, kind words and hands capable of tenderness. The digital culture multiplies connections and offers new opportunities for interaction; yet, the human heart retains an irrevocable need for genuine closeness” (Encyclical Letter,  Magnifica Humanitas , 239).

The Church understands the suffering of her elderly members; she knows full well that they are all too often viewed through the lens of stereotypes and considered a burden; she is aware that a profit-driven economy weakens family ties; she knows that many elderly people are left behind by children who are forced to migrate or, in some cases, to fight in wars. For each of these reasons, she joyfully proclaims the Lord’s promise: “But I will never forget you!”

It is a joy, at any age, but especially when we are no longer young, to discover, as John Paul I said, that we are the recipients “of undying love on the part of God. We know: he has always his eyes open on us, even when it seems to be dark. He is our father; even more he is our mother” ( Angelus , 10 September 1978). Even if it does not come naturally to think this way, the truth is that even in old age we do not cease to be sons and daughters; therefore, the invitation to return to the arms of God — whose love is both paternal and maternal — remains worthwhile at any age.

For many, the discovery of God’s tenderness takes place over the course of their lives, sometimes even in its final stages. Indeed, unlike in the past, it is increasingly common to reach old age without having had a genuine experience of faith. In such cases, old age — beginning with the questions that arise with greater urgency during this season of life — can become the right time to begin or resume a spiritual life. On this new journey, one can recognize that God, as Saint Augustine says, “is a mother because he cherishes, because he nourishes, because he nurses, because he protects” ( Commentary on Psalm 27 , II, 18). It is an awareness that helps us not to feel ashamed of the fragility that emerges and also to understand that we are always in need of one another and in need of attention and care. To God, who draws near to us and whom we learn to recognize in his tenderness, we can now turn with filial trust in prayer. It is never too late to begin turning to him. It can be a great gift for everyone.

Dear elderly men and women, Pope Francis spoke of you as a “new people” ( Catechesis , 23 February 2022), since the number of older adults has never been so large in human history. It is, therefore, more important than ever to reflect with you, this “new people,” on what our vocation might be when fragility — the human person’s companion from birth — seems to take over. I would like to say to you: do not be afraid of fragility! It is precisely this weakness that holds within itself a new potential that also illuminates the other stages of life. Indeed, when “we acknowledge our fragility, our hearts become open to supporting one another and to invoking the One who can grant what no human power can ensure: the profound reconciliation of hearts and, with it, true peace” ( Meeting with the Algerian community , Basilica of Our Lady of Africa, Algiers, 13 April 2026).

This is how we can live out our old age as Christians: “fragile” yet at the same time “called.” A man and a woman can, in fact, be born anew in old age (cf.  Jn  3:4-6) and exclaim, with the prophet: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength” ( Is  30:15). This strength can become an invitation not to resort to the ways of arrogance and power to ensure human coexistence, but to the ways of reconciliation and true peace. In this time, so harshly marked by the violence of war and social unrest, many wonder what the world in which their grandchildren will grow up will be like. I urge you, dear friends, to join me in praying earnestly that peace may soon come to the whole world.

Dear elderly brothers and sisters, I thank you for supporting me every day with your prayers, especially when you recite the Holy Rosary. I return this gratitude from the bottom of my heart and leave you with this prayer: may the Lord always renew us in faith, hope and love — He who never forgets us!

From the Vatican, 15 June 2026

LEO PP. XIV

Appointment of members of the Board of Directors of the Holy See’s Agency for the Evaluation and Promotion of Quality in Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties (AVEPRO)

The Holy Father has appointed the following as members of the Board of Directors of the Holy See’s Agency for the Evaluation and Promotion of Quality in Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties (AVEPRO): the Reverend Fr. Pablo Carlos Sicouly , associate of the Master General of the Order of Preachers for Intellectual Life; the distinguished Professors Loreto Bernardita Moya Marchant , dean of the Facultad Eclesiástica de Teología of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso , Chile, and Debora Tonelli , representative of Georgetown University in Rome, Italy; and Dr. Melanie Rosenbaum , official of the Dicastery for Culture and Education.