Bulletins, Newsletters, and Flocknotes

This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience the participants in the meeting promoted by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America regarding situations of addiction in Latin America.

The following is the address delivered by the Pope to those present during the meeting:

 

Address of the Holy Father

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Peace be with you.

Good morning to you all, and welcome!

I extend a fraternal greeting to each and every one of you. I would like to express my particular gratitude to the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM) and the Organization of American States (OAS) for having facilitated this meeting, as well as to the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and the Pontifical Academy for Life.

I also greet our brothers and sisters from faith-based centres for support, preventive intervention, recovery and integration of young people, who have come from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas; their presence reminds us that suffering and hope know no borders.

The theme that brings us together is to reflect, from a faith-based perspective, on the problem of drugs and its impact on our young people. Addiction is a complex phenomenon that highlights the failure of a dehumanized world. The suffering of young people calls for comprehensive responses: community-based prevention, scientific care, justice with a human face, and close pastoral support. Our contribution must be directed towards care, presence and the rebuilding of the fabric of the community.

I am pleased to note how, at this meeting, four bridges converge, each representing a different pathway for collaboration in this field.

The first bridge is between the Church and international organizations, as no one can tackle the problem of drugs alone. For this reason, the ongoing collaboration between the Organization of American States and the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM) deserves special mention; they coordinate training for faith-based community organizations, build support networks, and have even enabled CELAM to present the Manual on Latin American Pastoral Care for the Support and Prevention of Addictions.

The second bridge is between science and faith. The Church does not intervene in the issue of drugs with the intention of competing with or taking the place of neuroscience, psychiatry or public health; rather, it seeks to shed light on the issue from the perspective of the Gospel, with a integral understanding of the human person.

The third bridge is within the Church as she makes her pilgrim journey across the various continents. Over the past few days, people from the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe have come here to share their sorrows, hopes and pastoral enthusiasm.

The fourth bridge is ecumenical. The Catholic Church and other ecclesial communities, in practising concrete love for those who suffer, find a very eloquent common language rooted in faith to accompany and assist young people in their needs and dreams.

But allow me to pause for a moment on an institution that cuts across all our work: the family. The family, which the Second Vatican Council rightly called the “domestic church” (cf. Lumen gentium , 11), is the place where life is nurtured, cared for and planned. There is no better defence against drugs than a good family.

Today, we bear witness to the pain of many broken families, whether due to drug use, violence, the criminal recruitment of a child, poverty or the lack of opportunities that push people to the margins of society. Saint John Paul II asked us to make the Church “the home and the school of communion” (Apostolic Letter Novo millennio ineunte , 43). And Pope Francis reminded us that Jesus wants us to “touch human misery, to touch the suffering flesh of others” (Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium , 270). Herein lies the very heart of the mission you are carrying out: that the Church may be a family, especially embracing those who suffer.

Finally, I would like to express a wish to you: that the Church may be a family for all those who have been left by the wayside. Like the Good Samaritan, who became a neighbour to the fallen man, let us not pass by; let us build a Church that stops, draws close, is moved with compassion, binds wounds, nourishes and becomes a home.

Thank you for your work. God bless you.

I impart the Lord’s blessing to you. May God’s grace be with you all, your families and your work at all times. The work you do in different parts of the world is very important.

[Blessing]

The following is the telegram of condolence sent on behalf of the Holy Father Leo XIV by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, for the victims of the floods in Nepal:

 

Telegram

HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV WAS SADDENED TO LEARN OF THE LOSS OF LIFE AND DEVASTATION CAUSED BY THE FLASH FLOODS IN NEPAL. COMMENDING THE SOULS OF THE DECEASED TO THE CLEMENCY OF THE ALMIGHTY, HIS HOLINESS SENDS HEARTFELT SYMPATHIES TO THE BEREAVED, TOGETHER WITH THE ASSURANCE OF HIS SPIRITUAL CLOSENESS TO THOSE AFFECTED BY THIS TRAGEDY. LIKEWISE OFFERING PRAYERS FOR THE EMERGENCY PERSONNEL ENGAGED IN THE ONGOING RESCUE EFFORTS, HE INVOKES UPON ALL DIVINE ASSISTANCE AND PROTECTION.

CARDINAL PIETRO PAROLIN SECRETARY OF STATE

Appointment of auxiliary bishop of Kottayam of the Syro-Malabars, India

The Synod of the Major Archiepiscopal Syro-Malabar Church has elected the Reverend Thomas Animoottil, of the clergy of the archeparchy of Kottayam, as auxiliary of the same archeparchy, to which the Holy Father had granted his prior assent, assigning him the titular see of Troina.

Curriculum vitae

The Reverend Thomas Animoottil was born on 13 January 1962 in Payyavoor, Kerala, India. After his primary and secondary studies in Payyavoor and his university studies in Mysore, he began his priestly formation at the Saint Stanislaus Minor Seminary of Kottayam.

He completed his studies in philosophy and theology at Saint Joseph’s Seminary in Mangalore, and was ordained a priest on 13 April 1989. He was sent to Rome to further his studies at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, and was awarded a licentiate in canon law in 1993.

He held the following offices in his archeparchy: parish priest of Pulinjal; secretary to the eparchial bishop; eparchial chancellor; secretary to the Pastoral Council; ecclesiastical adviser to the Catholic Nurses Guild of India ; and vicar forane (or protopresbyter of the deanery) of Uzhavoor and Kaduthuruthy. From 2003 to 2008, he exercised his pastoral ministry in the eparchy of Saint Thomas the Apostle of Chicago of the Syro-Malabar Church, United States of America.

Since 2025, he has served as pro-protosyncellus of the archeparchy of Kottayam.

This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience the Ambassador of Belgium to the Holy See, Her Excellency Ms. Caroline Vermeulen, on the occasion of the presentation of her credential letters.

The following is a brief biography of the new Ambassador:

Her Excellency Ms. Caroline Vermeulen Ambassador of Belgium to the Holy See

Her Excellency Ms. Caroline Vermeulen was born on 13 October 1973, and is married with two children.

She holds a master’s degree in contemporary history from the Université Catholique de Louvain , Louvain-la-Neuve, and from the Facultés Universitaires Saint Louis , Brussels (1991-1995), as well as a master’s degree in European studies from the Collège d’Europe , Bruges (1996).

She entered the diplomatic service in 1997 and has held the following offices:

- Attaché, Embassy in Japan (1998)

- at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1999)

- Attaché, Permanent Representation to the European Union (1999-2002)

- First Secretary, Embassy in the Russian Federation (2002-2004)

- Secretary to Her Majesty Queen Paola, Royal Palace, Brussels (2004-2011)

- Head of Office in the Republic of China (Taiwan) (2011-2015)

- Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy in the People’s Republic of China (2015-2019)

- Director for European External Relations, Directorate-General for European Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2019-2022)

- Ambassador to Austria, Slovakia and Slovenia, Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Vienna (2022.2026)

This morning, the Holy Father received in audience:

- Her Excellency Ms. Caroline Vermeulen, Ambassador of Belgium, presenting her credential letters;

- Bishop Lucas Van Looy, emeritus of Ghent, Belgium;

- Archbishop Tomas Grysa, titular of Rubicon, Apostolic Nuncio in Uganda;

- Bishop Virgilio do Nascimento Antunes of Coimbra, Portugal, President of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference, with members of the Presidency;

- Archbishop Daniel Colombo of Mendoza, Argentina, President of the Argentine Episcopal Conference, with Bishop Raúl Pizarro Travers, titular of Ausana, auxiliary of San Isidro, secretary general;

- Participants in the meeting promoted by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America on situations of addiction in Latin America.