NATION/WORLD

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Warning against an increasingly unpredictable and aggressive "delusion of omnipotence" threatening the globe, Pope Leo XIV called on world leaders and individuals to empty their hearts and minds of hatred and violence, and to start serving life. "Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life," he said during a special evening prayer vigil for peace in St. Peter's Basilica April 11. "Those who pray are aware of their own limitations; they do not kill or threaten with death," he said. "Instead, death enslaves those who have turned their backs on the living God, turning themselves and their own power into a mute, blind and deaf idol, to which they sacrifice every value, demanding that the whole world bend its knee."

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Appealing to those in power to end all conflicts through dialogue and not domination, Pope Leo XIV urged humanity to stop growing accustomed to wars and violence and announced a prayer vigil for peace April 11. "We cannot continue to be indifferent! And we cannot resign ourselves to evil!" he said April 5 before giving his Easter blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world). "In the light of Easter, let us allow ourselves to be amazed by Christ! Let us allow our hearts to be transformed by his immense love for us!" he said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Marking the start of Holy Week, Pope Leo XIV used his first Palm Sunday Mass to issue a forceful plea for peace, urging an end to war as he reflected on Christ’s Passion. During his homily opening Holy Week at St. Peter's Square, the pope said the faithful must follow Jesus, as he embraced humanity "even as others raise swords and clubs." "We turn our gaze to Jesus, who reveals himself as King of Peace, even as war looms around him," he said March 29. "He remains steadfast in meekness, while others are stirring up violence."

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Once a young teenager wearing a cap and gown for his eighth-grade graduation photo in Chicago, today the famous former-student posed for a reunion picture wearing his papal zucchetto and cassock at the Vatican. Pope Leo XIV, who graduated from the lower school of St. Mary of the Assumption on the city's South Side in 1969, greeted and reminisced with 10 of his 82 former classmates after the general audience in St. Peter's Square March 18."Sorry! I'm nervous," laughed Sherry Stone (née Blue) after a small sign saying, "God bless you Pope Leo," slipped from her grasp when she reached out to shake the hand of her former classmate -- Robert F. Prevost.

On Feb. 28, the U.S. and Israel launched a series of strikes against Iran with the aim of targeting its nuclear and ballistic missile program as well as pushing for regime change. Iran responded with multiple strikes against Israeli, U.S. and U.K. military bases and other locations in the region. Meanwhile, Israel intensified strikes against Lebanon in its effort to target the paramilitary group, Hezbollah, forcing hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.

ROME (CNS) -- Every Catholic parish needs to show that Jesus, who promises a just, true and full life, is always near, Pope Leo XIV said. "I encourage you to ensure that parish activities are a sign of a Church that -- like a mother -- takes care of her children, without condemning them, but rather welcoming them, listening to them, and supporting them in the face of danger," he told parishioners at the Church of St. Mary of the Presentation in Rome in his homily March 8. "As a good and caring Shepherd, the Lord always waits for us and accompanies us, wherever we live and however we are. He mercifully heals our wounds and gives himself as a gift to us, enabling us in turn to become a gift for our brothers and sisters," he said.

ROME (CNS) — Life is a journey that requires trust and reliance on Jesus, who sometimes asks his disciples to leave everything behind, Pope Leo XIV said. While it may be tempting to flee from the uncertainty of heading into the unknown, it is precisely in this "dizzying vertigo" that people of faith will find God's promise of unexpected greatness, he said in a homily during a Mass celebrated at a small parish in Rome March 1. While it is normal to try to have everything under control, he said, "we miss the opportunity to discover the true treasure, the precious pearl, as the Gospel teaches us, which God has surprisingly hidden in our field."

(OSV News) — A new initiative by the University of Mary and the Diocese of Phoenix promises to respond to today’s rising mental health challenges by forming mental health professionals who are clinically trained and rooted in the Catholic teaching on human dignity. “The idea of mental health ministry is to reach out to those who may be struggling with mental health or those who have lost loved ones through suicide — and let them know that they’re loved and that they belong in the life of the Church,” Bishop John P. Dolan of Phoenix, who has lost four family members to suicide, told OSV News.

ROME (CNS) -- While Satan tempts humanity with the lie of gaining unlimited power, God offers the gift of true freedom that leads to real love, relationships and fulfillment, Pope Leo XIV said. Beginning with the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, humankind has had to face "the age-old dilemma: can I live my life to the fullest by saying 'yes' to God? Or, to be free and happy, must I free myself from Him?" the pope said in his homily during a morning Mass celebrated in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Rome Feb. 22. Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, shows the world "the new man, the free man, the epiphany of freedom that is realized by saying 'yes' to God" and "opposing the snares" of the devil, he said.

OSTIA LIDO, Italy (CNS) -- An authentic Christian community knows how to sincerely and joyfully welcome everyone: Catholics, non-Catholics and people of no faith at all, Pope Leo XIV said. "A true parish" is where "we all learn to say 'Welcome,' not only with words, but with a spirit of hospitality, opening the door and welcoming everyone," he said, speaking to members of the community during his first visit to a parish in his Diocese of Rome.