He also expressed concern at “the rise of anti-Semitic hatred in the world,” following the terrorist attack on a synagogue in Manchester, England, this past week.
Gerard O’Connell
Gerard O’Connell is America’s senior Vatican correspondent and author of The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Story of the Conclave That Changed History. He has been covering the Vatican since 1985.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo signs first exhortation, ‘Dilexi te,’ focused on love for the poor
The document, which will be issued Oct. 9, can be seen as a companion document to “Dilexit nos,” the fourth and final encyclical issued by Pope Francis.
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Pope Leo makes a surprise pick for his first major Vatican appointment
In his first major appointment to the Roman Curia, Pope Leo XIV surprised most people in the Vatican by appointing the Italian archbishop Filippo Iannone, 67, a member of the Carmelite Order, as the prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops.
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How Pope Leo plans to govern the church: From Rome to China to Gaza
Pope Leo raised the question of genocide in Gaza and spoke about how he intends to engage with China over the coming years in his first major interview.
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Pope Leo expresses his ‘profound closeness’ to the people of Gaza as Israeli ground invasion begins
Palestinians in Gaza “continue to live in fear and survive in unacceptable conditions, forced once again to leave their lands,” Leo said to applause at the end of his weekly general audience on Sept. 17.
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Pope Leo calls out billionaires and income inequality in first interview
In his first major interview, Pope Leo XIV denounces “useless killing” in Ukraine and promotes synodality as the solution to rising global polarization.
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Pope Leo receives credentials of U.S. ambassador to the Holy See
The new U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burch, presented his credentials to Pope Leo XIV this morning, Sept. 13, 2025.
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Pope Leo XIV declares Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati saints in a celebration of youthful devotion
At the first canonization ceremony of his pontificate, Leo XIV described Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati as ”both in love with Jesus and ready to give everything for him.”
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Pope Leo and Israel’s president discuss ‘tragic situation in Gaza’ in private audience
Pope Leo and top diplomatic advisors spoke with Israeli President Herzog about the “tragic situation in Gaza,” the urgent need for ceasefire and a two-state solution as the “only way out of the current war.”
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Israeli president Herzog to visit Pope Leo at Vatican
President Herzog’s visit comes at a very delicate political moment, as Israeli forces have laid siege to Gaza City in an attempt to take full control of it and have already reduced parts of it to rubble.