Before he entered the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona to greet 40,000 young people this evening, Pope Leo got out of his car to greet the dynamic Lucía Caram, O.P., an Argentine nun living in Spain, and bless the 21 ambulances, one pickup truck and nine other vehicles that she and her team have collected to be taken to war-torn Ukraine.
Humanitarian Aid
Posted inThe Weekly Dispatch
Did humanitarian aid cuts contribute to Africa’s Ebola outbreak?
The escalating outbreak threatens to become the deadliest Ebola crisis on record if the international community does not quickly step up its humanitarian and medical response.
Posted inSpeeches
Full text: Cardinal Czerny’s homily for the ‘beloved land of Cuba’
“Let us pray, then, that the beloved land of Cuba may know days of greater serenity, of authentic human and social development, of harmony and hope.”
Posted inThe Weekly Dispatch
Trump’s ‘get tough’ on Cuba policy piles on island’s suffering
Trump’s “tough Cuba policy” breaks with recent efforts toward rapprochement supported by the Catholic Church, with the aim of overturning the Cuban revolution by year’s end.
Posted inDispatches
Catholic ministries in Bangladesh face new challenges from Islamic extremists
While discrimination and persecution against Christians has grown sharper, it has been a longstanding problem.
Posted inDispatches
Christians rally to support aid for Palestinians, end arm sales to Israel
“Instead of funding war, our faith calls us to feed the hungry, defend the oppressed, and work for just peace.”
Posted inThe Weekly Dispatch
Catholic aid groups hope for a recovery after 2025’s deep cuts in global health assistance
After a historic collapse of U.S. and E.U. humanitarian and development assistance in 2025, finding new money to address persistent global health problems may be more challenging in 2026.
Posted inLast Take
Archbishop Wenski: The folly of ending a 60-year partnership with Catholic Charities
The Trump administration has abruptly decided to end more than 60 years of relationship with Catholic Charities caring for unaccompanied migrant children.
Posted inThe Weekly Dispatch
Christian groups appeal to IMF to do more for poor nations as global economy falters
Nations facing significant food insecurity may be pushed to the edge by debt, climate change, oil and food spikes, and US war on Iran: “Developing countries shouldn’t have to choose between paying off debt and funding schools, hospitals, or climate preparedness and response.”
Posted inDispatches
Catholics hope Pope Leo’s Africa trip will uplift countries suffering from U.S. aid cuts
As Pope Leo XIV visits, Africa’s often interrelated crises of armed conflict, poverty and displacement have been worsened by the withdrawal of development and humanitarian aid by the United States and other donor nations.