It was a truly hectic Sunday, May 25, for the American-born pope, as he visited the two major basilicas: St. John Lateran and St. Mary Major, and met with the mayor of Rome.

Describing the Curia as the institution that preserves “the historical memory of the church,” Pope Leo called on these Vatican employees to “work together” with him “in the great cause of unity and love.”

“I don’t think he’s the kind of man who sends coded messages,” Cardinal Michael Czerny says in this exclusive interview with Gerard O’Connell.

“We were once leaders in petroleum and gas research; now we’re becoming leaders in green hydrogen and carbon capture. This isn’t just a technological shift; it’s a spiritual one.”

Cardinal Stephen Chow, 65, the bishop of Hong Kong, was the only Chinese cardinal to vote in the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.

On Monday morning, Pope Leo XIV met JD Vance in the private library of the Apostolic Palace, a day after the pontiff's inaugural Mass.

At his installation Mass, the pope said, "in this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest.”

Leo XIV said, “the church’s social doctrine is called to provide insights that facilitate dialogue between science and conscience, and thus make an essential contribution to better understanding, hope and peace.”

Leo XIV told the ambassadors that as pope he intended “to strengthen understanding and dialogue” with their respective countries.

“The peoples of our world desire peace,” Pope Leo XIV said, “and to their leaders I appeal with all my heart: Let us meet, let us talk, let us negotiate! War is never inevitable.”