The Catholic Church is bringing out the big guns now…
“The position of the Holy See is always to avoid any kind of violence, obviously, and therefore we cannot accept episodes of this kind. That is our position, as you know,” Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin stated of the ongoing ICE operations in Minnesota.
“Difficulties, problems, and contradictions must be resolved in other ways,” he continued, describing the state of affairs on the ground as “unacceptable.”
Parolin’s remarks are in lockstep with the escalating rhetoric that we are witnessing from American Church leaders after Pope Leo urged them to be more vocal in their defense of migrants.
Just this week, Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago compared the dehumanizing rhetoric of the Trump administration to the rhetoric used in the lead-up to the Holocaust.
“The Holocaust didn’t begin when they opened concentration camps. It began with words,” said
Cupich. “And I think that we have to keep that in mind and learn from history that words do matter. And so it is important to call people out.”
Under the leadership of Leo, the Catholic Church is turning into one of the strongest bulwarks against the cruelty, nihilism, and violence that define the second Trump administration. Contrast the Church’s outspoken opposition to the rampant MAGA abuses sweeping our country with the silence — and in many cases outright support — we are witnessing from right-wing Evangelical “faith leaders.”
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Pope Leo XIV, bishops commemorate 80th anniversary of atomic bombing of Japan
In a message on the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Pope Leo XIV is calling on the international community to renew its commitment to lasting peace and an end to nuclear weapons.
- EWTN
- via EWTN
- 07.08.25
In a message on the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Pope Leo XIV is calling on the international community to renew its commitment to lasting peace and an end to nuclear weapons.
“True peace demands the courageous laying down of weapons — especially those with the power to cause an indescribable catastrophe,” Pope Leo said in a letter addressed to Bishop Alexis M. Shirahama of Hiroshima. “Nuclear arms offend our shared humanity and also betray the dignity of creation, whose harmony we are called to safeguard.”
The apostolic nuncio to Japan, Archbishop Francisco Escalante Molina, read the Holy Father’s message during a Mass in Hiroshima, according to Vatican News.
“Though many years have passed, the two cities [Hiroshima and Nagasaki, bombed on Aug. 6 and 9, 1945] remain living reminders of the profound horrors wrought by nuclear weapons,” the Holy Father reflected. “Their streets, schools, and homes still bear scars — both visible and spiritual — from that fateful August of 1945.”
Referencing the phrase “war is always a defeat for humanity,” coined by his predecessor, Pope Francis, Leo further stated that “in our time of mounting global tensions and conflicts,” the memory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki should “urge us to reject the illusion of security founded on mutually assured destruction.”
“It is thus my prayer that this solemn anniversary will serve as a call to the international community to renew its commitment to pursuing lasting peace for our whole human family,” the Holy Father concluded.
In a similar message for the landmark anniversary, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, called on the international community to renew its commitment to lasting global peace.
“As we mark this doleful anniversary, we recognize the ongoing threat of nuclear weapons and their proliferation,” said Broglio, who is also head of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.
“We must renew our efforts to work for the conversion of heart required for a global commitment to lasting peace, and thus the elimination of nuclear weapons,” he said, adding: “This week, let us prayerfully remember the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and urge the United States and the international community to work diligently for nuclear disarmament around the world.”
Eighty years after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, several U.S. Catholic cardinals and archbishops are visiting Japan as part of a pilgrimage coordinated by the Partnership for a World Without Nuclear Weapons.
Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago; Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, D.C.; Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle; and Archbishop John C. Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico, are heading the delegation, which includes staff and students from several U.S. and Japanese universities.
The five-day visit kicked off Aug. 5 with a panel discussion at the World Peace Memorial Cathedral in Hiroshima. On Aug. 10, the pilgrimage will conclude with an ecumenical dialogue and academic symposium at Urakami Cathedral in Nagasaki.
This article was originally published by CNA.
