The Diocese of Aachen, Germany, has established a commission to investigate alleged apparitions of Our Lady (2001-2005) and Our Lord (since 2018) in the small town of Sievernich.

“In an age of confusion and misinformation, we must remain rooted in the authentic teaching, sacramental life, and ecclesial communion of the Catholic Church under the leadership of Pope Leo XIV,” Archbishop Rodrigues added.

Based in Detroit, the Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ was founded by Karl Rodig, an Austrian priest who was automatically excommunicated in 1999 when he received episcopal consecration from an Old Catholic bishop. The church established a presence near Mumbai in 2021, under the leadership of a former priest of the Archdiocese of Bombay.

Pope Leo XIV departed this morning from Rome Fiumicino Airport for Spain on his fourth international apostolic journey (program), following previous trips to Turkey and Lebanon (November 27-December 2), Monaco (March 28), and Algeria, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea (April 13-23).

“I have known Fr. Flavie for many years and have witnessed firsthand his unwavering commitment to the human dignity of the poorest of the poor, especially the families of victims of violence and those who often have no one else to accompany them in their suffering,” said Cardinal Pablo Vigilio David of Kalookan. “No person’s good name should be destroyed by unsubstantiated accusations.”

The trip “will be an important opportunity to recall the perspective from which the Church views politics and commitment to the common good,” Tornielli wrote on June 5, the day before the trip began. “Today, this perspective is far removed both from any form of political alignment and from any attempt, encouraged by secularist ideology, to reduce Christian faith to a purely private and interior experience.”

Pope Leo XIV visited a Madrid homeless shelter early this evening (video) and said that charity is central to the Gospel.

Praedicate Evangelium, the 2022 apostolic constitution on the Roman Curia, grants the dicastery’s Section for Fundamental Questions regarding Evangelization in the World the authority to designate international shrines (Article 56).

During the audience, which last nearly two hours, “we explained the situation, difficult situation,” Cardinal Bo told Vatican News. The Myanmar civil war began in 2021 following a coup d’état.

“At the same time, all the people of Myanmar, bishop, priests, religious and the faithful, they are very much having faith, they have resilience,” Cardinal Bo added. “In spite of the difficult situation, the Church in Myanmar is growing and being strengthened very much.”

Buddhism is the official religion of the Southeast Asian nation of 57.9 million (map). Myanmar is 74% Buddhist, 9% ethnic religionist, 9% Christian, and 4% Muslim.

Born in 1972, Bishop Osório Cîtora Afonso, I.M.C., was ordained to the priesthood in 2002, appointed auxiliary bishop of Maputo (the nation’s capital) in 2023, and became bishop of Quelimane last July, according to the Annuario Pontificio. Prior to being named a bishop, he was an an official in the Dicastery for Evangelization; previously, he earned a licentiate at the Biblicum, worked at seminaries, and held regional leadership positions in his order, the Consolata Missionaries.

The Portuguese bishops’ news agency reported that the murder was “committed with an AKM-type weapon by individuals who climbed the wall of his residence, having vandalized the electrical security ... There are no detainees so far, and the authorities are investigating the case.”

The director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) praised Pope Leo’s reflections on artificial intelligence and commitment to peace following a June 5 papal audience.