“The murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti—two U.S. citizens devoted to civic engagement and to caring for their immigrant neighbors—have left communities in Minneapolis and across the nation grieving, shaken, and rightly outraged,” the signatories wrote in their January 29 statement. “Their deaths are a profound moral failure, and they demand our collective attention and response.”

The signatories added:

We affirm the sacred worth of every human life. That commitment includes—and compels us to stand with—immigrants and others who are especially vulnerable in this moment. We condemn without reservation the use of indiscriminate and lethal force against civilians.

The actions we have witnessed in recent days represent a grave departure from our nation’s deepest moral commitments and from the values of human dignity, restraint, and accountability that our faith traditions uphold. When the power of the state is exercised without regard for life, justice, or the common good, the foundations of democracy itself are put at risk.

“Throughout this year, the cathedral will show, through important liturgical celebrations and cultural events, the rich spiritual heritage of that particular Church,” Pope Leo wrote in his message, dated December 19 and released today by the archdiocese. “In this regard, I would like to emphasize the value of the Hispano-Mozarabic liturgy that is celebrated daily.”

Pope Leo noted that the cathedral, in its eight centuries, has witnessed “the recovery of the Kingdom of Granada and the evangelization of the New World, events that have been recorded for history in the art of that cathedral.”

Addressing an interfaith service on January 28, Archbishop Balestrero said that “one of the most urgent services religions can offer today to a suffering humanity is to resist the rising temptation to weaponize thoughts and words. Our spiritual traditions—and right reason—call us to look beyond blood ties, ethnicity, or unilateral ambitions, beyond the reflex to divide or exclude.”

The prelate added:

And yet, how often today is the language of faith dragged into political battles, manipulated to bless nationalism and justify violence?

We who believe must actively refute these forms of blasphemy and desecration of religions—with clarity and truth, with courage, and above all, with lives that reflect what we profess. Alongside all our efforts, we must nurture the habit of prayer and defend the art of dialogue as authentic, credible, and transformative paths to peace and encounter.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, also spoke at the service, telling participants that “there is no lasting peace without justice—but there is no real justice unless the other is recognized as a person, not a tool or an obstacle.”

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa said that “we are called to recognize that this vision is by no means outdated, but on the contrary, more urgent than ever ... Above all, it revives the urgency of the mission entrusted to us: to be artisans of reconciliation, justice, peace, and hope, in fidelity to the Gospel and in dialogue with the concrete realities of our peoples.”

The prelate then offered pastoral priorities: the formation of peacemakers, synodal pastoral governance, and prophetic social engagement.

“The Church must continue to strengthen commissions for justice and peace, promote civic education, support victims of violence, and create spaces for dialogue that contribute to reconciliation and social cohesion,” he said of the third priority.

“Let us pray for reconciliation where there is division, for justice where there are violations of fundamental rights, and for consolation for all who feel overwhelmed by fear or loss,” Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City wrote on January 28.

Archbishop Coakley added:

While proper laws must be respected, works of mercy, peacefully assembling, and caring for those in your community are signs of hope, and they build peace more surely than anger or despair ever could ...

The recent killing of two people by immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis and that of a detained man in Texas, are just a few of the tragic examples of the violence that represent failures in our society to respect the dignity of every human life. We mourn this loss of life and deplore the indifference and injustice it represents. The current climate of fear and polarization, which thrives when human dignity is disregarded, does not meet the standard set by Christ in the Gospel.

Cardinal Parolin also hinted that the Holy See will reject President Trump’s invitation to join his Board of Peace for Gaza.

“Faced with this proposal, there were indeed problematic points that needed to be taken into consideration and that would then be evaluated in view of a response,” Cardinal Parolin said. “The response has not yet been given, but I believe one cannot forget the problematic aspects of this plan.”

Cardinal Parolin also expressed optimism about a resolution to the Greenland crisis and declined to comment about the possible presence of ICE agents at the Winter Olympics in Milan.

The Pontiff “hopes that this important event will foster sentiments of friendship and fraternity, strengthening awareness of the value of sport in the service of the integral development of the human person,” Cardinal Parolin wrote in his January 29 telegram.

The Pope prays “that these days of healthy competition will contribute to building bridges between cultures and peoples, promoting welcome, solidarity, and peace,” the prelate added.

Pope Leo was bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, from 2015 to 2023.

Pope Leo XIV received participants in the plenary assembly of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and praised the dicastery for its work over the past two years.

“An important question is the inculturation of faith,” Cardinal Parolin wrote in his letter, published on January 29. “It is not a question of adapting the Gospel to the world, but of finding in each culture the appropriate ways to proclaim the Word that does not fade away, enriching and serving human existence.”

“Faced with the evils that undermine society, such as tribalism, interethnic conflicts, wars, family divisions and so on, the Gospel calls for reconciliation and the pacification of hearts,” he added.

After discussing synodality and encouraging the bishops to listen to young people, Cardinal Parolin spoke of the importance of ministry to refugees:

Your communities are also shaken by the crisis of refugees and displaced persons. Be for them the Christ who bows down to their painful situations in order to heal them and give them the bread of consolation.