Speakers included Archbishop Alfonso Vincenzo Amarante, C.Ss.R., rector of the Pontifical Lateran University, who discussed “The Beauty of the Priesthood at the Service of a Complex World,” and Chiara D’Urbano, a psychologist, who discussed “Psycho-Affective Formation for the Priesthood: Perspectives from the Human Sciences.” Pope Francis wrote the preface to a 2025 book by D’Urbano on vocations and sexual orientation.

The European bishops’ meeting took place in Belgrade, Serbia, on June 14-17.

“I commend President Trump and President Pezeshkian for taking the vitally important step of signing a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending hostilities between the United States and Iran and advancing deeper dialogue for lasting peace in the region,” said Maronite Bishop A. Elias Zaidan of Los Angeles. “Preventing further proliferation of nuclear weapons is critically important for avoiding a dangerous escalation of conflict in the Middle East.”

Bishop Zaidan also called for peace in Lebanon:

I call on the United States, Iran, and Israel to now also prioritize an end to the fighting in Lebanon. The disarming of Hezbollah is necessary for peace and development in Lebanon.

Over one million people have been internally displaced, including 400,000 children, and thousands have fled to neighboring Syria, potentially adding to the region’s instability. If the fighting and humanitarian catastrophe continue in Lebanon, I fear that peace across the wider Middle East will remain unreachable.

The theme of the week is “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). The 2027 texts were prepared by dicastery and the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches, with the assistance of the Irish Council of Churches and the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

The prelate met with President Ilham Aliyev and with Allahshukur Pashazade, the Sheikh ul-Islam and Grand Mufti of the Caucasus.

Located in the Caucasus, the nation of 10.7 million (map) is 97% Muslim and 2% Christian (primarily Orthodox). Five priests minister to 620 Catholics in two parishes, according to the Annuario Pontificio.

In a video message released by the Vatican yesterday, Pope Leo XIV told participants in Franciscan University of Steubenville’s summer youth conferences that “only the love of God can provide us with true and perfect joy.”

The archdiocese has 209 parishes, 483 priests, and 47 seminarians, according to the 2025 edition of The Official Catholic Directory. 299 of the priests are diocesan, and 184 are religious; of the 299 diocesan priests, 197 are in active ministry.

In 1968, the archdiocese had 1,373 total priests (763 of them diocesan) and 345 parishes.

Azevedo “presented to the Holy Father aspects of Shalom life and charism, as well as some of the main initiatives carried out by the Community in favor of the evangelizing action of the Church, with emphasis on the work aimed at youth and human promotion,” the community said in a statement.

Members of the community, according to the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, “feel united by the call to be disciples and ministers of peace, on a journey of contemplation, unity and evangelization, marked by spousal love for Jesus Christ and an experience of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.”

Founded in Brazil in 1982, the community attained Vatican recognition as an international association of the faithful in 2007.

The seminary of the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, faces a $200,000 shortfall following a reduction in diocesan financial support for operations, according to a fundraising appeal sent by the seminary’s rector.

The survey, conducted between May 26 and June 1, found that Catholics who attend Mass weekly are more likely to have a favorable view of the Pope than do Catholics who attend Mass seldom or never (85% vs. 73%). Likewise, Democrats are more likely to have a favorable view of the Pope than do Republicans (84% vs. 72%). Men and women have equally favorable views of the Pope.

According to Pew surveys that date back to 1987, Pope St. John Paul II’s favorability ratings varied from 91% to 93%; Pope Benedict’s, from 67% to 83%; and Pope Francis’s, from 72% to 90%.

Goldfajn, who posts regularly on X, did not refer to the papal audience in his posts of the day. As is customary, the Vatican did not reveal the topics discussed, apart from a brief video highlighting a gift to the Pontiff.