Catholic News

The Vatican has elevated the National Shrine and Parish of St. Padre Pio in Batangas, Philippines, to the rank of an international shrine, making it only the second shrine in the Philippines to receive the designation from the Holy See.

The decree was issued by the Dicastery for Evangelization on May 25, coinciding with the 139th anniversary of the birth of St. Pio of Pietrelcina (also known as Padre Pio), the Capuchin saint whose spirituality continues to attract millions of devotees worldwide.

The recognition places the shrine among a select group of Catholic pilgrimage sites acknowledged by the universal Church for their exceptional spiritual significance and their capacity to welcome pilgrims from around the world.

Archbishop Gilbert Garcera of Lipa, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), announced the news in a video message posted on the shrine's official social media page.

The archbishop said he personally received the official communication from Archbishop Charles John Brown, apostolic nuncio to the Philippines.

"This recognition marks a historic milestone not only for the shrine and the Archdiocese of Lipa but also for the Church in the Philippines, as it becomes a place of pilgrimage and devotion with international significance," Garcera said in a separate statement.

The elevation follows the unanimous approval by the CBCP during its plenary assembly in July 2024, when the bishops endorsed the shrine's application and recommended it to the Holy See for international recognition.

For Father Oscar L. Andal, rector and parish priest of the shrine, the designation represents both an honor and a mission.

"This distinguished recognition is both a blessing and a responsibility," Andal told EWTN News. "As an international shrine, we are called to welcome pilgrims from every corner of the world and continue sharing Padre Pio's message of prayer, trust in God, and love for humanity. We receive this honor with gratitude and humility, recognizing that it strengthens our commitment to serve the faithful and bring them closer to Christ," he said.

The priest also noted that the recognition deepens the spiritual bond between the Batangas shrine and the Sanctuary of St. Pio of Pietrelcina in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, where the saint spent much of his priestly ministry.

A historic moment for the Philippine Church

Father Reynante Tolentino, president of the Association of Catholic Shrines and Pilgrimages of the Philippines, described the declaration as a historic milestone not only for the Church in the Philippines but also for the entire nation.

"The declaration of the National Shrine of St. Padre Pio in Batangas as an international shrine is a historic and tremendous blessing," Tolentino said.

He noted that the shrine becomes the second international shrine in the Philippines and Southeast Asia after the International Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage in Antipolo. Tolentino was the rector of the Cathedral and National Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage in Antipolo, Rizal province, when it became the first national shrine in the Philippines and Southeast Asia to be elevated to international shrine status.

For Tolentino, the Holy See's decision affirms the enduring devotion of Filipinos to the saint known for bearing the stigmata and for his ministry of spiritual and physical healing.

"This is a clear affirmation and validation of the strong devotion of Batangueños and Filipinos in general to Padre Pio," he said.

"People continue to come because everyone seeks healing — not only physical healing but spiritual healing as well."

He emphasized that while the shrine's administrators and devotees supported the initiative from the beginning, the formal recommendation to Rome came through the collective discernment and approval of the CBCP.

Tolentino also expressed hope that all shrines in the country — whether diocesan, national, or international — would continue to serve as centers of evangelization and places of refuge for those in need.

From local devotion to international pilgrimage destination

The history of the shrine is closely linked to the rapid growth of devotion to Padre Pio following his canonization by St. John Paul II in 2002.

What began as a small chapel in Santo Tomas in 2003 gradually developed into a major pilgrimage center. It was declared an archdiocesan shrine in 2008 and elevated to national shrine status in 2015.

Today, the shrine welcomes hundreds of thousands of pilgrims annually who seek healing, spiritual renewal, and a deeper encounter with Christ through the intercession of Padre Pio.

The shrine houses first-class relics of the saint and has become known for its vibrant sacramental life, particularly the celebration of the Eucharist, the sacrament of reconciliation, healing Masses, and devotional activities.

Every 23rd day of the month, commemorating the saint's death on Sept. 23, thousands gather for healing Masses and pastoral activities.

The shrine's ministry has also extended beyond Philippine shores through pilgrimages and devotional missions in Thailand, Hong Kong, and Malaysia.

According to Andal, the growth of the shrine has been made possible through the dedication of clergy, religious communities, benefactors, volunteers, and countless devotees whose support has enabled the expansion of its ministries while remaining faithful to its spiritual mission.

Occupying more than 17 hectares (about 42 acres), the shrine continues to implement a long-term development plan aimed at creating a more prayerful and pilgrim-centered environment.

A recognition of universal significance

The title of international shrine is reserved for a church or other sacred place that possesses particular importance for the life of the universal Church.

The designation recognizes the Batangas shrine not only as a center of local devotion but also as a destination capable of serving pilgrims from across Asia and the wider world.

Church leaders say the recognition highlights the universal appeal of Padre Pio's spirituality — a spirituality rooted in prayer, repentance, trust in divine providence, and devotion to God's mercy.

As an international shrine, the sanctuary is expected to strengthen its pilgrim programs, expand opportunities for spiritual formation, and foster greater collaboration with Catholic communities in promoting the life and teachings of the Capuchin saint.

"As we celebrate this momentous recognition," Andal said, "we entrust ourselves to the intercession of St. Padre Pio and renew our commitment to being a beacon of faith, hope, and charity."

"May all who visit this sacred space encounter God's mercy, experience spiritual renewal, and find inspiration in the example of Padre Pio's holy life."

The formal declaration and presentation of the Holy See's decree will take place on Sept. 23, the liturgical memorial of St. Padre Pio, marking a new chapter in the history of one of the Philippines' most beloved pilgrimage destinations.

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A new tragedy struck southern Lebanon after an Israeli strike killed Dr. James George Karam and his two university-aged children, Tony and Theodosia, as they returned from university exams, ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News, reported Wednesday. The family, from the Christian town of Qlayaa, were traveling back from Sidon when their car was reportedly targeted, deepening fears among Christians in Lebanon's border villages.

In a statement, Qlayaa's municipality said the road linking the southern villages to Lebanon's capital and educational centers has become a place of danger for civilians. The killing has intensified anger among students and families who say safer arrangements are needed for exams in border areas.

On the same day, an Israeli warning concerning the Christian quarter of Tyre added to the anxiety, leaving civilians feeling caught between Hezbollah's presence and Israeli military action.

French lawmakers remove bill provision requiring priests to break seal of confession

Lawmakers in France voted to removed a controversial provision in a bill that would have required clergy to report information learned while administering the sacrament of confession. According to Zenit, the proposal, which engendered heated debate in French Parliament, was drafted in the aftermath of a sexual abuse scandal involving hundreds of allegations linked to a Catholic school.

Canon law dictates that priests may never reveal the contents of a penitent's confession under pain of the Church's most severe penalties.

9 Salesians to be beatified in Poland on June 6

Nine Salesians who were killed during World War II by the German Nazis will be beatified on June 6 at the Shrine of St. John Paul II in Kraków, Poland, according to Vatican News.

"Despite hunger, humiliation, and torture, they continued to support their fellow prisoners, pray, and bear witness to their faith," the report said. 

Karol Wojtyla, before he became Pope John Paul II, witnessed the arrest of six of the nine men in Krakow. Cardinal Grzegorz Rys, archbishop of Kraków, said of the connection between the former saint-pope and the soon-to-be new blesseds: "I firmly believe that the priestly vocation of St. John Paul II was also born from their martyrdom."

Kenyan bioethicist-priest issues warning about Ebola facility

A priest and bioethics scholar in Kenya has raised suspicions over a controversial proposal for a U.S.-linked Ebola quarantine and treatment facility in Kenya, arguing that "the initiative raises profound ethical questions that require broader scrutiny beyond political and diplomatic considerations."

According to ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, Father Pascal Mwakio is concerned that the 50-bed Ebola quarantine and treatment center at the Laikipia Air Base in central Kenya may involve "ethical dumping," a term used when developed nations "unethically conduct research in low-setting resource countries or third-world countries." 

Patriarch Hoyek remembered as 'pastor who helped shape modern Lebanon'

The announcement of the beatification of Maronite Patriarch Elias Hoyek has renewed attention to one of the defining Church figures in Lebanon's modern history, according to ACI MENA. Hoyek's legacy is closely tied to the emergence of Greater Lebanon, especially through his advocacy at the Paris Peace Conference after World War I, where he defended the right of his people to a homeland rooted in dignity, freedom, and pluralism.

More than a political figure, Hoyek is remembered as a pastor who saw faith as a force for building both the human person and the nation. His life joined ecclesial service with national responsibility, leaving a witness that still speaks to Lebanon's search for hope amid crisis.

First Chaldean synod under new patriarch looks to renewal

Patriarch Paul III Nona presided over the first synod of Chaldean bishops since his installation, gathering 14 bishops at the patriarchal residence in Baghdad while travel difficulties prevented the participation of bishops from the United States, ACI MENA reported.

Opening the meeting with a reflection on his patriarchal motto, "Do not be afraid; only believe," Nona called the Chaldean Church to face present challenges with hope, unity, and confidence in God's care. The bishops discussed pastoral, administrative, and institutional priorities for the coming stage, including clergy formation, the role of the patriarchal seminary, synodal structures, the selection of bishops, and the relationship between the Church in Iraq and its diaspora communities.

The synod also announced that Rome will host its next gathering following the Mass of ecclesial communion presided over by Pope Leo on Oct. 14.

5 bishops forced to leave dioceses in Myanmar due to violence

A civil war has been raging in Myanmar, previously called Burma, since 2021 and five bishops from the country's 17 dioceses have now had to leave their dioceses to take up residences in safer areas away from the violence.

According to Fides news agency, the bishops are from the dioceses of
Pekhon, Loikaw, Banmaw, Mindat, and Lashio.

Bishop Felice Ba Htoo of Pekhon, in Shan state, told Fides that pastors there have endured hardship as clashes between the army and rebel groups continue to wreak havoc in the country.

"We bishops have not been immune to this reality either," Ba Htoo told Fides. "Many of our parishes have been closed because they have been damaged, attacked, or because they have lost their faithful."

Syrian Christian villages celebrate return after 14 years

The people of Hallouz and Qastal al-Burj in Syria's Idlib countryside marked a long-awaited return after 14 years of war and displacement, gathering with Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Athanasius Fahd of Latakia for a recent celebration that carried deep symbolic weight.

Amid damaged homes and ruined churches, residents sang, danced, prayed, and raised crosses, icons, and the Syrian flag, expressing hope that permanent return will become possible once reconstruction support is available, according to ACI MENA.

In his remarks, Fahd said the villages are not merely places of residence but part of a centuries-old history rooted in the land, comparing the people's attachment to their villages to the olive and oak trees planted by generations before them.

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Bishop Osório Citora Afonso of the Catholic Diocese of Quelimane in Mozambique has been found dead in his residence after a gunshot incident during the early hours of June 6. He was 54.

The National Criminal Investigation Service in Mozambique's Zambézia Province has confirmed that the fourth bishop of the Quelimane Diocese succumbed to gunshot wounds at his official residence.

According to spokesperson Maximino Amílcar, an undetermined number of assailants gained entrance to the bishop's residence and opened fire, striking Afonso in the chest.

"The Service has already initiated investigative procedures to clarify the case and identify the perpetrators," the spokesperson said.

President of the Episcopal Conference of Mozambique Archbishop Inácio Saúre reported that Afonso "was found dead under unusual circumstances that are still to be clarified."

"At this very troubled moment, I appeal for serenity in faith and fraternal solidarity, in the hope that we will be able, in due course, to provide accurate and detailed information regarding this sad event," Saúre said in a June 6 statement.

Members of the college of consultors of the Quelimane Diocese announced that the first Holy Mass for the repose of the soul of Afonso would be held on June 6 at the Parish of Our Lady of Deliverance Cathedral of Quelimane.

The consultors said that additional information regarding funeral arrangements and memorial celebrations of the late bishop — who started his episcopal ministry in January 2024 — would be communicated at a later date.

Afonso was ordained a priest in November 2002 after completing his theological studies at St. Eugene Mazenod Theological Seminary in the Archdiocese of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

As a priest he served in various capacities, including parish vicar and bursar of St. Hilaire Parish in Kinshasa Archdiocese, formator and bursar of the Theological Seminary of Kinshasa, and collaborator at the apostolic nunciature in the Democratic Republic of Congo, among other priestly services.

In 2017 Afonso was appointed as an official at the Dicastery for Evangelization in the section for the first evangelization and new particular churches.

In September 2023 he was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Maputo and was consecrated a bishop by Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle on January 28, 2024.

He was appointed the bishop of the Quelimane Diocese in July 2025.

Since April 10, he has been serving as the apostolic administrator of the Catholic Archdiocese of Beira following the resignation of Archbishop Claudio Dalla Zuanna.

Reacting to the passing of Afonso, Mozambican President Daniel Chapo said that the death constitutes an "irreparable loss for Mozambican society in general, and for the Christian community in particular, considering that the deceased distinguished himself, in life, by his devotion to humility, pastoral dedication, and preaching of the values ??of peace and reconciliation."

Afonso had recently been vocal about violence in Mozambique's Northern Cabo Delgado Province.

On May 12 he raised alarm over escalating violence in Cabo Delgado, where renewed Islamist insurgent attacks continue to kill civilians, destroy communities, and displace thousands of people.

Speaking to Agenzia Fides, Afonso described a worsening situation marked by repeated attacks and growing fear among local populations.

"The situation seems out of control. The attacks continue, always in the same areas, and the population is terrified," Afonso said in the May 12 Agenzia Fides report.

Days later, on May 23, Afonso called for urgent action to end the violence in Cabo Delgado Province, warning that innocent people, including Christians, continue to suffer and die amid ongoing insurgent attacks in northern Mozambique.

"It is necessary to stop the violence so that our brothers do not continue dying like chickens. We do not want this," the bishop said during a pastoral visit to Our Lady of Fatima Parish of the Quelimane Diocese.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

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MADRID — Pope Leo XIV told government leaders in Spain on June 6 that he came to the country "to confirm, encourage and inspire a renewed loyalty of believers to the Gospel, as well as a deeper reconciliation and cooperation between the different forces of this Nation."

The Holy Father landed at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport after which he moved directly to the royal residence. There he was received with honors by King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and their daughters Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía.

The pope warned that his message of reconciliation "resonates for some as naive and for others as provocative," but he said it is "welcomed in those who do not close themselves in prefabricated ideologies, but who open up to the truth."

"The truth is always greater than us and that is why it surprises us and attracts us to paths of purification and reconciliation, in which dialogue with others — and with the Other with capital letters — becomes fundamental," he added.

In his speech, the pope cited two great Spanish mystics of the sixteenth century, Saint John of the Cross and Saint Teresa of Jesus, both of whom he said are united by their "passion for the divine Mystery."

He presented them as examples of "mystics with open eyes," that is, "not alien to history, but, on the contrary, [getting at] the root of the questions, to the heart of reality."

The pontiff also alluded to contemporary fears caused by "the darkness of reason and the violence of emotions," and proposed as an antidote the need for men and women capable of "intuiting, in the darkness, the light."

To illustrate this idea, he evoked the image of the "inner castle" developed by Saint Teresa of Jesus.

Far from proposing an evasive spirituality, the pope stressed that it is not "an intimate flight, but a radical opening" to the totus Alius et semper Novus, a theological expression that refers to the transcendence of God and that "is carried out when we return to ourselves."

Protecting religious freedom and conscience

"This dimension of the human being is the reason why religious freedom and conscience must be protected," he said.

He also quoted St. Ignatius of Loyola, who "preferred peace to weapons and saints to the powerful," and he recalled the work of the School of Translators of Alfonso X the Wise, where specialists from the three religions collaborated in the transmission of classical and medieval knowledge.

He mentioned thinkers such as Averroes (1126-1198) and Maimonides (1138-1204) as examples of the possibility of cooperation between religious traditions for the common good.

"Our era, which apparently is shaken by terrible imbalances and conflicts, cries out in the deepest for peace, for a new knowledge of the human person and his inviolable dignity, for the civilization of love," he said, alluding to his encyclical Magnifica humanitas, published on May 25.

The pope did not avoid addressing one of the most accentuated features of the current political context in Spain: polarization.

"Today, the temptation to gain popularity by fanning the fire of polarization seems to grow, instead of decreasing; human dignity does not stop being violated," he lamented.

Aware of the social and political tension, the pontiff urged leaders to "abandon the divisive and polarizing narratives of your social reality and its history, to move from sterile simplifications to the fruitful appreciation of complexity."

A visit with international implications

Although Leo XIV has already made other trips, this is his first major visit to a major European country. The pope briefly visited the city-state of Monaco in March.

The Holy Father's visit to Spain — the ninth that a pope has made to the country — transcends the national scope, by constituting a significant step in the pontiff's dialogue with the contemporary Western world in which the Catholic Church has a fundamental role.

This was also pointed out by Felipe VI, who took the floor before the pope and underlined his voice as a universal moral beacon, not only for Catholics: "[His voice] is today a source of inspiration for more than 1.4 billion faithful; but it resonates, by its ethical content, far beyond, in all consciences."

"The Catholic Church is at the service of this thirst of the human heart. Not in an imposing way, but with the evangelical testimony backed by a multitude of martyrs and saints, and today she is willing to put herself at the service of the future of a people who seek reconciliation and peace," he said.

"Catholic faith is rooted in our country and without it — you well know — our history and our culture would not be understood."

The pope also had words of recognition towards Spain for its international role: he highlighted "fidelity to international law and multilateralism," as well as its commitment to peace and solidarity. At the same time, he urged leaders to strengthen internal dialogue, attend to the most vulnerable and "harmonize the demands for autonomy and unity."

This has not been the first meeting between the Spanish royal family and the pope.

On March 20, Felipe VI and Letizia traveled to Rome, where the monarch was invested in the proto-canon of the Basilica of Santa María la Mayor in a ceremony that highlighted the historical links between the Spanish monarchy and this temple.

Likewise, both the king and queen attended the opening Mass of the pontificate on May 18 of last year.

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An association of women working in the Vatican has welcomed the appointment of Maria Montserrat Alvarado as the new prefect of the Dicastery for Communication.

"On behalf of the Women in the Vatican Association (DIVA), I would like to extend our warmest wishes to you on your new appointment as prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, entrusted to you by the Holy Father," wrote association President Margarita Romanelli, who recently retired after working for 31 years at the Vatican in the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

Pope Leo XIV named Alvarado, the president and chief operating officer of EWTN News since 2023, as prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Communication on June 2. The appointment will take effect Nov. 1. She is the first laywoman who is neither consecrated nor a religious sister to hold such a post.

"Our association is composed, as the name suggests, of lay, religious, and consecrated women who work or have worked in the Holy See, the Roman Curia, and its affiliated institutions," Romanelli's statement said.

"Our purpose is to create an increasingly constructive and fruitful network of knowledge, friendship, and solidarity among all members, to promote their professional, human, and spiritual growth."

"To respond to our vocation as women, our model is Mary, Mother of the Church, who urges us to make the most of all that femininity encompasses and signifies, striving to be witnesses of sisterhood as daughters of the one Father, and looking to the future as women of authentic Christian hope," the statement continued.

"With renewed wishes for fruitful service, we earnestly invoke the Lord's blessing upon your ecclesial mission, entrusting you [Alvarado] to the protection and intercession of the Most Holy Virgin."

There are many women working in the Vatican who collaborate with the association, including many from the communication dicastery.

Alvarado will be 40 when she takes up her post in November. Like the pope, she has connections both to Latin America and the United States: She was born in Mexico City and educated in the U.S.

This story was first published by ACI Stampa, an Italian language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

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Parents and their children are being encouraged to stay rooted in the faith during the summer months by taking part in the 30 Days to an Intentional Catholic Summer program from Spirit Juice Kids.

Spirit Juice Kids is best known for its YouTube Channel, Juice Box, where it creates faith-based content for children, specifically targeting 3- to 6-year-olds.

With the mission to "make kids fall in love with Jesus," the team at Spirit Juice was inspired to create a simple program that could be implemented into a family's daily routine and foster intentional time spent with God.

The free version of the summer program includes a daily reflection, a simple prayer, a family activity, and a Juice Box video.

The theme for the program is focused on the domestic life of Jesus — which include topics such as holiness in ordinary days, trusting God in uncertainty, obedience, and hiddenness, and building a domestic church.

If families want to dive deeper, they can sign up for the paid version where they will receive daily reflection videos with Father Tim Anastos, the chaplain at the University of Illinois-Chicago and spiritual director for Spirit Juice Studios, and Julia Jacks, director at Spirit Juice Studios, as well as activity sheets — in addition to the items included in the free version.

"We wanted to create something really simple that could be implemented into every day because the work that parents do at home, the work that we do here in the cleaning and the taking care of kids is holy, sacred work," Jacks told EWTN News in an interview. "And it's not that we have to go out and find Jesus somewhere else or we need to go somewhere to have God with us. He is right here in this moment. We just have to be more intentional about it."

Jacks explained that the theme was chosen because those hidden years can be seen as the time that "forms Jesus' life — he was holy from the beginning but he continued being formed in that domestic holy life, the type of life that we're all leading at home, too."

She added that the activities in the challenge are "little, simple activities that you can do as you're putting the dishes away from breakfast or as you're folding up a basket of laundry, and it's supposed to fit naturally into your day — whether it may be bedtime or bath time."

"So it's not meant to do more. It's not meant to add more to your plate. It's meant to naturally integrate into your everyday life and just find God where you are and in what you're doing," Jacks said.

While the 30-day challenge officially launches June 8, participants can begin anytime. It can also be completed at their own pace.

"We're trying to help parents not necessarily be perfect but strive for consistency and participation," Jacks said.

The mother of three shared that there's great importance behind parents taking part in these faith-based activities with their children.

"Our kids really look to us for their faith formation. It could be hard for them to maybe conceptualize exactly who God is, who Jesus is, and they look to us to guide them," she explained.

"I can tell you my boys, they repeat everything I do and say to a fault sometimes. So what a great opportunity for us to have them mimic our faith habits, our prayers, reading our Scripture, being grateful, things like that, and they'll learn that through mimicking us, through learning from us," Jacks added.

She said she hopes families who participate in the summer challenge will "build small, meaningful rhythms of faith during a season — particularly with the summer faith challenge — that could otherwise be a little bit challenging."

"We're just hoping to inspire parents and families to participate in these daily rhythms that hopefully they could take on into the school year, into the fall and winter and spring months," she said. "So, it's not meant just to be 30 days and done; it's supposed to help put you on a track of thinking and participating in your faith every single day in small meaningful ways."

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Educators are weighing the benefits and drawbacks of artificial intelligence (AI) and exploring how to successfully integrate the technology into the classroom.

As Pope Leo XIV laid out in Magnifica Humanitas, AI must be used in a way that furthers human development, especially in the formational years of education.

Educators are using AI tools to help them grade papers and offer extensive research capabilities, but they are simultaneously noting the need for community and connections that no technology can provide.

Fernanda Psihas, a professor at Franciscan University of Steubenville, said the technology tools have not replaced human instructors and human connection is still the key to success in the classroom.

Concerned about the ethical use of AI, Psihas said it is necessary to preserve the "human element" to enhance the future of education.

"We obviously need to prepare the students for a world with AI," she told EWTN News. "That means learning tools, but that also means practicing proper discernment."

The data science and physics professor said it would be "dangerous" for teachers to keep teaching as if nothing had changed.

"If instructors are not AI-literate, then classrooms are going to run the risk of drifting into having students faking competence and avoiding the actual learning," she said.

Taking a "values-first approach" to AI, Psihas said she tries to keep herself and her students accountable when it comes to its use.

"Use it to increase efficiency so you can focus on the learning, but if you do any more than that, you're actually destroying the learning process," she said.

Protecting academic integrity

Aware that "cognitive offloading" to AI tools could disrupt the learning process of students, Psihas said certain AI tools can be useful to protect academic integrity.

"I even use AI to AI-proof my own assignments," she said. "I'll run my assignments through AI to see an example of an AI response … if something in my classroom is AI-generated, my students know about it, and I kind of expect the same for my students."

While AI helps Psihas accurately grade multiple-choice tests and produce datasets, she said it cannot replace her ability to engage with students through mentorship.

"Education is a lot more than just skills and information-transfer, but it's actually the formation of the whole person," she said. "There's guidance. You guide and nurture the students' curiosity and their skills."

It "is about turning knowledge into wisdom and turning skills into virtue and character," she said.

Similarly, Notre Dame Law School professor and Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences member Paolo Carozza said we must ensure technology "is orienting us towards the fundamental understanding of reality, including the reality of ourselves and what we're made for or not," Carozza told EWTN News.

Pope Leo makes this clear in Magnifica Humanitas, that at the root it is "an integrated problem of cooperating with one another to rebuild our city that we want to live in, in the future together."

Education "plays a central role in this cooperative enterprise because we're forming the individuals that are then going to be putting the bricks together in the future," he said.

Advantages and disadvantages are 'well mapped'

AI's "advantages and disadvantages are pretty well mapped," Carozza said. AI can "positively enhance the reach of people's research and the knowledge that they can draw."

In contrast, "every educator, at every level, is seeing the really potentially drastic negative consequences of cognitive offloading and de-skilling of students' basic capacities to write and to think critically."

The "deeper challenge" for educators is "providing our students with a fundamental human formation that allows them to really think about what their personal relationship to technology is in their lives and how it affects it."

The positive and negative impacts of AI in education also differ based on age and must be addressed accordingly, said An Chih Cheng, professor at DePaul University's College of Education.

"The pope warned about the danger of early exposure to digital technology," Cheng told EWTN News.

Children spending time watching screens "is not particularly conducive" for their "mental and cognitive development."

A lot of screen time for children "is passive learning" and is "devoid of social aspects that are critical for communal development," he said.

"Communality is a critical part of the pope's idea that we are not by ourselves" and "we are all interconnected as one," he said.

Going "to the screen and being isolated" is "harmful for your own internality, your own individual growth, and also bad for communal development."

There are also risks of "digital harm" for teenagers, especially with social media use, which has "caused harm to individual teenagers in particular, even suicide," Cheng said.

Then in higher education, new technologies are often being used with "little guidance."

"For example, California [State University] signed a $13 million contract with Open AI to allow students and teachers to use ChatGPT," he said. "But … if you just have the chatbot open there, it is absolutely not helpful for meaningful learning."

The universities are "kind of just buying these tools, convinced or led by the tech industry, thinking that they could deliver some kind of learning."

"But learning, as the pope has always said, is an inquiry, a truth-seeking endeavor that requires patience. You cannot just have an immediate answer like the prompt that gives an immediate answer," he said.

"You need to put in all the effort to seek out the truth. That's how we mentally develop — acquiring the truth."

Reimagining education in the age of AI

To help students understand both the risks and benefits of AI, Carozza and Cheng are incorporating AI into their students' studies.

In his seminar on law and technology, Carozza had his students take a new approach when studying their weekly scholarly works.

"In addition to reading it directly and engaging in their own critical analysis of it, I actually required them to upload those papers into an AI tool and use the tool to analyze it," he said.

Then "they had to write … an essay comparing their analysis to the AI analysis, reflecting on what the use of AI was doing to their own cognitive abilities and processes."

This allowed the students "to reflect every week" and ask: "Is this displacing my ability to think? Is it helping it? How can I make it more the latter than the former?"

"It was great because by the end of the semester they really had thought very deeply, in a continuous way, about their relationship to technology, what the appropriate limits were for themselves, and what to be cautious about," he said.

"That sort of reflection on who we are as knowing subjects, as free people — that's exactly what the encyclical is asking us to do," Carozza said.

Cheng is also incorporating the technology into studies in his research method class where "AI can be used to help brainstorm some research questions," he said.

"More importantly," AI "can help make things more accessible, because some of the statistical software is very expensive to purchase," he aid. "I incorporate … statistical analysis that they can do at home. These tools are much [more] affordable than the super-expensive commercial software."

Cheng also utilizes visual AI simulations so students "can see these virtually enriched environments," which is "beneficial for preservice teachers [student teachers] to understand child development."

The pope's call is correct, that it is "not about using AI to replace teachers or professors but rather to incorporate AI in a way that can further human development and in a way that delivers … spiritual attainment," Cheng said.

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has reportedly fired several agents in connection with a controversial 2023 memo that detailed the bureau's plans to investigate "radical-traditionalist" Catholics in Virginia.

Multiple media outlets reported on the firings on June 5, citing sources within the federal agency. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from EWTN News on the reports.

The memo, which leaked in February 2023, detailed the FBI's Virginia-based investigations into alleged extremists among the faithful at "traditional Catholic houses of worship." The bureau indicated that it had planned "trip wire or source development" among Catholic communities as part of its investigation.

The policy, which was withdrawn after it was leaked to the press, drew rebuke from local Catholic leaders and members of Congress. Lawmakers have repeatedly grilled FBI leadership over the memo and the FBI's handling of it both before and after it leaked.

FBI Director Kash Patel said in September 2025 that there had been "terminations" and "resignations" related to the memo. Patel said at the time that the FBI was conducting an investigation into the memo itself.

In February 2024 multiple U.S. senators grilled then-FBI Director Christopher Wray over the alleged deletion of files related to the memo. The lawmakers claimed that the bureau allegedly "deleted the records as soon as the incident became public."

Although the FBI removed the document from its systems and asserted the issue was isolated to one product from one field office, a 2025 report found that multiple field offices were involved in producing the memo and that it was distributed to more than 1,000 FBI employees throughout the country.

In December 2025 Virginia's then Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger tapped Stanley Meador — the special agent who oversaw the Richmond FBI office that drafted the memo — to lead the state's public safety and homeland security department.

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