On this day 10 years ago, Pope Francis delivered an historic speech to Congress.

He issued a sweeping prophetic challenge for the U.S. to live up to its ideals, words that are even more urgent today.

Full text:
www.vatican.va/content/fran...

10 years ago this week, Pope Francis addressed the UN. He called for radical action to protect the environment, end global conflicts, and build societies that protect the civil rights of all persons, particularly the poor and vulnerable.

Read the full text here: www.pbs.org/newshour/wor...

Few have ever embodied the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi as did Fr. Mychal Judge.

He gave winter coats to people living on the streets.
He ministered to individuals suffering from AIDS.
He campaigned for peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland.

"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace..."

On Sept. 10, 2001, Fr. Mychal Judge—Franciscan friar and Chaplain to the NY Fire Department who gave his life ministering to first responders in the WTC—delivered his final homily

"God needs you. He needs me. He needs all of us."

Lord, make all of us channels of your peace
youtu.be/KVUYG2VqCHA?...

Pacem in Terris remains—sadly—deeply relevant today, and it is well worth meditating on how it might form our collective national conscience in the U.S. about issues like war, poverty, economic development, human rights, and the arms race.

www.vatican.va/content/john...

"Nuclear weapons must be banned," wrote Pope John XXIII in his sweeping, prophetic encyclical, Pacem in Terris ("Peace on Earth") in 1963.

Like many of the bishops attending the Second Vatican Council, Pope John had seen war firsthand, serving as a chaplain in WWI.

www.vatican.va/content/john...

Today—August 6th—marks the 80th anniversary of the U.S. dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

During a 2019 visit to Japan, Pope Francis called for "a world without nuclear weapons" and condemned their use as "immoral."

www.theguardian.com/world/2019/n...

Pope Leo delivered a remarkable address this morning on the Church's role in facilitating genuine dialogue around technology, labor, capital, politics, and pressing challenges facing the world.

www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

Pope Leo's address to the College of Cardinals:
- Confirms choosing name in honor of Leo XIII and Rerum Novarum
- Calls for Church to respond to "another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence"

www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

Pope Leo XIII ushered in the modern era of Catholic Social Teaching with his encyclical, Rerum Novarum, on the Dignity of Work and the Rights of Laborers in 1891.

Pope Leo XIV choosing that name is significant!

www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

"Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and share in your Master's joy!"

I hope and pray that we may be able to carry forward Pope Francis' clarion moral voice for true justice and lasting peace.

I will happily send you baked treats

Also, I am going to begin trying this "sharing is caring" strategy with my Jesuit friends who post about woodworking projects

Really hoping they find a way to work Simon the Devious in one last time

Glad you're here!

2025 is the 60th Anniversary of Gaudium et Spes—the Church's Constitution for existing in an age of world wars, economic inequality, global migration, threats to human rights, and more

One thing Catholics could do would be to lead study groups at the local level
www.vatican.va/archive/hist...

Glad you're here!

Thanks for putting this together -- didn't realize so many folks had joined!

It is important—necessary even—to step away from the doom scrolling and draw strength from those who carried the work of justice forward during dark times.

Today is the Feast of Mother Cabrini—she combatted vicious anti-immigrant sentiment and took on powerful churchmen and political leaders on her way to establishing hospitals, orphanages, & social agencies across the Americas

Highly recommend streaming the movie: athome.fandango.com/content/brow...

I've only been on here for a few days, but honestly I cannot recommend it enough.