16+ hour, 32+ min ago (987+ words) We need 1,500 new monthly donors this Giving Tuesday. Every new monthly gift will be matched 3X until midnight, December 2. Leo took his shoes off and, in his white socks, toured the 17th-century mosque, looking up at its soaring tiled domes and the Arabic inscriptions on its columns as an imam pointed them out to him. The Vatican had said Leo would observe a "brief moment of silent prayer" in the mosque, but he didn't. An imam of the mosque, Asgin Tunca, said he had invited Leo to pray, since the mosque was "Allah's house," but the pope declined. Later, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said: "The pope experienced his visit to the mosque in silence, in a spirit of contemplation and listening, with deep respect for the place and the faith of those who gather there in prayer." Leo, history's first American…...

1+ day, 13+ hour ago (997+ words) We need 1,500 new monthly donors this Giving Tuesday. Every new monthly gift will be matched 3X until midnight, December 2. Leo, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and other Christian leaders met on the shores of Lake Iznik, the site of the Council of Nicaea that produced a creed, or statement of faith, that is still recited by millions of Christians today. Standing over the ruins of the site, the men recited the creed, which Leo said was "of fundamental importance in the journey that Christians are making toward full communion." "In this way, we are all invited to overcome the scandal of the divisions that unfortunately still exist and to nurture the desire for unity for which the Lord Jesus prayed and gave his life," he said. The prayer marked the highlight of Leo's visit to Turkey and the main reason for his…...

4+ day, 17+ hour ago (544+ words) Support PBS News for Giving Tuesday and you'll receive early access to our newest video podcast. Your donation is tripled through December 2, increasing your impact. The document from the Vatican's doctrine office said the Catholic Church had a well-documented position upholding the indissolubility of marriage as a lifelong union between spouses. But it said the church's position on the unique and exclusive nature of a monogamous marriage was less well known. In recent years at Vatican meetings of bishops and in visits by groups of bishops, African delegates have regularly complained that polygamy is widely practiced among their flocks and asked the Vatican for guidance. "One Flesh: In Praise of Monogamy" provides them with a doctrinal document tracing the way marriage has been treated in the Bible, poetry, Christian theology and philosophy and by various popes and church councils across…...

4+ day, 18+ hour ago (1158+ words) Support PBS News for Giving Tuesday and you'll receive early access to our newest video podcast. Your donation is tripled through December 2, increasing your impact. Elias was only 15 when he died in the August 2020 explosion at the Beirut port that blasted through surrounding neighborhoods in the Lebanese capital. Since then Khoury has been among the families who have convened monthly protests calling for justice for the 218 people killed when hundreds of tons of improperly stored ammonium nitrate detonated. Their numbers have dwindled as the investigation has stalled and hopes of accountability have faded. But the upcoming visit of Pope Leo XIV to Lebanon has rekindled a glimmer of hope for Khoury and many others in the small, crisis-battered country. "We need a lot of prayers, and we need a miracle for this country to continue," said Khoury, who is set…...

1+ week, 4+ day ago (1214+ words) Catholic bishops are speaking out against the Trump administration's mass deportation effort and its treatment of immigrants in detention. In a special pastoral message, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote, "we pray for an end to the dehumanizing rhetoric and violence." Amna Nawaz spoke with one of the bishops behind the message, Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas. Pope Leo spoke out today about the Trump administration's approach to mass deportation and the treatment of some immigrants. The pope was asked about Catholic bishops who have been critical of those policies. In a so-called special pastoral message, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops decried the " quote " "indiscriminate deportation campaign" and said they are " quote " "praying for an end to the dehumanizing rhetoric and violence." The pope offered his support for that message this evening. I appreciate very much what the…...

1+ week, 4+ day ago (1214+ words) Catholic bishops are speaking out against the Trump administration's mass deportation effort and its treatment of immigrants in detention. In a special pastoral message, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote, "we pray for an end to the dehumanizing rhetoric and violence." Amna Nawaz spoke with one of the bishops behind the message, Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas. Pope Leo spoke out today about the Trump administration's approach to mass deportation and the treatment of some immigrants. The pope was asked about Catholic bishops who have been critical of those policies. In a so-called special pastoral message, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops decried the " quote " "indiscriminate deportation campaign" and said they are " quote " "praying for an end to the dehumanizing rhetoric and violence." The pope offered his support for that message this evening. I appreciate very much what the…...

2+ week, 5+ day ago (281+ words) Support PBS News for Giving Tuesday and you'll receive early access to our newest video podcast. Your donation is tripled through December 2, increasing your impact. The alleged incident occurred during a papal audience Oct. 29, at the entrance to St. Peter's Square. The audience that day was dedicated to marking the anniversary of a 1965 declaration on the church's relations with Jews and other non-Christians. The alleged victims were part of an international Jewish delegation attending the papal audience, during which Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed Catholic-Jewish relations and vowed to fight antisemitism. Govrin said in that interview that " as she and a colleague approached St. Peter's Square " a member of the Pontifical Swiss Guard hissed "the Jews" at them and then made a spitting gesture in their direction. "The Pontifical Swiss Guard has received a report regarding an incident at one of…...

3+ week, 3+ day ago (346+ words) Take our 2025 PBS NewsHour audience survey The Chicago-born pope was responding Tuesday to a range of geopolitical questions from reporters outside the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo, including what kind of spiritual rights migrants in U.S. custody should have, U.S. military attacks on suspected drug traffickers off Venezuela and the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East. Leo underlined that scripture emphasizes the question that will be posed at the end of the world: "How did you receive the foreigner, did you receive him and welcome him, or not? I think there is a deep reflection that needs to be made about what is happening." He said "the spiritual rights of people who have been detained should also be considered," and he called on authorities to allow pastoral workers access to the detained migrants. "Many times they've been separated from their families. No…...