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Pope Leo Takes On Assisted Death, Secularism, Education In Blunt Message To French Establishment

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Pope Leo XIV has used his apostolic visit to France, running from September 25-28, 2026 to discuss abortion, euthanasia, surrogacy and the place of Catholic schools in a once staunchly Catholic, but not officially secular country.

The pope’s trip is unfolding amid French President Emmanuel Macron’s progressive government which enshrined abortion in the Constitution in 2024 and recently passed legislation legalizing assisted death. Pope Leo addressed some of the underlying questions on these issues while invoking Catholic teaching.

While at the Elysee Palace in Paris Friday, the American pope, whose grandmother was French, delivered his speech in the country’s native tongue. He remarked that modern society often expects science to eliminate or alleviate every form of suffering, a hope that “often brings the risk of self-delusion.”

When science and technology lack deeper wisdom, he said, they can offer “immediate solutions that apparently address people’s wishes and their pain” yet fail to serve the greater good. He then voiced specific concern about trends that turn scientific advances into profit-driven enterprises, citing genetic manipulation, surrogacy, the trade in human organs and “the possibility of arranging one’s own death.”

The Pope noted that mutual respect and the protection of every human life remain duties binding on all. Later, at UNESCO headquarters, he reinforced the point by stating that “the human person is someone who is conceived and born.” (Read more from “Pope Leo Takes On Assisted Death, Secularism, Education In Blunt Message To French Establishment” HERE)

Pope Leo Taps Pro-Life American Media Exec To Lead Vatican Communications

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Pope Leo XIV appointed an American Catholic media executive with a strong pro-life and religious liberty background to lead Vatican communications Tuesday.

Maria Montserrat Alvarado, the president and chief operating officer of Eternal Word Television Network News (EWTN), will be the first laywoman to assume a leadership role in the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication in November, according to the Vatican.

Alvarado has led the conservative Catholic news group since 2023, expanding its multiplatform operations across several languages.

Before her time at EWTN, Alvarado worked at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty beginning in 2009. The organization tackles religious liberty issues in the courts, the public sphere and the academy. She eventually became the team’s chief operating officer, according to The Pillar.

“While this appointment was unexpected, I receive it with a sincere desire to serve the Holy Father as he begins his pontificate,” Alvarado said in a statement reported by The Pillar.

(Read more from “Pope Leo Taps Pro-Life American Media Exec To Lead Vatican Communications” HERE)

Pope Leo Hosts Exorcist Summit at the Vatican Over Fears of Worldwide Surge in Satanism

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. . .Pope Leo XIV hosted the world’s most senior exorcists at the Vatican, who reportedly warned him of a terrifying global rise in “occultism, esotericism, and Satanism.”

The Chicago-born head of the Catholic church held a private meeting with a delegation of Catholic priests from the International Association of Exorcists (AIE) this month, according to EWTN Vatican.

“They presented a report on the growing prevalence of cases related to occultism, esotericism, and Satanism, and the spiritual consequences they believe this has for many people,” the outlet reported.

“During the meeting, the Association asked the Pontiff to ensure that every diocese in the world has one or more adequately trained exorcist priests.”

Father Francesco Bamonte, AIE vice president, said ignoring these concerns “leaves many faithful without an adequate response to grave spiritual suffering, sometimes pushing them toward inappropriate solutions.” (Read more from “Pope Leo Hosts Exorcist Summit at the Vatican Over Fears of Worldwide Surge in Satanism” HERE)

You Won’t Believe What Shocking Thing the Pope Just Told a Room Full of Reporters

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. . .Pope Leo XIV denounced the “degrading” online media practice Thursday during a Vatican conference with dozens of journalists.

“Communication must be freed from the misguided thinking that corrupts it, from unfair competition and the degrading practice of so-called clickbait,” the pope declared to roughly 150 members of the newswire group Minds International.

Along with condemning clickbait — a form of sensationalist headline writing designed to rope in readers — as practice, the head of the Catholic Church praised the work reporters are doing from the war-torn front lines of Gaza and Ukraine.

“Free access to information is a pillar that upholds the edifice of our societies, and for this reason, we are called to defend and guarantee it,” he said. (Read more from “You Won’t Believe What Shocking Thing the Pope Just Told a Room Full of Reporters” HERE)