- Halt the spiral of violence, Pope pleads following strikes on Iran (CWN)
Following the Israeli–United States strikes on Iran and Iran’s retaliatory attacks, Pope Leo XIV issued a “heartfelt appeal” to belligerents to halt the “spiral of violence.” - USCCB president warns of prospect of wider Middle East war, calls for diplomacy, prayer for peace (CWN)
Echoing Pope Leo XIV’s peace appeal, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops called upon the parties in the Iran–United States conflict to halt the spiral of violence and return to negotiations. - Be captivated by Christ's Transfiguration, Pope tells pilgrims (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV reflected on Christ’s Transfiguration as he addressed pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for today’s midday Angelus address (video). - Pope Leo issues new statutes for Pontifical Academy for Life (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV promulgated new statutes for the Pontifical Academy for Life, replacing the almost identical statutes issued by Pope Francis in 2016. - Pope exhorts Spanish seminarians to practice the presence of God (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV received seminarians from four Spanish dioceses on February 28 and advised them to practice the presence of God, lest they become like the barren fig tree mentioned by Christ (Luke 13:6-9). - WCC leaders, Pontiff agree that Christian faith should not be instrumentalized for political purposes (World Council of Churches)
Pope Leo XIV received the leaders of the World Council of Churches on February 28.“We wholeheartedly agreed upon the necessity to put Christ in the center to move us to visible unity,” Lutheran prelate Heinrich Bedford-Strohm said following the meeting. “We also agreed that a strong prophetic voice against the unscrupulous instrumentalization of Christian faith for political purposes is needed.”Pope Leo responded to the topics raised by the non-Catholic leaders “with profound wisdom, spirituality and compassion,” Bedford-Strohm added. “He reinforced what he has been saying all along about the need for visible Christian unity, recognizing the challenges this has even in the Roman Catholic Church because of different and diverse views.”350 Protestant and Orthodox communities are members of the World Council of Churches, which is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Pope Francis made an ecumenical pilgrimage to Geneva in 2018 for the World Council of Churches’ 70th anniversary. - Safeguard the balance between charism and institution, Pope tells leader of Italy's charismatic Catholics (Rinnovamento nello Spirito Santo)
Pope Leo XIV spoke with Giuseppe Contaldo, national president of the Italian charismatic movement Rinnovamento nello Spirito Santo (Renewal in the Holy Spirit), about the importance of “safeguarding the balance between charism and institution,” for “ecclesial communion is in fact the only way that guarantees unity and solidity,” Contaldo recounted after a February 28 papal audience.“I had the opportunity to present our movement to the Pope very briefly, its profile, its ecclesial roots, its presence in the world, with the humility of one who knows that he is an instrument in the hands of the Spirit and with the gratitude of one who has received a grace that belongs to the whole Church,” added Contaldo. “I rejoiced to hear his words that I perceived as the embrace of a father towards his son.” - Cuba's foreign minister meets with Pontiff (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV received Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Cuba’s minister of foreign affairs, in a February 28 audience. - Previously unpublished letter reveals Benedict XVI's reflections on prayer, future of faith (Catholic Herald)
The Catholic Herald today published an English translation of “Introduction: Thoughts on Christian Prayer,” a letter by Pope Benedict XVI written in 2021, the year before his death.The letter appears in the newly published Italian work La fede del futuro: Il futuro della Chiesa. - Franciscan friar speaks of climate of fear in the Holy Land (CWN)
A Franciscan friar who oversees 18 schools in the Holy Land spoke of a climate of fear there amid the Israeli–United States strikes on Iran and Iran’s retaliatory attacks. - Pope thanks Bishop Varden for retreat, highlights references to Saints Bernard, Newman (CWN)
At the conclusion of the February 22-27 retreat to the Roman Curia, Pope Leo XIV thanked Bishop Erik Varden, OCSO, who preached the retreat conferences. - March papal prayer intention: for disarmament and peace (Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network)
The Pope’s March 2026 prayer intention, disseminated by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, is “let us pray that nations move toward effective disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament, and that world leaders choose the path of dialogue and diplomacy instead of violence.” - Indian archbishop establishes transgender ministry (Catholic Connect)
Archbishop George Antonysamy of Madras-Mylapore, India, has established a transgender ministry office in Chennai, one of India’s largest cities.The ministry “aims to provide holistic support through job placement assistance and professional counselling services, reflecting the Church’s commitment to dignity, inclusion and compassionate accompaniment,” according to Catholic Connect, a website of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India. - USCCB, in Supreme Court briefs, argues against Trump administration on turnback policy, birthright citizenship (CWN)
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) offered strong criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration policies in a pair of Supreme Court briefs. - Bishop Varden concludes retreat conferences to Pope, Curia with meditation on hope (CWN)
Bishop Erik Varden, OCSO, of Trondheim, Norway, reflected on “On consideration” and “To communicate hope” in today’s final Lenten retreat conferences to the Pope and the Roman Curia. - Those who attend unapproved traditional Latin Masses are excommunicated, Brazilian archbishop declares (Pillar)
Archbishop Carlos Alberto Breis Pereira, OFM, of Maceió, Brazil, declared that Catholics who attended unapproved traditional Latin Masses are schismatics who have incurred automatic excommunication.“The archbishop’s decree reminded local Catholics that, if they wish to attend a Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, they may do so at the authorized diocesan location, the Chapel of St. Vincent de Paul in the city of Maceió, where the Mass is celebrated every Sunday,” The Pillar reported. - Vatican announces 2026 stamps (CFN.va)
The Postal and Philatelic Service of the Vatican City State announced its 2026 postage stamps.Among the 19 stamps are stamps commemorating the 8th centenary of the foundation of the Cathedral of Toledo, the 3rd centenary of the canonization of Saint. Aloysius Gonzaga, and the 150th anniversary of the birth of Venerable Pius XII, as well as a stamp portraying the Ukrainian Greek Catholic cathedral in Kyiv. - Controversial scholar withdraws from Notre Dame post [News Analysis] (CWN)
A heated controversy at the University of Notre Dame has apparently been resolved, with Susan Ostermann, who had been appointed to head the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, announcing that she would not accept the post. - Prelates, in Minnesota, decry mass deportations (The Catholic Spirit)
Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States, joined Cardinal Robert McElroy, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, and over two dozen other bishops at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota for conversations about immigration.At a February 27 Votive Mass of Solidarity with Migrants, Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis preached: I’ve been angry a lot in these recent weeks. I’ve been angry when our brothers and sisters have been intimidated to the point that they’re afraid to come to Mass, or to go to work, or to the doctor, or to take their children to school. … And I’ve been angry when I’ve felt helpless or unable to find the right words or the way forward to stop the madness unfolding before my eyes.Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington said at a press conference: Catholic teaching supports a nation’s right to control its border, and in these cases, to deport those who have been convicted of serious crimes, especially violent crimes. But to go into the heartland—and literally the heartland of our country—and to begin to deport in a way with almost a siege on the city of Minneapolis, to seek to deport millions of men, women and children, families who have often lived here for decades—many children who know no other country—is contrary to Catholic faith, and more fundamentally contrary to basic human dignity. - Russian Catholic official calls says war with Ukraine 'must end' (Vatican News)
The vicar general of the Latin-rite Archdiocese of the Mother of God at Moscow called for an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine.“I would say that people in Russia, Catholics also, have the same attitude towards the conflict that we have,” Father Kirill Gorbunov said in an interview with Vatican News. “It must end.”“All the countless lives lost during this conflict speak for themselves,” he added. “The violence speaks for itself, and the desire is that it must come to a conclusion. This conclusion must be a just and lasting peace, and this is the hope, the expectation of Russian Catholics.”