The Catholic world is still a buzz over the release of Pope Francis’ Laudato Si, more commonly known as his Encyclical on the environment. Not in a generation have the more obscure Papal activities such as Encyclicals and Synods been mainstream news. So in light of that, what is to come of these papal teachings ...read more

The enormous amount of media attention that Pope Francis attracts has highlighted the Church’s influence in the world of global politics. The Pope, whoever he is, is a spiritual leader, but one with a permanent seat at the political table. Hardly a week goes by in which Francis doesn’t meet with some head of state ...read more

This week we learned that Pope Francis’ encyclical on human ecology should be released in June. Environmental groups welcomed the news warmly while skeptics told anyone who would listen that the pope is being taken for a ride by new-age tree huggers. Whatever one’s opinion on environmental issues, the encyclical has been written and is ...read more

For some time now we have been anticipating the forthcoming encyclical by Pope Francis on the environment. Some would trace the anticipation as far back as that unforgettable audience with journalists a few days after the Pope’s election where he explained the reasons behind his choice of the name Francis, after the beloved Francis of ...read more

(Vatican Radio)  The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met with Pope Francis in the Vatican on Tuesday before going on to address a conference exploring the moral issues connected to climate change. The one day international symposium has been organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and will include a video message to participants ...read more

Bigger than any financial scandal or bishops’ resignation was the story of hundreds of illegal migrants who drowned off the coast of Libya when their vessel capsized. Pope Francis used his Angelus address to draw attention to the tragedy and call on the international community to take “decisive and quick action” to prevent further tragedies. ...read more

Dr. Maria Voce, President of the Focolare Movement, gave the following talk ‘Inventing Peace’ at the High Level Thematic Debate on Promoting Tolerance and Reconciliation: Fostering Peaceful, Inclusive Socities and Countering Violent Extremism at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on April 22, 2015 during the main plenary session. I would like, first of ...read more

Early on November 20, 2014, Pope Francis traveled to the headquarters of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome and delivered the following address to the Second International Conference on Nutrition. Full text below: Mr President, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased and honoured to speak here today, at this Second International Conference on ...read more

Here’s one from the Salt and Light archives for you! Today’s photo comes from the United Nation’s General Assembly hall. Sebastian Gomes interviews Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, the former Apostolic Nuncio to the United Nations in New York City. The interview was featured in Episode 6: Politics of The Church Alive, a show dedicated to the New ...read more

  Pope Francis met with executives from the United Nations Agencies, Funds and Programmes on Friday, led by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Speaking to the men and women who manage the UN’s vast network of humanitarian offices, he urged them to challenge “all forms of injustice” and resist the “economy of exclusion”, the “throwaway ...read more