Vice President Vance calls Magnifica Humanitas ‘profound’
Vice President JD Vance welcomed the release of Pope Leo XIV’s Magnifica Humanitas in an interview, calling the Holy Father’s first encyclical “profound.”
Vance, a Catholic, told NBC News on May 26 that while he had not read the document in its entirety, “What I read of it sounds very profound, and the sort of thing that you would expect and hope from a leader of the Church.”
The vice president’s comments came the day after the encyclical’s release on May 25.
“The thing about morality is that the principles never change, but the way you apply those principles does, because the world changes, right?” Vance said.
“You have new technologies and warfare, so you have to update ‘just war’ doctrine,” he said. “New ways of human beings interacting with one another, so you have to kind of rethink the entire Catholic social teaching in light of the new world that we live in. And I think that’s exactly what the pope is trying to do. So I’m glad that he did it.”
Vance has previously critiqued Leo for weighing in on the Iran war, saying that while it’s good the pope discusses what he cares about, “in some cases it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality, to stick to matters of whatʼs going on in the Catholic Church, and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy.”
He has also said that he respects and admires Leo and likes “that the pope is an advocate for peace.”
The vice president’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment or to verify quotations in the NBC report.
U.S. bishops praise Leo’s encyclical on AI, echo concern for human dignity, common good
Catholic bishops in the United States reacted positively to Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, which touched on both concerns and hopes about the development of artificial intelligence (AI) with his focus being the dignity of the human person and the common good.
“Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together,” Leo said in Magnifica Humanitas, published May 25 and signed on May 15 — the 135th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Rerum Novarum.
Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), issued a statement highlighting the significance of that date and noting that Rerum Novarum addressed social concerns and political movements related to the technological advancement experienced through the industrial revolution.
As Pope Leo XIII addressed the challenges of the industrial revolution, Coakley said, “our Holy Father shines the light of the Gospel and the tradition of the Church on the new opportunities and challenges posed by the rise of artificial intelligence.”
“The pope calls us to never lose sight of the inherent dignity of all human life and the moral imperative for technology to support peace and the common good rather than the limited interest of a few,” he added.
Coakley said Leo’s message is “a powerful reminder that no technology can replace a child of God, and all technology should be placed at the service of helping humanity thrive.” He said he and his fellow bishops will continue looking through the encyclical and encouraged “people of goodwill” to reflect and apply the teachings.
He said the bishops' Committee on Doctrine will lead and coordinate further work from the bishops on AI development that reflects the Holy Father’s emphasis on human dignity.
Bishops discuss AI development
Several other bishops offered similar praise for the encyclical, emphasizing the importance of applying these values globally in the development of AI.
Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, issued a video message saying that Leo “wants to defend the dignity of humanity." He said the Holy Father “knows we have a magnificence because of our creation and redemption and he worries about some of these dimensions of AI.”
He said Leo is concerned that among some people, “power is more important than truth” in the modern world, in which people are motivated by clicks and engagement online. He also echoed Leo’s concern about the development of knowledge, warning against allowing AI to replace the human mind in developing knowledge and expressing unease about AI replacing people in the workforce.
Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia said the rapid advancement of AI must be “accompanied by a moral and ethical framework that guides their usage.”
“While this powerful technology presents significant opportunities to advance healthcare, education, and share the good news of the Gospel, it also poses significant moral and ethical pitfalls that must be navigated and reflected upon,” Pérez said.
“Pope Leo emphasizes with crystal clarity that the sanctity of human life must remain paramount as artificial intelligence systems continue to develop and become more closely integrated into nearly every aspect of our lives,” he added.
Bishop William E. Koenig of the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware, said the encyclical will “help us navigate this time of digital transition and both safeguard and nurture God’s gift of our magnificent humanity.”
“[It] leads us through the discernment of what is just and right for the common good of our shared humanity,” he added. "Pope Leo calls us not to judge our use of artificial intelligence merely by its effectiveness but rather the human, social, and spiritual bonds it enables or destroys.”
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, said in a statement that the encyclical is “welcome in this time of tremendous social and technological change, especially concerning artificial intelligence and the right use of such tools.”
“I encourage all to join me over the coming days to reading Magnifica Humanitas in its entirety and prayerfully considering all that the Holy Father shares,” he said.
Anthropic co-founder points to 3 ethical challenges of AI at Magnifica Humanitas presentation
During the presentation of Pope Leo XIVʼs first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, the co-founder of Anthropic, Christopher Olah, pointed to three major ethical challenges posed by the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and called for a profound discernment regarding its future.
On May 25, addressing representatives from the realms of academia, diplomacy, and religion gathered in the Vatican’s Synod Hall, Olah stated that the questions raised by AI “are larger than the research community” and cannot be left solely in the hands of scientists or technology companies.
“We need more of the world — religious communities, civil society, scholars, governments, and indeed all people of goodwill — to do what His Holiness has done here: to take this seriously, to look closely, and to push events in a better direction,” he stated.
Olah began his remarks by acknowledging that even the most advanced AI laboratories, including Anthropic, operate under economic, geopolitical, and personal incentives that can come into tension with the common good.
“The pressure to stay commercially viable and to stay at the research frontier; geopolitical pressure and the older, plainer pressures of pride and ambition” inevitably influence those who develop this technology, he noted.
Consequently, he underscored the importance of having outside voices capable of questioning and overseeing the development of AI.
“If we want this technology to go well, it is enormously important that there be people outside those incentives — people who care about things going well and insist on safety, who are paying close attention, who are willing to say hard things,” he noted.
In this context, Olah deemed the discernment called for by Pope Leo XIV to be “profoundly timely” and outlined three major issues where the voice of the Church is necessary.
1. Duty to the global poor
The first major concern raised by Olah was the impact of AI on work and global inequalities.
“AI development is concentrated in a handful of wealthy nations. How can we ensure the gains of AI are shared globally?” he asked.
He warned of the “real possibility” that AI could “displace human labor on a very large scale,” which would make supporting affected workers “a moral imperative of historic proportions.”
However, Olah noted that there exists an even more complex challenge: the absence of mechanisms capable of fairly distributing economic benefits.
“We do not have a mechanism for this. It is an unsolved problem, and it is the kind of problem the Church has historically refused to let the world ignore,” he said.
2. Rediscovering and rethinking what it means to flourish as a human being
The second consideration presented by the co-founder of Anthropic was the need to approach technological development from the perspective of human and familial flourishing.
“If AI models are going to be widespread, what does it look like for humans, families, and the world to flourish?” he asked.
“These are not questions that a lab can answer,” he continued.
Olah noted that many parents are already concerned about the impact of technology on their children’s minds, while numerous people feel uncertain regarding the future of their jobs.
In this regard, he highlighted the role of the Church, which he said has spent millennia reflecting on human dignity and the meaning of life. Olah emphasized the need for the Church to continue doing so “into this new moment in history.”
3. The need for discernment on the part of AI model developers
The third concern raised by Olah related to the very nature of AI systems, an aspect he said remains mysterious, even to those involved in developing them.
“I am a scientist. I lead a research team that studies the internal structure of these models — what is actually happening inside them. And I will be honest: We keep finding things that are mysterious, even unsettling,” he stated.
Among these findings, he cited internal structures that “mirror results from human neuroscience” as well as evidence of introspection and internal states that “functionally mirror joy, satisfaction, fear, grief, and unease.”
“I don’t know what that means, but I think it warrants ongoing discernment,” he pointed out.
He even compared the phenomenon to “bringing a fictional character to life,” noting that “we’re entering an extraordinary world where those fictional characters speak to us, do work, have jobs.”
In concluding his remarks, Olah called upon more sectors of society to follow the example set by Pope Leo XIV in seriously addressing the phenomenon of artificial intelligence.
“We need moral voices that the incentives cannot bend. Today is just the beginning — the start of a long collaboration between those of us who are building this and those who can see what we, from inside, cannot,” he noted.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Society of St. Pius X names priests to be consecrated bishops July 1
The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) announced the names of four priests to be consecrated as bishops on July 1 without the permission of Pope Leo XIV.
The general house of the society published the announcement on May 26 after being warned by the Vatican on May 13 that its plan to consecrate bishops without a papal mandate would constitute “a schismatic act” and carry the penalty of excommunication. The consecrations will take place at its seminary in Écône, Switzerland.
The four priests announced are Fathers Pascal Schreiber (Switzerland), Michael Goldade (United States), Michel Poinsinet de Sivry (France), and Marc Hanappier (France).
The statement from the SSPX general house declared that the decision to move on with the consecrations was made “in a spirit of respect toward the supreme authority of the universal Church” and would be “a service rendered to souls and to the Church amid this unprecedented crisis of the faith.”
The SSPX, which exclusively celebrates the Traditional Latin Mass, maintains doctrinal differences with certain teachings and reforms of the Second Vatican Council, particularly regarding religious freedom and the Church’s approach to other faiths.
The decision to proceed with the consecrations without papal approval was confirmed in a Feb. 18 letter from SSPX superior general Father Davide Pagliarani, following talks with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith that had broken down earlier that month.
The Holy See Press Office did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
St. Philip Neri, the ‘Apostle of Rome,’ is an example of Christian charity and zeal
On the via Appia Antica, beyond the Aurelian walls, sits the ancient basilica of San Sebastiano fuori le Mura. It is one of the most important churches in Rome, not only because it is one of the seven pilgrimage churches of Rome, but also because it is where the remains of Sts. Peter and Paul were taken (it was known as “Basilica Apostolorum” before it was dedicated to St. Sebastian) during the Christian persecution.
It is also here, deep in the catacombs that lie beneath the extant basilica, where St. Philip Neri had his spiritual epiphany on the eve of Pentecost in 1544. It is here where the beloved Second Apostle of Rome committed himself to a life of charity.
Early life, arrival in Rome, and the catacombs
Born in 1515 to a wealthy Florentine family, the young Filippo Neri was brought up with a classical education by the Dominicans of the Monastery of San Marco. While displaying great promise, intelligence, and business acumen he ultimately rejected his familial inheritance to follow a spiritual vocation of service. After a brief sojourn in San Germano, he arrived in Rome in 1534, which unknown to him at the time would be his final destination.
Upon his arrival, he witnessed an ecclesiastical climate that was characterized by corruption, vice, and decadence. However, it was in the Catacombs of San Sebastiano (St. Sebastian) where Neri spent hours in quiet contemplation and intense prayer.
There was perhaps no better place. After all, the silence of the catacombs (the burial site of Christians who died for their faith, among them once the remains of Sts. Peter and Paul, as well as St. Sebastian) provided a stark contrast to the squalor and vice of the streets above.
The catacombs, in a sense, were representative of the evolution of the Church’s life in Rome — persecution and dominance, faith and apostasy, splendor and squalor. Neri’s spiritual exercises stood at the intersection between the ancient and the old — a return to the earliest traditions of the paleo-Christian age, for it was this martyr’s unwavering faith, persistence, and death that paved the way for a Christian Rome.
It is fitting, then, that his spiritual epiphany happened there at Pentecost. Asking God for the gift of the Holy Spirit, it came down as a great ball of fire, entering through his mouth and settling into his heart (this experience was so intense it caused an enlarged heart and lifelong palpitations when engaging in his spiritual exercises). It is (just as it was for the Lord’s disciples in the upper room) representative of spiritual zeal — the burning fire of God’s love that animated both the apostles and, later, Neri, to go out and evangelize.
Founding of the Archconfraternity of the Most Holy Trinity
In 1540, Neri, while he was still a layman — it wasn’t until 1551, at the age of 36, that he was ordained a priest — established the Confraternita della Santissima Trinità (the Confraternity of the Most Holy Trinity), given canonical status by Pope Paul III.
It was in the jubilee of 1550 that Neri invoked what is now an archconfraternity to care for the many pilgrims who traveled from afar, especially those who were the most needy.
The archconfraternity is still active today in the Church of Santissima Trinita dei Pellegrini (built in 1614 over the site of an older church dedicated to St. Benedict), a personal parish of the Fraternity of St. Peter (an Ecclesia Dei community dedicated to the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass). Through their numerous activities for Rome’s poor, they continue to embody Neri’s example by providing a living example of faith and charity.
A model of contemporary Christian life
This year St. Philip Neri’s feast day (May 26) falls on the Tuesday after Pentecost. He holds a special place in the city of Rome’s heritage and made an indelible mark upon the spiritual life of the city and the universal Church through his founding of the Congregation of Oratorians, his popularization of the 40-hour devotion, and the Roman pilgrimage of the Seven Churches. Underscoring all of his deeds was love and charity.
In 2015, the Church celebrated the fifth centenary of Neri’s birth. On this occasion Pope Francis remarked: “St. Philip Neri also remains a luminous model of the Church’s ongoing mission in the world. The perspective of his approach to neighbor in witnessing to all to the love and mercy of the Lord can serve as a valuable example to bishops, priests, consecrated people, and lay faithful.”
This story was first published on May 26, 2023, and has been updated.
Supreme Court declines to intervene in federal lawsuit over Peter’s Pence papal collection
The U.S. bishops will continue to face a lawsuit over millions of dollars in contested papal donations after the U.S. Supreme Court on May 26 refused to weigh in on the case.
The decision represents a blow for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which was seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed on religious liberty grounds.
The high court did not explain its reason for rejecting the petition from the U.S. bishops, issuing the decision as part of a larger order list.
Rhode Island resident David OʼConnell filed the class action suit against the bishops in January 2020, alleging that the prelates had misled Catholics about the nature of the annual Peterʼs Pence papal collection.
OʼConnell claimed he had been led to believe that the offering — which dates back centuries and which is used to help fund the popeʼs charitable initiatives — was strictly for emergency assistance to victims of war and poverty; OʼConnell said he subsequently found out it was used in part to “defray Vatican administrative expenses.”
The U.S. bishops argued in court that the suit should be dismissed on the grounds of the “church autonomy doctrine,” a long-standing principle in U.S. case law that bars the government from exercising control over internal church decisions. Both a federal district court and an appeals court ruled against the bishops.
The Supreme Courtʼs refusal to consider the case means it will continue to work its way through the lower courts.
In a statement on May 26, Daniel Blomberg — a senior attorney at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing the bishops — said the decision was “disappointing.” But he said the USCCB is “evaluating all of its options moving forward” and “remains committed to protecting the Church from unconstitutional government entanglement.”
Multiple religious advocates have come out in favor of the bishops in the dispute.
A coalition of organizations including the Thomas More Society, the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod, and several other groups filed an amicus brief at the Supreme Court in January arguing that their respective religious beliefs involve “matters of internal governance that must be protected from government entwinement.”
In their petition to the Supreme Court, meanwhile, the bishops alleged that OʼConnell was "leveraging civil power for religious ends," claiming the plaintiff was “essentially seek[ing] the structural reform of a religious institution."
Such disputes “are beyond the ken of civil courts,” the bishops argued, claiming that the suit includes “demands for lists of papal donors, accounting for the pope’s use of Peter’s Pence, and disclosure of the bishops’ internal communications with the Holy See about Peter’s Pence.”
The suit threatens to “thrust civil courts into church pulpits and pews ... pit millions of parishioners against their Church, and second-guess the meaning of an offering given to the head of a foreign religious sovereign for over 1,000 years,” the bishops said.
Priest charged with theft of $160,000 from Kansas parish
A priest turned himself in to police after being accused of stealing about $160,000 from a parish, according to officials with the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.
Father Richard Storey “voluntarily surrendered to the Leawood Police Department ... on a level 5 felony charge involving theft of funds valued at approximately $160,000,” the archdiocese said in a May 23 statement.
The alleged theft occurred at the Curé of Ars Catholic Church in Leawood just outside of Kansas City, Kansas. Storey had resigned from that parish in September 2025 amid “a criminal investigation involving [Storey] concerning another adult,” according to the archdiocese.
Kansas City Archbishop Shawn McKnight said on May 23 that the theft allegations were “deeply painful for all of us in the Catholic community, particularly given the nature of the allegations involving resources entrusted to the Church through the sacrifice and generosity of the faithful.”
The archdiocese said a recent financial review identified discrepancies in the parishʼs finances that “warranted referral to law enforcement.” The parish will be filing an insurance claim to cover the losses, the archdiocese added.
The archbishop urged parishioners at the Leawood parish to "treat one another with greater sensitivity, patience, charity, and respect as we move through this together, trusting that with faith in Christ, our community can emerge stronger and more united.”
The prelate further thanked archdiocesan vicar general Father John Riley, the temporary administrator of the Leawood parish, for his “steady leadership and care for this community during this difficult time.”
Arrest records show that Storey was booked on May 23 and posted $250,000 bond. The priest could face up to four years in prison on the charges.
Pope decries ‘drastic sterility,’ discrimination against motherhood in Europe
Pope Leo XIV decried a rejection of Christian values in European institutions, leading to what he characterized as “a time of drastic sterility” and “purportedly family-friendly policies” that also support abortion.
In a May 25 audience with members of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on Demography, the pope underscored the central place of the family — founded on marriage between a man and a woman — as a pillar for avoiding both excessive state intervention and the advance of individualism.
The Holy Father denounced what he described as a “rejection of the Christian inspiration of the founding fathers of the EU institutions,” which in his view has led “to a time of drastic sterility, not only because too many have been deprived of the right to be born, but also because there has been a failure to pass on the material and cultural tools that young people need to face the future.”
“As a result, we are not infrequently faced with the contradictory claims of purportedly family-friendly policies, which simultaneously promote discrimination against motherhood, exalt abortion as a right, and undermine the very foundation of the desire to start a family,” Leo warned.
He insisted on the need to study these issues within academic, political, and social bodies, affirming that the demographic challenge “stands as a crucial juncture for the anthropological, social, and economic future of Europe."
'Pandemic of loneliness’
In his speech the pope also described Europe’s demographic decline as “an urgent challenge,” one that encompasses not only the problems arising from an aging population but also what he called “the pandemic of loneliness.”
According to Eurostat’s latest report on demographics in Europe, all European Union countries have recorded declining birth rates since 2004. In 2024, the rate stood at 7.9 live births per 1,000 inhabitants, and in 2025 the EU’s median age reached 44.9 years.
The pontiff emphasized that demographic data “are not merely statistics but speak of fatherhood, motherhood, and children. And children are the future!” He also stressed that “solidarity between generations,” currently lacking in Europe, is essential for achieving integral and sustainable development.
The vital role of the family in society
According to the Holy Father, the key to finding solutions to demographic challenges lies in “the fundamental dignity of all persons” and in the role of the family in society. He recalled that the family is “the first and irreplaceable school of social life” and is “founded on marriage between a man and a woman.”
For this reason, he urged the parliamentarians to promote shared responsibility and the active role of families in social, political, and cultural life, because, he said, “only by respecting and promoting this central place of the family, and applying the principle of subsidiarity, is it possible to avoid the two extremes of excessive state intervention and individualism.”
This approach, he noted, provides the “unchanging principles that can surely guide” society in answering fundamental questions: “What is the meaning and value of human life; what is an authentic human society; and what kind of world do we want to hand on to future generations.”
‘A fresh springtide for the family’
On this basis, he emphasized that national and European Union policies “need to be developed and formulated in partnership with civil society” so that “policies look to human persons in their entirety and always promote the dignity of human beings.”
“In this way, a genuinely human path can be opened for resolving the demographic crisis, oriented toward the common good and the well-being of future generations,” he said.
In conclusion, the pope stressed that “only a fresh springtide for the family can transform the winter chill of our aging populations!”
The meeting at the Vatican took place on the occasion of the Conference on the Family and Demography held in Rome, which was also attended by the European commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica; Italy’s minister for family, natality, and equal opportunities, Eugenia Roccella; and the OSCE special representative on demographic change and security, Gudrun Kugler.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Pedro Ballester’s sainthood cause advances after life of faith and suffering
Excitement is growing in the United Kingdom after an English diocese announced that a young man with “enormous faith” is officially on the way to possibly being named a saint, following in the footsteps of Sts. Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati.
Pedro Ballester, who was born in Manchester, died on Jan. 13, 2018, at the age of 21 of bone cancer after a life of prayer, sacrifice, and virtue. In a May 13 statement, the Diocese of Salford announced: “We are pleased to announce the opening of the cause for the beatification and canonization of Pedro Ballester, a young Manchester man whose life of faith and witness continues to inspire many.
“The opening of this cause marks an important step in recognizing the life and witness of a young man whose example of faith, especially in the face of suffering, continues to resonate with many people today.”
The announcement marks the first step on the path to sainthood, with the diocese calling for “accounts, memories, writings attributed to Pedro, including diaries, letters,” which “may help establish Pedro’s reputation for holiness.” Over 60 people who knew Ballester, including family and friends, have already been interviewed by Church authorities.
Speaking to EWTN News, Father Joseph Evans, chaplain of Greygarth Hall, Manchester, who accompanied Ballester during the last year of his life, welcomed the announcement, saying: “This is great news. Many young people today, particularly young men, are showing a renewed interest in faith and theyʼre looking for authentic models. Theyʼre tired of a society based on softness and falsehood where comfort and ease are presented as the ultimate goals.”
Ballester was born into a Catholic family and his Spanish parents, who moved to England for professional reasons, are married members of Opus Dei, a personal prelature of the Catholic Church founded in Spain by St. Josemaría Escrivá in 1928. Ballester himself joined Opus Dei in 2013 as a “numerary” member — meaning he made a commitment to celibacy for life and living out the charism of Opus Dei in the world.
After winning a place at Imperial College in London to study chemical engineering in 2014, Ballester experienced intense back pain during his first semester, after which he was diagnosed with advanced cancer of the pelvis. He then went to Christie’s Hospital, Manchester, for cancer treatment, where his faith and kindness were noticed as he sought to bring his frequent visitors closer to God.
Evans underlined how Ballester’s life can empower people to follow Christ in the midst of suffering, saying: “Pedroʼs three years of suffering were very far from comfort and ease. He suffered enormously but also with enormous faith.”
Ballester’s suffering worsened after his cancer diagnosis and he regularly experienced acute pain leading up to his death, yet Evans pointed out that the young man “found happiness in deep self-giving and deep suffering.”
He said: “He truly found Christ along the hard way, but he followed him with great joy.”
The Diocese of Salford is now in the process of reviewing Ballester’s life, acknowledging that “over the years since his death, his reputation for holiness has grown significantly.” This information-gathering exercise is the first step to canonization, prior to an extensive investigation by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, who will explore whether Ballester lived a life of “heroic virtue and holiness” and should become a saint.
Jack Valero from Opus Dei, which is promoting Ballester’s cause for sainthood, told EWTN News he is “delighted” at the announcement, adding that young people are “very inspired” by Ballester’s life.
“We have had reports from many different countries of people who obtain favors from God after praying through Pedro’s intercession,” Valero said. “Many young people are very inspired by Pedro, a man who was always happy and thinking of others even in the midst of terrible suffering.”
Valero also commented that some of these reports can be found on the website dedicated to Ballesterʼs life and cause. In one account, Blanca, 15, from Asturias, Spain, was in a life-threatening condition after she suffered a serious stroke in November 2023. Following major brain surgery, family and friends called for Ballester’s intercession. Blanca made a significant recovery, which doctors called “a miracle,” and she left hospital on Dec. 11, 2023.
The Diocese of Salford paid tribute to Ballester’s “remarkable serenity and faith,” and Evans said he is hopeful that this first step will lead to his canonization and inspire young people in their “search for Christ.”
“Pedro offers young people today a model of an authentic search for Christ, knowing that this also has to mean embracing the cross. Yet if we do so, this brings joy,” he said.
Bishop urges Christians in Nigeria to speak ‘the language of Pentecost’ amid insecurity
OYO, Nigeria — Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo of Nigeria’s Catholic Diocese of Oyo has called on Christians to invoke the Holy Spirit against violence, kidnapping, and hatred in the West African nation, urging believers to reject what he described as “unchristian rhetoric of vengeance” and instead embrace “the language of Pentecost: unity and love.”
In his Pentecost 2026 message shared with ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, on Sunday, Badejo reflected on the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and linked the solemnity to Nigeria’s present security and social challenges — including banditry, insurgency, kidnappings, and growing hostility on digital media.
“We must ask for the Holy Spirit that rescued Paul and Silas from unjust imprisonment,” the bishop said, adding: “Pray that the same Spirit, that same divine force, shake down the enclaves that hold God’s children captive in Nigeria and set them free, rendering powerless all their captors and torturers.”
The bishop, who is former president of the Pan African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications, an entity of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, appealed for prayers for the conversion of perpetrators of violence in Africa’s most populous nation.
“We pray that that same force will bend the hearts of the agents of evil to conversion and to God,” he said.
In his message titled “Come Holy Spirit, Dispel Our Fears,” Badejo described Pentecost as the moment that transformed fearful disciples into courageous witnesses of Christ after receiving the Holy Spirit.
“The apostles and the mother of Jesus gathered together in prayer, in anxiety or out of fear,” he said. “However, the Bible teaches that after the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles a change came over them.”
Quoting Acts 2:4, he said: “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak different languages as the Spirit gave them power to express themselves.” Pentecost, he said, “repaired the damage caused by human self-centeredness at the Tower of Babel when human beings were scattered and no longer understood one another.”
“The Holy Spirit united the world in one language of love,” said Badejo, a member of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication since December 2021.
He urged Christians not to surrender to fear despite Nigeria’s ongoing difficulties.
“The Holy Spirit will give us courage to do Jesus’ will in spite of our troubles like it did to the apostles on the first day,” Badejo said. “After the Holy Spirit descended on them those few disciples lost all fear and witnessed to Christ.”
“No longer were they closed in one room for whatever reason; they burst out to the entire territory, refusing to allow fear or their concerns to paralyze them,” he added.
The Catholic leader, who started his episcopal ministry in October 2007 as coadjutor bishop of the Oyo Diocese, also called on public officials and citizens to allow the Holy Spirit to guide their responsibilities toward the common good.
“Pray that he inspire those in governance to use their position and power to secure lives and property,” he said, and further appealed: “Pray that those who are equipped to make life better for all be made to do their duties.”
Addressing young people in particular, Badejo challenged them to transform social media into a space for evangelization and peace-building.
“I ask all youths to ‘evangelize and catechize the social media’ not just by being present on them but by transforming them with good news,” he said, warning against “the spread of violent, degrading, and manipulative online content.”
“Much news and videos of pornography, exploitation, calumny, abuse, torture, violence, and inhumanity are on the internet around today,” he noted, lamenting: “Many are fake and malicious.”
Badejo cautioned that such content “provide a dark kind of pleasure but they offend human dignity and do not make anything better.”
“Those who have the Holy Spirit must choose to share only content that add value to others,” he said, describing this approach as the “Pentecost Outreach.”
Badejo further urged young people “touched by the Holy Spirit to fight extremism on the social media because all violence, evil, and war in this world begin from a thought and an idea.”
The Nigerian Church leader strongly criticized prayer expressions that invoke destruction against perceived enemies.
“People who are praying like this are pagans and are telling us that there is no spirit of God in our churches or in the world," he said, urging Christians to abandon such practices. “Stop these nonsense prayers and begin to speak the language of the Pentecost: unity and love.”
Referencing St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, the bishop said the fruits of the Holy Spirit are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
He also pointed believers to the example of Jesus on the cross.
“Remember how Jesus Christ forgave the world on the cross,” Badejo said, adding: “This is what it means to be born again and to create a better world.”
This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.