CHANTILLY, Va. (OSV News) — The inaugural Catholic Military Conference sponsored by the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services Nov. 9-11 was an intimate affair, as conferences go, with 280 attendees representing all branches of the armed services for three days of lectures, workshops and prayer.

The impetus for the conference originated with laypeople, “and I jumped on it,” Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, who heads the military archdiocese, told OSV News.

The initial planning only began in February before the conference was announced in May. Considering that such events usually are planned over the course of a year, “it’s a lot less painful than I thought it would be,” the archbishop said.

Teaching and support

Logistics were a special challenge, Archbishop Broglio said, since the archdiocese has no geographical boundaries. It covers the entire world to serve the spiritual needs of an estimated 1.8 million Catholics stationed at U.S. bases.

The archbishop thinks the conference may not become an annual affair, but rather every two years.

With the theme of “Living and Serving Justly,” it was designed to stay above the political fray, he added. “I generally make a considerable effort to keep my intentions on the social doctrine of the church and church teachings, and avoid partisan politics.”

He saw the conference as a way “to teach Catholics to live their faith” and “to know they are supported in their faith.” Also, “to deepen our understanding of just war to really view security as protection of the human person,” he added.

Day 2 of the conference was devoted mostly to an examination of “Magnifica Humanitas” (“Magnificent Humanity”), Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, released in May.

Just war

In the encyclical, the pope looks at the consequences of the digital revolution in the 21st-century and how best to safeguard “the human person in the time of artificial intelligence.” In the document — addressed universally to all people of good will across every nation — he also declared centuries-old “just war” frameworks are now outdated.

“Today, more than ever, without prejudice to the right to self-defense in the strictest sense, it is important to reaffirm that the ‘just war’ theory, which has all too often been used to justify any kind of war, is now outdated,” the pope states. “Humanity possesses far more effective and capable tools for promoting human life and resolving conflicts, such as dialogue, diplomacy and forgiveness. The use of force, violence and weapons reflects a relational poverty that always has disastrous consequences for civilian populations.”

The Nov. 10 plenary sessions covered everything from St. Augustine to 19th-century Prussian officer and military theorist Carl von Clausewitz, who famously wrote, “War is the continuation of politics by other means.”

Matthew Bunson, vice president and editorial director of EWTN News, said the encyclical opens a “new chapter” in explaining what conflicts are to be fought as well as when and why.

“The traditional foundation of just war theory has become inadequate,” he said, so the document deserves a “central place in Catholic moral reflection” in order “to think beyond inherited assumptions.”

He praised the encyclical’s assertion about the “culture of power” that is “taking advantage of the crisis of multilateralism and fueling a false realism that insists that there is no alternative.” Pope Leo, he said, “is certainly a realist without being a pragmatist. … This is not a utopian dream.”

The late Pope Francis as well as Pope Leo “are consistent with the tradition of looking at wars skeptically,” said Joe Capizzi, the McGrath-Cavadini director of the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and a frequent lecturer on just war.

“All of us,” he said, “are invited morally to evaluate the wars in which we fight,” and “vengeance is not a good political end.” Wars, he added, “must be justice-seeking.”

“The coin of war is life itself — the life that only God gives,” said retired Army general and author James Dubik. “War … damages lives and changes living, sometimes forever. This is why wars should only be fought sparingly.”

He also called war “the abnormal that becomes the normal.”

Affirmation of a unique calling

During a question-and-answer session, Archbishop Broglio observed that on his visits to military bases, he is often approached by chaplains of other denominations “thanking me for statements” on the role of military chaplains.

He said he was told, “‘We don’t have anyone speaking for us,’ so they turn to what the Catholic Church has to say.”

Other sessions at the conference dealt with incarnational ministry, which requires personal interactions, in the age of artificial intelligence; the stresses of military marriages; and how to extend missionary discipleship.

The archdiocese has a perpetual shortage of priests to serve as military chaplains. There are fewer than 500, and of those, fewer than 250 serve as active-duty chaplains as commissioned officers, with many on loan from their home diocese.

Archbishop Broglio has to put constant effort into recruiting chaplains. In Baltimore, he recently hosted 33 prospective chaplains for a three-day fall discernment retreat. After ordination, new priests are required to spend three years in civilian pastoral service to their home dioceses before joining the military.

There are two important elements to attract priests to military service, Archbishop Broglio told OSV News.

The first comes from a military environment, which he called “a call within a call.” And while “it does take a certain physical condition to meet to be in the military,” he said, it also requires “the ability to serve far away from home, outside of your community.”

Kurt Jensen writes for OSV News from Washington.

The post Inaugural Catholic Military Conference prompts reflection on ‘Living and Serving Justly’ first appeared on OSV News.

“For a priest, being able to hear confessions gives meaning to his ministry. It is restoring peace; it is making God’s love present,” said Father Rodolfo, a Pallottine priest who heard young people’s confessions during the Nov. 10 vigil with Pope Leo XIV at the Monument of the Spaniards in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Speaking with EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, the priest noted that “the confessor is a mediator; it is Jesus who forgives, it is Jesus who welcomes the sinner, but being able to serve as that mediator fills me with joy and gives meaning to my life.”

When asked what he would say to young people who do not go to confession, the priest emphasized that he would remind them that “they would always experience themselves as loved by God. God’s gaze is a gaze of love, and the sacrament is a sign of that love and so I would encourage them to come forward.”

Regarding his experience with Pope Leo in Argentina, Father Rodolfo shared that he is experiencing “immense joy. In my Sunday homily, I said: ‘The pope’s arrival, the mere fact of his coming, will not change anything; what will change us is listening to him, because his message comes in the name of God.’”

“These young people,” he emphasized, “can hear the pope’s message, a pope who is truly focused on Jesus. He is a man of God, but one with his eyes open to reality. I believe he has much to say to young people, as well as to us priests, religious, and adults; he conveys a message rooted in our own reality and places Jesus at the center.”

The priest expressed his hope that by the end of the vigil, the young people would “take with them the knowledge that Jesus loves them with an eternal love. He loves us where we’re at, not in spite of our limitations, but right along with them. God’s love forgives and transforms.”

Catalina Albrecht, Marcos Fratantoni, and Belén Lisdero, students at the Universidad Austral in Buenos Aires, contributed to this report.

This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Father Matías de Martini, chaplain of the Devoto prison in Buenos Aires, Argentina, could not hold back his tears as he thanked Pope Leo XIV for his visit to the penitentiary on Nov. 11 and for his genuine concern for the inmates.

The priest said the pontiff’s visit “reminds us once again that God does not consider anyone lost, that he rejoices over the lost sheep, the son who returns home.”

Pope fills prisoners with hope

On Nov. 11, Pope Leo XIV brought a message full of hope to the prisoners.

Addressing them, their families, and prison staff, he reflected on the “experience of our limitations” that human beings encounter. “Often,” he noted, “we become aware of our limitations through sin and its consequences, whether by making a mistake, suffering from an illness, or experiencing the death of a loved one.”

However, he said that, “even amid the evil, pain, and deepest failures you may have experienced or caused, your present circumstances can become an opportunity to begin your lives anew, as you have shared with us in your testimonies.”

The pope emphasized that “human beings do not flourish in spite of their limitations, but often through them,” and pointed out that “prison is also a witness to profound changes and conversions, to growth, learning, and the acquisition of new skills and knowledge.”

For this reason, he assured the prisoners that “with God’s grace, it is possible to move beyond total darkness and kindle small lights of hope.”

At the conclusion of his address, he turned to the families and encouraged them to look to Jesus, who was himself a prisoner, and to pray that he might “grant them all strength and wisdom, so that this time of solitude and isolation will not be in vain, but will become a time of grace and salvation.”

“We are part of the same human family. Let us promote whatever contributes to the good of all. Let us accompany especially our children and young people, educating them in authentic values, caring for them and protecting them, so that they do not fall into the pernicious networks of criminality,” the pope said.

De Martini thanked the pontiff, saying that “through your presence we feel the embrace of the Father, an embrace that makes no distinction based on the past, an embrace that reminds us of our dignity, something that nothing and no one can take away.”

The priest also recalled that “we are beloved children, and it is this truth — the deepest truth — that makes us completely free.”

‘Jesus transformed my life’

Cristian, 29, is an inmate who shared his testimony with the Holy Father. The young prisoner recounted the details of a past marked by drug and alcohol use which drove him to commit crimes to sustain his addiction.

“All of that ended up distancing me from my family and the people who love me. I lost my job; I lost everything,” he lamented. However, he continued, “Jesus transformed my life during the time I was living on the streets.”

The young man recounted with hope how he encountered Jesus after going to the prison chapel.

“There, I felt that I was not alone, that Jesus was with me, calling me to reencounter him. I decided to follow him, convinced that he is the true path. I felt him touch my heart. I allowed myself to be guided, and he removed the blindfold from my eyes. I was able to see reality, and that truth is what makes me free on the inside today. From that moment on, everything began to make sense,” he noted.

His time in prison is “transforming my life,” said 32-year-old Maximiliano, who also shared his testimony with the Holy Father.

He recalled how drugs and alcohol had distanced him from his family, especially his daughters. He said that while in prison, he found inner freedom through an encounter with Jesus.

Reinaldo, 44, recently completed his prison sentence and was able to reunite with his family and his four children.

He said prison was the setting “where Jesus, Our Lord and friend, offered me a new opportunity, a new life.”

Reinaldo described placing his faith in Jesus as “an embrace” that heals the soul. “Today, as each new day begins, I keep in mind what it was like to return to the arms of Jesus — that sincere embrace, that embrace of forgiveness, that embrace of a Father who loves his son; an embrace that instilled in me a new hope and a profound certainty of knowing that I am a beloved son.”

This story was first published by EWTN News Español, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Pope Leo XIV returned Wednesday to the country where he spent two decades as a missionary and bishop, and he did not come with soft words. In three addresses delivered in a single morning — to Peru’s bishops, to priests and religious inside Lima’s cathedral, and then to some 40,000 faithful packed into the Plaza Mayor — the pope called the Catholic Church to account for clerical abuse, denounced what he called “the persistence of a machista mentality,” and urged Peruvians not to surrender to poverty, addiction, or domestic violence. “Do not give up in the face of difficulties,” he told the crowd in the Plaza Mayor, speaking in the easy, familiar register of someone who knows the place. Three million people had lined the streets of Lima the previous day to greet him. Inside the cathedral, whose walls hold the tomb of Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo — the 16th-century archbishop Leo has repeatedly invoked Read More…

LIMA, Peru (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV underlined the need for women to be treated with respect in a speech outside the Lima cathedral Nov. 12 that touched on the issues of domestic violence, division of labor in the home, and families in crisis.

“I would like to renew an ardent appeal, not only to my brothers and sisters in the faith but to every man and woman of good will: let us value women! Let us protect and respect girls!” he said in the speech outside Lima’s Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, to the applause from those gathered.

“It pains us to see that violence against women — who could be our grandmothers, mothers, sisters or daughters — continues to be a reality that wounds all of humanity,” he said.

“Recognition of human dignity also requires that we effectively promote the presence, respect and participation of women,” he underlined. “Their contribution to every sphere of society and the Church is indispensable,” the pope stressed, adding that “it is sad to see that machismo persists, manifested in the absence of fathers from family life, in abuse and violence against women.”

The pope also said that he wanted to draw attention to the many mothers “who often suffer and feel alone, having to face numerous difficulties in raising their children.”

“Living the truth of our identities as male and female does not justify an unequal sharing
of domestic responsibilities or the subordination of one spouse to the other.”

The pope spoke in the Plaza de Armas at a gathering on the challenges and hopes for the future of Peru, saying that “today many families are wounded and divided due to economic problems or emigration. Others are harmed by the intrusion of addictions, such as gambling and betting, alcoholism and drug addiction, abuse or domestic violence.”

“God loves all families, especially those going through crises,” Pope Leo underlined.

Urging work-life balance from employers, Pope Leo said: “It is therefore necessary for legitimate authority to help business owners and workers by establishing a just legal framework and ensuring a reasonable balance among work, rest and family life.”

In the plaza, Pope Leo listened to musical performances and heard testimonies from a family, an entrepreneur, and an Indigenous woman before he spoke to the crowd about the challenges and hopes for the future of Peru.

“Just structures are necessary, but they are not enough. We also need hearts that are honest in seeking the common good, so as to overcome corruption, violence and individualism,” he said.

Peruvian pope understanding his people

Father Elías Paredes Inga, a Peruvian priest associated with the Missionaries of the Reconciliation of the Lord of Miracles, told OSV News that “This visit by the Pope is truly a major event for the Catholic faith throughout Peru. Since the Pope is Peruvian” — and “he is Peruvian” — the priest underlined — “he knows our land, our Catholic faith, and the challenges we face here in the country.”

The priest added: “We believe his presence and his message will be vital in addressing the social issues we are dealing with. … We believe his presence will help inspire us all to commit ourselves, as brothers and sisters, to building a better country.”

The pope Peruvians claim as their own sang along to “Contigo Peru´” — an unofficial national anthem uniting Peruvians — as the meeting in front of the cathedral came to an end, and earlier the 40,000 estimated participants chanted: “León, amigo, el pueblo esta contigo,” — “Leo, our friend, the people are with you!”

“You make me feel at home. Thank you very much!” Pope Leo emphasized clearly happy to be addressing the people he knows so well.

Prayer with bishops, priests, religious, seminarians, and laity

Before delivering the speech, Pope Leo led the prayer of the Divine Office inside the Lima cathedral, with the crowd bursting into applause as he entered. “La Iglesia en comunión con el Papa León” — “The Church in communion with Pope Leo” — the crowd cheered.

The historic cathedral was filled with priests, religious sisters, seminarians, bishops, and lay members of synodal teams and parish councils as the pope led the congregation in midday prayer.

“It is a great joy for me to be once again on Peruvian soil, close to this Church which is so dear to me. I come as a father and brother in the faith, as a shepherd who loves his flock,” Pope Leo told the congregation.

“I first came to Peru many years ago, sent to serve the People of God and build up his Kingdom, and to promote peace through justice, with particular concern for the weakest. I return today to encourage you to continue the work of spreading the Gospel, attentive to people’s lives and needs,” he added.

He encouraged Catholics in Peru to build “a civilization of love truly grounded on the common good,” and to be ready to accept responsibilities for the Church’s own failures. The pope is expected to meet with victims of clerical abuse during his visit to the country. 

Pope Leo said that the Church needs to be “ready to acknowledge its own infidelities and humbly ask forgiveness, accepting responsibility for the wounds it has caused both within the community and around it.”

“Peru needs a Church that, clinging to the Cross, also knows how to face conflicts with charity and courage, confident that in Christ it is always possible to begin again and find unity,” he said.

Missionaries present to pray with missionary pope

Many missionaries, like Pope Leo when he was in Peru, were inside the cathedral to pray with the pope.

Among them was American Sister Mary Regina Matulka of Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, originally from Philadelphia — who has served as a missionary in Peru for 10 years and is currently serving as a teacher of kindergarten students at Villa María Academy in La Planicie.

“Our community is very excited. Our friends in the United States are watching every movement along with the sisters here. And, it’s really exciting to know that the pope wanted to return here to Peru, (and) was emotional yesterday … when he sang the national anthem. And it really touches our hearts,” she told OSV News.

She said that several of the sisters in her congregation met then-Bishop Robert Prevost when he was apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Callao.

“They were most impressed with his love for the poor and his commitment to the people here in Peru,” she said. “Especially … the poor people. He has a true love for them.”

Maria Aparecida Dantas do Nascimento, a 40-year-old lay missionary from Brazil, serves with the Shalom Catholic community evangelizing young people in Peru.

“It is a great joy to welcome the pope, and I believe it is a time of many blessings and many graces for us. Welcoming the pope here in Lima — and knowing that he is, in a sense, Peruvian, because he lived here — is a great grace for me,” she said.

Meeting with bishops

The pope arrived at the cathedral on foot after meeting with the Peruvian bishops. He walked from the archbishops’ residence, where he had told bishops: “In 2018 I was seated among you in this very place, and we received from our beloved Pope Francis a passionate exhortation to work for unity. I recall that he told us: ‘Do not remain prisoners of divisions that create cliques and hamper our vocation to be a sacrament of communion … That was — and is and always will be — the best way to evangelize.’ Indeed, communion among you, among us, is the foundation of the credibility of the Gospel you proclaim.”

He was welcomed to the cathedral by Cardinal Carlos Gustavo Castillo Mattasoglio, the archbishop of Lima. Upon his arrival inside the cathedral, Pope Leo prayed in the cathedral’s Chapel of St. Turibius of Mogrovejo, venerating the relics of a saint to whom he prayed when he became bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, a decade ago.

Pope Leo praised St. Turibius during the cathedral visit, calling him “a tireless, enterprising and creative apostle, a courageous defender of the poor and a generous shepherd, ready to pour himself out for his flock.”

Packed schedule in his beloved land

The history of the Lima cathedral goes back nearly 500 years with Francisco Pizarro, whose tomb is located inside the basilica, laying the cornerstone of the original church in 1535. Pope Paul III erected the Diocese of Lima in 1541. The cathedral was destroyed several times by earthquakes and rebuilt again. 

In the evening, the pope will lead a youth prayer vigil in the National Stadium of Peru. 

Pope Leo XIV is visiting Peru Nov. 11-16, the final and longest leg of the first trip to Latin America of his pontificate, which has included stops in Uruguay and Argentina. 

The 71-year-old pope has a packed schedule for the visit to a country where he once served as an Augustinian missionary priest and later as bishop. In addition to Lima, Pope Leo will also visit Chiclayo, where he will celebrate a large outdoor Mass; Cusco, the former Inca capital in the Andes; and Pucallpa, a city on the Ucayali River in the Amazon rainforest that has long been a center of Catholic missionary outreach. 

He will briefly return to Lima to spend the night and celebrate Mass in Callao before traveling back to Rome, where he will arrive on Nov. 17.

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Courtney Mares is Vatican editor for OSV News. Follow her on X @catholicourtney.

The post Pope Leo defies machismo culture in Peru, calls for respect and protection of women, families first appeared on OSV News.