Smoke rises after a massive explosion that ripped through the Shahid Rajaee Port as officials conduct operations on April 26, 2025. More than 500 people have so far been injured in a massive explosion (Photo by Iranian Red Crescent/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Hundreds of people were injured following an explosion at one of Iran’s most important ports, according to officials.
The explosion originated in a container at the Shahid Rajaee port in Bandar Abbas, according to state media outlet Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.
At least 516 people were injured in the explosion and subsequent fire, according to state outlet the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), which cited a spokesperson for Iran’s emergency services.
Video posted to social media shows damaged buildings filled with smoke.
Emergency services rushed to the scene following the explosion. The port plays a key role in trade in the country and is responsible for the vast majority of loading and unloading of goods in Iranian ports.
The cause of the explosion is under investigation, said Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, a crisis management official in the area.
It is unclear whether there were fatalities as a result of the explosion.
People gather along the road as the coffin of Pope Francis is transported from Saint Peter’s Basilica to Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, after the pontiff’s funeral ceremony in St. Peter’s Square, at The Vatican (Marco Ravagli/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
(ROME) — Pope Francis was laid to rest Saturday at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome after dying at 88 years old on April 21.
More than 250,000 people turned out to bid farewell to the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church. The crowd at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican included many young people and world leaders, giving us some important snapshots of our political moment.
Here are some key moments from the historic event:
Francis remembered as ‘pope among the people’
At his funeral, Pope Francis was remembered and venerated as a pontiff with “strength and serenity” who modeled his pontificate on St. Francis of Assisi. The dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, delivered the homily in front of mourners in St. Peter’s Square.
“He established direct contact with individuals and peoples, eager to be close to everyone, with a marked attention to those in difficulty, giving himself without measure, especially to the marginalized, the least among us,” Re said.
“He was a Pope among the people, with an open heart towards everyone. He was also a Pope attentive to the signs of the times and what the Holy Spirit was awakening in the Church.”
Young people play a prominent role in Pope Francis’ funeral
Pope Francis’ outreach resonated with the younger generations, thousands of whom were present in St. Peter’s Square to mourn the late pontiff during his funeral on Saturday morning.
About 80,000 teenagers had registered for the Jubilee of Teenagers, a special event for worshippers between the ages of 12 and 17 during the Catholic Church’s Jubilee year of 2025, according to the Dicastery for Evangelization, a department of the Roman Curia — the central governing body of the Catholic Church.
Some changes were made to the event, scheduled for Friday and Sunday, due to Francis’ death. The canonization of Carlo Acutis, who died in 2006 at the age of 15 from leukemia, was postponed. Acutis, an Italian teen known for his devotion to the Eucharist, is set to become the first “millennial” saint upon his canonization, which was formally approved by Francis in July 2024.
Crowd applauds as Pope Francis’ coffin is brought out of basilica
The mourners assembled in St. Peter’s Square broke into applause as pallbearers carried the pope’s coffin outside. It was the site of Pope Francis’ last official act, when he celebrated Easter Sunday a day before he died on April 21.
American reporter delivers 1st reading
Some young adults even played a prominent role in the funeral proceedings. American Kielce Gussie, 28, did the first reading in English — several verses from the Acts of the Apostles.
Gussie works as a journalist at Vatican News and completed her undergraduate degree in theology at Mount St. Mary’s University. She also has a licentiate degree in church communication from Rome’s Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.
Crowd applauds Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in attendance with his wife Olena Zelenska, earned applause from the crowd in St. Peter’s Square appeared on the screens around the area.
Zelenskyy has led Ukraine during the country’s war with Russia, which escalated in 2022 after the Russian invasion of the Eastern European country.
President Donald Trump met privately with Zelenskyy prior to the funeral and had a “very productive session,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told the press pool traveling with Trump.
It was the first meeting between the two men since their contentious February meeting in the Oval Office, in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance rebuked Zelenskyy for his handling of the war.
First lady Melania Trump joined the president at the funeral. Former President Joe Biden and former first lady Jill Biden attended the funeral as well, sitting about four rows behind the Trumps.
Pages of the Book of Gospels blow in the wind
It is one of the most poignant and iconic moments in papal funerals: the simple yet profound image of the breeze blowing the pages of the Book of the Gospels resting on top of the pope’s coffin in St. Peter’s Square.
The book was opened to the reading, “In the Passion and death of the Lord.”
Bells toll as coffin is brought back into basilica
The coffin carrying Pope Francis was brought through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica for a final time as bells tolled for the pope throughout the Vatican.
The funeral, which lasted more than two hours, concluded with bells ringing for the pontiff. His coffin was taken to Rome’s Basilica of Saint Mary Major where he was laid to rest.
Thousands line streets of Rome for Pope Francis’ funeral procession
The four-mile route between St. Peter’s Basilica and the final resting place of Pope Francis — the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome — was lined with tens of thousands of mourners following his funeral on Saturday morning.
People could be seen crying and applauding as Francis’ coffin drove by.
Francis’ coffin was placed in the bed of a white pickup truck, where it was visible to the thousands lining the streets. The procession took the pope’s body past some of Rome’s historical landmarks, such as the Roman Forum and the Colosseum.
When Pope Francis arrived at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, it was the last time he was seen in public before his burial. The basilica will reopen to visitors again on Sunday.
ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler, Kevin Shalvey, Jon Haworth, Hannah Demissie, Molly Nagle, Alex Ederson, Phoebe Natanson and Thomas Dunlavey.
Agents from ICE and various Florida law enforcement agencies make arrests near Miami, Florida this week. Image via ICE
(MIAMI) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and law enforcement from the state of Florida have arrested 780 migrants who are in the United States illegally in a four-day operation beginning Monday, according to statistics obtained by ABC News.
The operation, dubbed “Operation Tidal Wave” uses ICE’s 287(g) authority, which allows for state and local law enforcement agencies to be deputized and to arrest those in the U.S. illegally. State and local agencies allow for ICE to be in jails and on task forces, according to the agency.
“I think the main reason why this operation is significant is because it’s the first of its kind,” Todd Lyons, the acting ICE director, told ABC News. “It’s one that not only we’ve been doing what we have, but we have surged all our federal partners together along with Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement [and] Removal Operations, which are all the enforcement arms of ICE, but we’re also using all our 287(g) partners in the state of Florida. We’re using state, local and county law enforcement agencies to assist us in our operations.
“So this is one of the first large-scale missions we’ve done like this ever,” he added. “We brought a ‘whole the government’ approach with cooperative jurisdictions that want to help ICE secure communities in neighborhoods and remove public safety threats from our neighborhoods.”
The partnerships are a “force multiplier,” he said.
“State troopers, local police officers, county sheriffs — they’re our eyes and ears,” he said. “They encountered these criminal aliens out and about during their regular duties, and they’re able to go ahead and identify those public safety threats for us.”
ICE and officials from Florida law enforcement, which includes the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, arrested 275 people in four days with final orders of removal — meaning they can be removed from the country in short order.
Madison Sheahan, who serves as the ICE deputy director, told ABC News that the partnerships will continue.
“We’ve seen historic partnerships with the state of Texas that has been going on and being able to expand. We’ve seen historic partnerships in Virginia as well as many other states that are coming to the table, even states that you wouldn’t necessarily always think of as border states,” she said.
These 287(g) operations will continue across the country in partnership with state and federal law enforcement, resulting in successful enforcement operations, according to the officials.
Since the beginning of the administration, there have been 428 new 287(g) agreements signed with state and local law enforcement agencies, representing a 371% increase, Lyons noted.
Lyons said the partnerships with state and local law enforcement are “making communities safer.”
(NEW YORK) — A federal judge on Friday said he has a strong suspicion that the Trump administration deported a 2-year old U.S. citizen to Honduras “with no meaningful process.”
The U.S. citizen, identified in the filings as “V.M.L” was initially detained with her undocumented mother and sister at a routine immigration check-in in New Orleans earlier this week. After the father of the 2-year old learned that his family was detained, his lawyer called immigration officials to inform them that V.M.L is a U.S. citizen and could not be deported, according to court documents.
“Around 7:30 p.m. the same day, V.M.L.’s father received a call from an ICE officer, who spoke to him for about a minute,” according to a court filing submitted by the father’s attorney. “The officer said that V.M.L.’s mother was there, and that they did not have much time to speak to each other and that they were going to deport his partner and daughters.”
According to the court filing, when the father reached out to an official for Immigration and Customs and Enforcement, he was told that he could try to pick up V.M.L but that he would also be taken into custody.
On Thursday, an attorney for a family friend, who had been given temporary provisional custody of the child, filed for a temporary restraining order, requesting the immediate release of the 2-year-old, saying she was suffering irreparable harm by being detained.
In response to that motion, lawyers with the Justice Department said it was in the best interest of the minor that she remain in legal custody of her mother and added that she was not at “risk of irreparable harm because she is a U.S. citizen.”
“V.M.L. is not prohibited from entering the United States,” the DOJ lawyers said in the court filing.
Before the court responded to the habeas petition and a motion for temporary restraining order, the 2-year old, along with her mother and sister, were deported to Honduras, according to court filings.
“That family filed a habeas corpus petition and motion for a temporary restraining order, which was never ruled on because of their rapid early-morning deportation,” the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement.
The ACLU said that the 2-year old and two other U.S. citizen children in a separate case, were deported from the U.S. “under deeply troubling circumstances that raise serious due process concerns.”
In his April 25 order, U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty said he tried to reach the 2-year-old’s mother over the phone, to ascertain whether she, in fact, wanted her child deported with her, as the government had contended, but was told by government attorneys that wouldn’t be possible because the mother had just been released in Honduras.
Doughty scheduled a hearing in the case for May 16, saying he was taking the step in “the interest of dispelling our strong suspicion that the Government just deported a U.S. citizen with no meaningful process.”
president Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump are seen arriving at the Pope’s Funeral at the Vatican in Rome, Italy on 26 April, 2025. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(ROME) — President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met privately in Rome Saturday before attending the funeral for Pope Francis.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told the press pool traveling with Trump that the two men had a “very productive session.” More details about the meeting “will follow,” he said.
This was the first meeting between the two men since their contentious encounter in the White House Oval Office in late February.
Late Friday, following Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow earlier in the day, Trump posted that it was “A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine,” and suggested it’s now time for the two sides to meet at “very high levels.”
“They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to “finish it off,” he wrote on his social media site.
“Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war!” Trump added in the post, but provided no additional information about the apparent progress.
President Zelenskyy and his wife, Olena Zelenska, were seated about seven people away from Trump and the first lady Melania Trump, according to the press pool.
Former President Biden and former first lady Jill Biden were about four rows behind them.
(ROME) — At his funeral, Pope Francis was remembered and venerated as a pontiff with “strength and serenity” who modeled his pontificate on St. Francis of Assisi. The dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, delivered the homily in front of some 200,000 mourners in St. Peter’s Square.
Here are the remarks translated into English:
In this majestic Saint Peter’s Square, where Pope Francis celebrated the Eucharist so many times and presided over great gatherings over the past twelve years, we are gathered with sad hearts in prayer around his mortal remains.
Yet, we are sustained by the certainty of faith, which assures us that human existence does not end in the tomb, but in the Father’s house, in a life of happiness that will know no end.
On behalf of the College of Cardinals, I cordially thank all of you for your presence. With deep emotion, I extend respectful greetings and heartfelt thanks to the Heads of State, Heads of Government and Official Delegations who have come from many countries to express their affection, veneration and esteem for our late Holy Father.
The outpouring of affection that we have witnessed in recent days following his passing from this earth into eternity tells us how much the profound pontificate of Pope Francis touched minds and hearts.
The final image we have of him, which will remain etched in our memory, is that of last Sunday, Easter Sunday, when Pope Francis, despite his serious health problems, wanted to give us his blessing from the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica. He then came down to this Square to greet the large crowd gathered for the Easter Mass while riding in the open-top Popemobile.
With our prayers, we now entrust the soul of our beloved Pontiff to God, that he may grant him eternal happiness in the bright and glorious gaze of his immense love.
We are enlightened and guided by the passage of the Gospel, in which the very voice of Christ resounded, asking the first of the Apostles: “Peter, do you love me more than these?” Peter’s answer was prompt and sincere: “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you!” Jesus then entrusted him with the great mission: “Feed my sheep.”
This will be the constant task of Peter and his successors, a service of love in the footsteps of Christ, our Master and Lord, who “came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45).
Despite his frailty and suffering towards the end, Pope Francis chose to follow this path of self-giving until the last day of his earthly life. He followed in the footsteps of his Lord, the Good Shepherd, who loved his sheep to the point of giving his life for them.
And he did so with strength and serenity, close to his flock, the Church of God, mindful of the words of Jesus quoted by the Apostle Paul: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
When Cardinal Bergoglio was elected by the Conclave on 13 March 2013 to succeed Pope Benedict XVI, he already had many years of experience in religious life in the Society of Jesus and, above all, was enriched by twenty-one years of pastoral ministry in the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, first as Auxiliary, then as Coadjutor and, above all, as Archbishop.
The decision to take the name Francis immediately appeared to indicate the pastoral plan and style on which he wanted to base his pontificate, seeking inspiration from the spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi.He maintained his temperament and form of pastoral leadership, and through his resolute personality, immediately made his mark on the governance of the Church. He established direct contact with individuals and peoples, eager to be close to everyone, with a marked attention to those in difficulty, giving himself without measure, especially to the marginalized, the least among us.
He was a Pope among the people, with an open heart towards everyone. He was also a Pope attentive to the signs of the times and what the Holy Spirit was awakening in the Church.
With his characteristic vocabulary and language, rich in images and metaphors, he always sought to shed light on the problems of our time with the wisdom of the Gospel. He did so by offering a response guided by the light of faith and encouraging us to live as Christians amid the challenges and contradictions in recent years, which he loved to describe as an “epochal change.”
He had great spontaneity and an informal way of addressing everyone, even those far from the Church.
Rich in human warmth and deeply sensitive to today’s challenges, Pope Francis truly shared the anxieties, sufferings and hopes of this time of globalization. He gave of himself by comforting and encouraging us with a message capable of reaching people’s hearts in a direct and immediate way.
His charisma of welcome and listening, combined with a manner of behavior in keeping with today’s sensitivities, touched hearts and sought to reawaken moral and spiritual sensibilities.
Evangelization was the guiding principle of his pontificate. With a clear missionary vision, he spread the joy of the Gospel, which was the title of his first Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii gaudium. It is a joy that fills the hearts of all those who entrust themselves to God with confidence and hope.
The guiding thread of his mission was also the conviction that the Church is a home for all, a home with its doors always open. He often used the image of the Church as a “field hospital” after a battle in which many were wounded; a Church determined to take care of the problems of people and the great anxieties that tear the contemporary world apart; a Church capable of bending down to every person, regardless of their beliefs or condition, and healing their wounds.
His gestures and exhortations in favor of refugees and displaced persons are countless. His insistence on working on behalf of the poor was constant.
It is significant that Pope Francis’ first journey was to Lampedusa, an island that symbolizes the tragedy of emigration, with thousands of people drowning at sea. In the same vein was his trip to Lesbos, together with the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Archbishop of Athens, as well as the celebration of a Mass on the border between Mexico and the United States during his journey to Mexico.
Of his 47 arduous Apostolic Journeys, the one to Iraq in 2021, defying every risk, will remain particularly memorable. That difficult Apostolic Journey was a balm on the open wounds of the Iraqi people, who had suffered so much from the inhuman actions of ISIS. It was also an important trip for interreligious dialogue, another significant dimension of his pastoral work.
With his 2024 Apostolic Journey to four countries in Asia-Oceania, the Pope reached “the most peripheral periphery of the world.”
Pope Francis always placed the Gospel of mercy at the centre, repeatedly emphasizing that God never tires of forgiving us. He always forgives, whatever the situation might be of the person who asks for forgiveness and returns to the right path.
He called for the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in order to highlight that mercy is “the heart of the Gospel.”
Mercy and the joy of the Gospel are two key words for Pope Francis.
In contrast to what he called “the culture of waste,” he spoke of the culture of encounter and solidarity. The theme of fraternity ran through his entire pontificate with vibrant tones.
In his Encyclical Letter Fratelli tutti, he wanted to revive a worldwide aspiration to fraternity, because we are all children of the same Father who is in heaven. He often forcefully reminded us that we all belong to the same human family.
In 2019, during his trip to the United Arab Emirates, Pope Francis signed A Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, recalling the common fatherhood of God.
Addressing men and women throughout the world, in his Encyclical Letter Laudato si’ he drew attention to our duties and shared responsibility for our common home, stating, “No one is saved alone.”
Faced with the raging wars of recent years, with their inhuman horrors and countless deaths and destruction, Pope Francis incessantly raised his voice imploring peace and calling for reason and honest negotiation to find possible solutions. War, he said, results in the death of people and the destruction of homes, hospitals and schools. War always leaves the world worse than it was before: it is always a painful and tragic defeat for everyone. “Build bridges, not walls” was an exhortation he repeated many times, and his service of faith as Successor of the Apostle Peter always was linked to the service of humanity in all its dimensions.
Spiritually united with all of Christianity, we are here in large numbers to pray for Pope Francis, that God may welcome him into the immensity of his love. Pope Francis used to conclude his speeches and meetings by saying, “Do not forget to pray for me.”
Dear Pope Francis, we now ask you to pray for us. May you bless the Church, bless Rome, and bless the whole world from heaven as you did last Sunday from the balcony of this Basilica in a final embrace with all the people of God, but also embrace humanity that seeks the truth with a sincere heart and holds high the torch of hope.
(ROME) — At his funeral, Pope Francis was remembered and venerated as a pontiff with “strength and serenity” who modeled his pontificate on St. Francis of Assisi. The dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, delivered the homily in front of some 200,000 mourners in St. Peter’s Square.
Here are the remarks translated into English:
In this majestic Saint Peter’s Square, where Pope Francis celebrated the Eucharist so many times and presided over great gatherings over the past twelve years, we are gathered with sad hearts in prayer around his mortal remains.
Yet, we are sustained by the certainty of faith, which assures us that human existence does not end in the tomb, but in the Father’s house, in a life of happiness that will know no end.
On behalf of the College of Cardinals, I cordially thank all of you for your presence. With deep emotion, I extend respectful greetings and heartfelt thanks to the Heads of State, Heads of Government and Official Delegations who have come from many countries to express their affection, veneration and esteem for our late Holy Father.
The outpouring of affection that we have witnessed in recent days following his passing from this earth into eternity tells us how much the profound pontificate of Pope Francis touched minds and hearts.
The final image we have of him, which will remain etched in our memory, is that of last Sunday, Easter Sunday, when Pope Francis, despite his serious health problems, wanted to give us his blessing from the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica. He then came down to this Square to greet the large crowd gathered for the Easter Mass while riding in the open-top Popemobile.
With our prayers, we now entrust the soul of our beloved Pontiff to God, that he may grant him eternal happiness in the bright and glorious gaze of his immense love.
We are enlightened and guided by the passage of the Gospel, in which the very voice of Christ resounded, asking the first of the Apostles: “Peter, do you love me more than these?” Peter’s answer was prompt and sincere: “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you!” Jesus then entrusted him with the great mission: “Feed my sheep.”
This will be the constant task of Peter and his successors, a service of love in the footsteps of Christ, our Master and Lord, who “came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45).
Despite his frailty and suffering towards the end, Pope Francis chose to follow this path of self-giving until the last day of his earthly life. He followed in the footsteps of his Lord, the Good Shepherd, who loved his sheep to the point of giving his life for them.
And he did so with strength and serenity, close to his flock, the Church of God, mindful of the words of Jesus quoted by the Apostle Paul: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
When Cardinal Bergoglio was elected by the Conclave on 13 March 2013 to succeed Pope Benedict XVI, he already had many years of experience in religious life in the Society of Jesus and, above all, was enriched by twenty-one years of pastoral ministry in the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, first as Auxiliary, then as Coadjutor and, above all, as Archbishop.
The decision to take the name Francis immediately appeared to indicate the pastoral plan and style on which he wanted to base his pontificate, seeking inspiration from the spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi.He maintained his temperament and form of pastoral leadership, and through his resolute personality, immediately made his mark on the governance of the Church. He established direct contact with individuals and peoples, eager to be close to everyone, with a marked attention to those in difficulty, giving himself without measure, especially to the marginalized, the least among us.
He was a Pope among the people, with an open heart towards everyone. He was also a Pope attentive to the signs of the times and what the Holy Spirit was awakening in the Church.
With his characteristic vocabulary and language, rich in images and metaphors, he always sought to shed light on the problems of our time with the wisdom of the Gospel. He did so by offering a response guided by the light of faith and encouraging us to live as Christians amid the challenges and contradictions in recent years, which he loved to describe as an “epochal change.”
He had great spontaneity and an informal way of addressing everyone, even those far from the Church.
Rich in human warmth and deeply sensitive to today’s challenges, Pope Francis truly shared the anxieties, sufferings and hopes of this time of globalization. He gave of himself by comforting and encouraging us with a message capable of reaching people’s hearts in a direct and immediate way.
His charisma of welcome and listening, combined with a manner of behavior in keeping with today’s sensitivities, touched hearts and sought to reawaken moral and spiritual sensibilities.
Evangelization was the guiding principle of his pontificate. With a clear missionary vision, he spread the joy of the Gospel, which was the title of his first Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii gaudium. It is a joy that fills the hearts of all those who entrust themselves to God with confidence and hope.
The guiding thread of his mission was also the conviction that the Church is a home for all, a home with its doors always open. He often used the image of the Church as a “field hospital” after a battle in which many were wounded; a Church determined to take care of the problems of people and the great anxieties that tear the contemporary world apart; a Church capable of bending down to every person, regardless of their beliefs or condition, and healing their wounds.
His gestures and exhortations in favor of refugees and displaced persons are countless. His insistence on working on behalf of the poor was constant.
It is significant that Pope Francis’ first journey was to Lampedusa, an island that symbolizes the tragedy of emigration, with thousands of people drowning at sea. In the same vein was his trip to Lesbos, together with the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Archbishop of Athens, as well as the celebration of a Mass on the border between Mexico and the United States during his journey to Mexico.
Of his 47 arduous Apostolic Journeys, the one to Iraq in 2021, defying every risk, will remain particularly memorable. That difficult Apostolic Journey was a balm on the open wounds of the Iraqi people, who had suffered so much from the inhuman actions of ISIS. It was also an important trip for interreligious dialogue, another significant dimension of his pastoral work.
With his 2024 Apostolic Journey to four countries in Asia-Oceania, the Pope reached “the most peripheral periphery of the world.”
Pope Francis always placed the Gospel of mercy at the centre, repeatedly emphasizing that God never tires of forgiving us. He always forgives, whatever the situation might be of the person who asks for forgiveness and returns to the right path.
He called for the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in order to highlight that mercy is “the heart of the Gospel.”
Mercy and the joy of the Gospel are two key words for Pope Francis.
In contrast to what he called “the culture of waste,” he spoke of the culture of encounter and solidarity. The theme of fraternity ran through his entire pontificate with vibrant tones.
In his Encyclical Letter Fratelli tutti, he wanted to revive a worldwide aspiration to fraternity, because we are all children of the same Father who is in heaven. He often forcefully reminded us that we all belong to the same human family.
In 2019, during his trip to the United Arab Emirates, Pope Francis signed A Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, recalling the common fatherhood of God.
Addressing men and women throughout the world, in his Encyclical Letter Laudato si’ he drew attention to our duties and shared responsibility for our common home, stating, “No one is saved alone.”
Faced with the raging wars of recent years, with their inhuman horrors and countless deaths and destruction, Pope Francis incessantly raised his voice imploring peace and calling for reason and honest negotiation to find possible solutions. War, he said, results in the death of people and the destruction of homes, hospitals and schools. War always leaves the world worse than it was before: it is always a painful and tragic defeat for everyone. “Build bridges, not walls” was an exhortation he repeated many times, and his service of faith as Successor of the Apostle Peter always was linked to the service of humanity in all its dimensions.
Spiritually united with all of Christianity, we are here in large numbers to pray for Pope Francis, that God may welcome him into the immensity of his love. Pope Francis used to conclude his speeches and meetings by saying, “Do not forget to pray for me.”
Dear Pope Francis, we now ask you to pray for us. May you bless the Church, bless Rome, and bless the whole world from heaven as you did last Sunday from the balcony of this Basilica in a final embrace with all the people of God, but also embrace humanity that seeks the truth with a sincere heart and holds high the torch of hope.
American Kielce Gussie, who works as a journalist at Vatican News, did the first reading in English — several verses from the Acts of the Apostles — at the funeral of Pope Francis. Image via ABC News.
(ROME) — American Kielce Gussie, who works as a journalist at Vatican News, did the first reading in English — several verses from the Acts of the Apostles — at the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday.
Gussie, originally from Florida, completed her undergraduate degree in theology at Mount St. Mary’s University.
The university featured her in an article in March 2019, saying that she planned on incorporating her faith with media.
“While in Rome, Gussie will pursue an internship with either EWTN or Catholic Bytes,” Mount St. Mary’s University said in 2019. “After completing her Licentiate, she hopes to continue working in Rome with a Catholic media company. Her goal is to incorporate her Catholic faith with media directed toward youth evangelization. Assistant Professor of Communication Mary Catherine Kennedy, Ph.D., is confident that Gussie will succeed. ‘Kielce is a go-getter. She came to the Mount with an idea of what she wanted to pursue after graduation,’ Kennedy said. She has paired her communication classes with her theology classes to pursue work in the Church. Her ambition and desire to serve others is spectacular, and I expect her to do well in her graduate studies in Rome.'”
American Kielce Gussie, who works as a journalist at Vatican News, did the first reading in English — several verses from the Acts of the Apostles — at the funeral of Pope Francis. Image via ABC News.
(ROME) — American Kielce Gussie, who works as a journalist at Vatican News, did the first reading in English — several verses from the Acts of the Apostles — at the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday.
Gussie, originally from Florida, completed her undergraduate degree in theology at Mount St. Mary’s University.
The university featured her in an article in March 2019, saying that she planned on incorporating her faith with media.
“While in Rome, Gussie will pursue an internship with either EWTN or Catholic Bytes,” Mount St. Mary’s University said in 2019. “After completing her Licentiate, she hopes to continue working in Rome with a Catholic media company. Her goal is to incorporate her Catholic faith with media directed toward youth evangelization. Assistant Professor of Communication Mary Catherine Kennedy, Ph.D., is confident that Gussie will succeed. ‘Kielce is a go-getter. She came to the Mount with an idea of what she wanted to pursue after graduation,’ Kennedy said. She has paired her communication classes with her theology classes to pursue work in the Church. Her ambition and desire to serve others is spectacular, and I expect her to do well in her graduate studies in Rome.'”
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department has rescinded a policy implemented during the Biden administration that restricted prosecutors from seizing reporters’ records in criminal investigations, according to an internal memo obtained by ABC News.
The move could signal a broader effort by Trump-appointed leadership to more aggressively pursue leaks coming from within the administration and directly target journalists for their reporting.
It was not immediately clear whether the impending policy change was prompted by any current ongoing investigation being pursued by the Trump Justice Department. But in her memo rescinding the policy, Attorney General Pam Bondi pointed to recent alleged leaks of potentially classified information to The New York Times.
“Federal government employees intentionally leaking sensitive information to the media undermines the ability of the Department of Justice to uphold the rule of law, protect civil rights, and keep America safe. This conduct is illegal and wrong, and it must stop,” Bondi said. “Therefore, I have concluded that it is necessary to rescind (former Attorney General) Merrick Garland’s policies precluding the Department of Justice from seeking records and compelling testimony from members of the news media in order to identify and punish the source of improper leaks.”
Bondi added she has directed the DOJ’s Office of Legal Policy to publish new language that reflects the department “will continue to employ procedural protections to limit the use of compulsory legal process to obtain information from or records of members of the news media, which include enhanced approval and advance-notice procedures.”
“These procedural protections recognize that investigative techniques relating to newsgathering are an extraordinary measure to be deployed as a last resort when essential to a successful investigation or prosecution,” Bondi said.
The 2022 Biden-era policy was formalized following extensive negotiations between news outlets and Justice Department leadership under Garland. It restricted prosecutors from using “compulsory process” such as subpoenas, search warrants or other court orders to seize reporters’ records with very limited exceptions.
It was implemented after the department disclosed several instances during the previous Trump administration where prosecutors secretly obtained records from several journalists from The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN as part of criminal leak investigations.
“Because freedom of the press requires that members of the news media have the freedom to investigate and report the news, the new regulations are intended to provide enhanced protection to members of the news media from certain law enforcement tools and actions that might unreasonably impair news gathering,” Garland said in a statement announcing the revised media guidelines.
Last month, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the opening of a criminal investigation into the leak of an intelligence document reported by The New York Times related to the Tren de Aragua gang that he described as “inaccurate, but nevertheless classified.”
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has also said her department and the FBI are pursing criminal charges against officials who she said have leaked details about pending deportation operations to members of the media.
Prior to his confirmation as FBI director, Kash Patel said in several media appearances that the Trump administration would “come after” journalists who reported on President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss.
“We’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections,” Patel said in a 2023 podcast interview with Steve Bannon. “Whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’ll figure that out.”
The policy shift also comes as DOJ and FBI leadership have downplayed recent revelations of senior Trump officials sharing sensitive details about military operations in Yemen over the encrypted app Signal, which national security experts have argued likely included classified information that would normally prompt some kind of federal investigation.
Bondi signaled late last month that any criminal investigation into the matter was unlikely.
