Pope Leo | DD News

October 14, 2026 10:03 AM

Pope Leo diagnosed with cancer as doctors remove part of lung

Pope Leo was diagnosed with lung cancer after surgeons removed a part of his right lung on Tuesday, the Vatican said in a medical bulletin, marking a significant health setback for the 71-year-old pontiff. The pope has lung adenocarcinoma, a common form of cancer, with tissue tests conducted during the operation confirming what doctors had suspected from preparatory examinations, the bulletin said. Leo was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Tuesday for surgery to remove the growth that doc...

September 25, 2026 5:26 PM

Pope Leo warns in France that AI is creating ‘paradise of machines’

Pope Leo urged the world to reconsider the development of artificial intelligence, opening his four-day visit to France on Friday with a fervent warning that AI could create a future where "a paradise of machines" takes control of the Earth. The first US pope, who has made sounding the alarm about the risks of AI a central part of his 16-month papacy, put the issue at the heart of his visit to France, the first by a pope in nearly 20 years. "If we are to avoid losing our humanity amid a 'par...

July 3, 2026 11:52 AM

Excommunications show a Pope Leo unafraid of making firm decisions

Pope Leo said during his inaugural Mass last year that he would seek to unify the Catholic Church after years of fraught divisions and vowed he would not rule like an "autocrat" over its 1.4 billion members. But the Vatican's decision on Thursday to tell the members of a breakaway traditionalist Catholic group that they were excommunicated showed that he is also not afraid of making firm decisions, experts said. The Vatican's top doctrinal watchdog said that priests and lay Catholics who ar...

June 9, 2026 6:56 PM

Pope Leo lands in Barcelona on Spain tour focused on war and migration

Pope Leo on Tuesday arrived in Barcelona for the second stop of a week-long tour of Spain in which he has warned that escalating conflicts have pushed the world into a profound crisis. Leo, who has adopted a more forceful tone recently against the direction of global leadership, also told Spain's parliament on Monday that the "moral greatness" of any country depended on how it treated migrants and other vulnerable populations. As in Madrid, Leo was greeted by large crowds as he arrived at Barc...

June 8, 2026 4:27 PM

Pope Leo warns Spain’s parliament the world is in ‘profound’ crisis

Pope Leo told Spain's parliament that escalating conflict, deepening polarization and widespread disregard for human rights had pushed the world into a profound crisis, in one of his most expansive political addresses yet on Monday. Leo, who has adopted a more forceful tone recently against the direction of global leadership, also firmly repeated his opposition to increased European military spending, urging politicians instead to end the wars ravaging the globe and help migrants. "The world i...

June 6, 2026 3:02 PM

Pope Leo arrives in Spain with migrants and polarisation in focus

Pope Leo arrived in Spain on Saturday for a week-long visit, his first to an EU country outside Italy, where he will inaugurate a new tower in Barcelona's famed Sagrada Familia basilica and meet migrants who braved dangerous Atlantic waters to reach Europe. The first American head of the Catholic Church is expected to draw large crowds on the June 6-12 trip, which also includes stops in Madrid, Montserrat Monastery and the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the west coast of Africa. Le...

June 3, 2026 11:48 AM

Pope Leo heads to Spain to stand ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with migrants

Pope Leo heads to Spain on Saturday for a week-long tour, his first visit to an EU country outside Italy, which will culminate with the pontiff meeting migrants in the Canary Islands who braved dangerous Atlantic waters to enter Europe. Leo, who drew the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump after criticising his anti-immigration policies, is expected to attract large crowds on the June 6 to 12 visit and will also be the first pope to address the Spanish parliament. The first U.S. pope's itinerar...

May 25, 2026 4:28 PM

Pope Leo urges world to ‘slow down’ on AI in fervent first manifesto

Pope Leo urged governments to slow down the development of AI systems in his first major document, released on Monday, warning that they spread misinformation, prioritise conflict and risk leading the world down a path of unending war. Leo, who has adopted a more forceful tone in recent months and has drawn the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump after criticising the Iran ‌war, made a range of impassioned appeals to world leaders in the lengthy text, known as an encyclical. The first U.S....

May 18, 2026 5:22 PM

Pope Leo to issue first major work, addressing AI, on May 25

Pope Leo will release his first in-depth document, expected to address the rise of artificial intelligence and challenges to workers' rights, on May 25, the Vatican announced on Monday. The text, known as an encyclical, is also likely to decry the wars roiling the world, according to sources. It will be titled "Magnifica Humanitas" (Magnificent Humanity) and was formally signed by the pope on Friday ahead of publication, a Vatican statement said. Leo, the first U.S. pope, will take part in a ...

May 8, 2026 3:01 PM

Pope Leo, after Rubio meeting, asks God to inspire leaders to calm tensions

Pope Leo asked that God would inspire world leaders to calm global tensions and reduce hatred in an address on Friday to mark his first anniversary as head of the Catholic Church, a day after he met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican. Leo, who has drawn the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump after criticizing the Iran war, asked worshippers to pray that global governments would turn away from violence. In a visit to Pompei, a modern city about 245 km (152 miles) south of Rome n...