Religious quotes and news – June 1, 2025
Snippets of religious statements and highlights of events from around the world
‘Joy of faith’
Last Sunday, May 25, Pope Leo XIV said: “let us walk in the joy of faith” in holiness, and “let us commit ourselves to bringing his love everywhere”. He reminded Christians that God takes us by the hand, and invited us to not allow ourselves to be troubled but to walk with joy in the faith.
He explained that in the Sunday’s gospel reading, from St John, Christ “tells us that we should not rely on our own strength, but rather on the mercy of the Lord who has chosen us, certain that the Holy Spirit guides us and teaches us everything”.
He added: “Jesus announces the gift of the Holy Spirit with this wonderful promise: ‘Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him’.”
‘Engines of hope’
Addressing members of the Union of Superiors General, Cardinal Mario Grech said: “Pope Leo XIV encourages us to advance on the path of synodality, making fruitful the many seeds planted in the soil of the Church during the 2021-2024 Synodal process.” The secretary general of the synod was reflecting on the theme ‘Consecrated life: Engine of hope in a synodal Church’.
Cardinal Grech then highlighted Pope Leo XIV’s focus on the Church’s missionary zeal. Mission, he said, stands as the external expression of the synodal drive to involve everyone at all stages through “participation and communion”. “In this new stage of the Church’s journey,” he added, “you consecrated men and women, belonging to ancient and modern institutes, must feel entrusted with the task of being the vanguard of the Church’s missionary renewal.”
Fake sermons of Pope Leo
A YouTube channel that was making AI-created videos claiming to be sermons by Pope Leo XIV, has been closed down. The channel had garnered thousands of followers in a short while.
YouTube shut down the operation on May 21, citing violations of its policies that bar “spam, deceptive practices, and scams”.
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)
