“Fifty years ago, Bishop Salas, Father Salem, and Father Chomraeun were right here, just a few meters from us, where our beautiful rice paddies had been transformed into vast forced labor camps,” said Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusle, MEP. “There were no more schools, only scattered families; fear and death reigned.”

The prelate added:

Like the first Christians in Rome, like the hidden Christians in Japan, our bishop and his fellow priests sometimes secretly celebrated God’s Day [Sunday], read a few lines from the Bible, knowing that this was forbidden and could mean instant death if they were discovered ... From the blood of our martyrs and the faith of Christians, the Church was able to rise again, and today she is here to praise God and proclaim her hope. This peace has a very sweet taste, dear brothers and sisters.

“From its foundation, Caritas Internationalis has embodied the Church’s proclamation that ‘Christ’s preference is for the poor, the least, the abandoned and discarded,’” said Pope Leo, citing a 2023 message of Pope Francis. “Indeed, this vision can be seen in the Eucharist itself, where the Lord ‘having loved his own who were in the world, loved them to the end’” (Jn. 13:1).

“The love we receive from Christ is never a private treasure but always a mission entrusted to our hands,” Pope Leo continued. “Love sends us forth; love makes us servants; love opens our eyes to the wounds of others.”

In an audience with the prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Pope Leo XIV approved the promulgation of six decrees.

In 2015, Pope Francis sought to make the “process more accessible and expeditious, but never at the expense of truth,” Pope Leo said. “Human judgment on the nullity of marriage cannot however be manipulated by false mercy. Any activity contrary to the service of the process of truth must certainly be deemed unjust.”

Pope Leo repeated words from earlier in his pontificate that “marriage is not an ideal but the measure of true love between a man and a woman: a love that is total, faithful and fruitful.” The Pope also described the “indissoluble marital bond” as “the foundation of the family, which is the domestic Church.”

“The Holy See reiterates that any type of violence perpetrated against women is contrary to the sublimity of human nature and constitutes a grave violation of their dignity and an unacceptable attack on human rights,” Msgr. Serrano said in an address to the organization’s permanent council.

The diplomat added that the Holy See emphasizes “the indispensable role of the family in building relationships based on respect for the dignity of every human being, on brotherhood, and on the recognition of the unique and irreplaceable value of every person, man and woman, as a creation of the Creator.”