https://www.scmp.com/rss/521232/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Reuters Reuters Pope Leo and new Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally met for the first time on Monday, in a symbolic encounter at the Vatican in which the leaders of the long-separated Catholic Church and Church of England exchanged gifts and prayed together. Mullally, the first woman to serve as spiritual leader of the world’s 85 million Anglicans, was ‌welcomed by Leo, the first US leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, into his formal office at the Vatican’s ornate apostolic palace. The two, who... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351618/pope-meets-first-female-archbishop-canterbury-symbolic-vatican-encounter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351618/pope-meets-first-female-archbishop-canterbury-symbolic-vatican-encounter?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Apr 2026 17:36:06 +0000 dpa dpa Pope Leo has called for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty on Saturday, a day after the US administration mulled expanding the penalty. “The dignity of the person is not lost even after very serious crimes are committed,” Leo said in a video message marking the 15th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in his home state of Illinois. “The Catholic Church has consistently taught that each human life, from the moment of conception until natural death, is sacred and deserves... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351441/pope-leo-urges-worldwide-abolition-death-penalty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351441/pope-leo-urges-worldwide-abolition-death-penalty?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Apr 2026 15:51:23 +0000 Reuters Reuters A top envoy to ⁠US President Donald Trump has asked Fifa to replace Iran with Italy in the coming World Cup, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. The plan is an effort to repair ‌ties between Trump and Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after the two fell out amid the American president’s attacks against Pope Leo over the Iran war, the FT reported, citing people familiar with the matter. “I confirm I have suggested to Trump and (Fifa president ⁠Gianni) Infantino that Italy replace Iran... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3351060/trump-envoy-seeks-replace-iran-italy-world-cup-report-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3351060/trump-envoy-seeks-replace-iran-italy-world-cup-report-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Apr 2026 22:07:43 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Pope Leo on Tuesday used the fourth and final leg of his Africa tour in Equatorial Guinea to denounce the “colonisation” of Africa’s minerals and the “lust for power” in a country whose president has been in office since 1979. Adoring crowds in the largely Catholic country lined the road from the airport into the administrative capital, Malabo, cheering the first pope to visit since St John Paul II in 1982. Wearing his formal red mozzetta cape, Leo thrilled the flag-waving masses by arriving at... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3350961/pope-leo-denounces-colonisation-minerals-final-leg-africa-tour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3350961/pope-leo-denounces-colonisation-minerals-final-leg-africa-tour?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Apr 2026 04:54:01 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US President Donald Trump and many of his leading Christian supporters and top Republicans are taking part this week in a marathon reading of the Bible in an America 250-themed event billed as encouraging a “return to the spiritual foundation that has shaped our country”. The America Reads the Bible event – with each participant reading a passage aloud – is being live-streamed from the Museum of the Bible in Washington and other locations. It featured a video of Trump from the Oval Office on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3350934/trump-reads-bible-after-high-profile-clash-pope?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3350934/trump-reads-bible-after-high-profile-clash-pope?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Apr 2026 23:48:35 +0000 Reuters Reuters Pope Leo lamented during an event in Angola on Monday that many people in the world were being “exploited by authoritarians and defrauded by the rich”, the latest example of a forceful new speaking style he has adopted on his ‌four-nation Africa tour. The first US pope, who has drawn the ire of President Donald Trump with his more outspoken comments, told worshippers at a Mass in Saurimo, near the Democratic Republic of Congo border, that violence and oppression went against the Christian... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3350762/pope-leo-criticises-exploitation-worlds-authoritarians-during-angola-trip?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3350762/pope-leo-criticises-exploitation-worlds-authoritarians-during-angola-trip?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Apr 2026 11:55:07 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Pope Leo on Sunday recalled the “sorrow and great suffering” Angolans endured for centuries, as the American pope prayed at a Catholic shrine located at the site of an important hub of the African slave trade during Portugal’s colonial rule. Leo travelled to the Sanctuary of Mama Muxima, nestled in the Angolan savannahs of baobab trees at the edge of the Kwanza River. It became a major pilgrimage destination after believers reported an appearance by the Virgin Mary around 1833. But the Church of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3350655/pope-leo-prays-catholic-shrine-angola-was-centre-african-slave-trade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3350655/pope-leo-prays-catholic-shrine-angola-was-centre-african-slave-trade?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Apr 2026 18:25:23 +0000 Reuters Reuters Pope Leo sought ⁠to downplay his feud ⁠with US President Donald Trump on Saturday, ⁠saying reporting about comments he has made so far during his Africa tour “has not been accurate in all its aspects”. Speaking to reporters in English aboard his flight to Angola for the third leg of his ambitious 10-day Africa tour, the first US pope said comments ‌he made two days earlier in Cameroon decrying that the world was being “ravaged by a handful of tyrants” were not aimed at Trump. That speech, said... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3350604/pope-leo-seeks-defuse-tensions-trump-says-not-trying-debate-him?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3350604/pope-leo-seeks-defuse-tensions-trump-says-not-trying-debate-him?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Apr 2026 03:32:39 +0000 Reuters Reuters Pope Leo called on Cameroonians on Friday to reject violence and be generous with their neighbours during an event billed as the biggest of his four-nation Africa tour, with roughly 120,000 people flocking to a mass he led in the port city of Douala. Amid heavy security, some believers had made their way on Thursday to the city’s Japoma ‌Stadium, venue of the mass, and slept overnight outside on mats to hear Friday’s address from the pontiff, who has become outspoken on war and inequality and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3350542/pope-urges-cameroon-reject-violence-mass-draws-120000-people?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3350542/pope-urges-cameroon-reject-violence-mass-draws-120000-people?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Apr 2026 17:15:32 +0000 Reuters Reuters Pope Leo blasted leaders who spend billions on wars and said the world was “being ravaged by a handful of tyrants”, in unusually forceful remarks in Cameroon on Thursday after US President Donald Trump attacked him again on social media. Leo, the first US pope, also decried leaders who used religious language to justify wars and urged a “decisive change of course” in a meeting in the biggest city ‌in Cameroon’s anglophone regions, where a simmering conflict going back nearly a decade has left... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3350355/cameroon-pope-leo-assails-tyrants-ravaging-world-amid-trump-row?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3350355/cameroon-pope-leo-assails-tyrants-ravaging-world-amid-trump-row?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:50:09 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump posted an image of Jesus embracing him on Wednesday, as a war of words between his administration and the pope showed little sign of abating. The image, reposted to Trump’s Truth Social account, shows Trump with his eyes closed, touching temple-to-temple with a similarly posed Jesus. Trump is standing behind a microphone, and behind him is an American flag. The original post ‌had a caption that included the words: “God might be playing his Trump card!” Trump’s repost... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3350224/trump-posts-image-jesus-hugging-him-amid-row-pope-over-iran-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3350224/trump-posts-image-jesus-hugging-him-amid-row-pope-over-iran-war?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:44:40 +0000 Reuters Reuters Pope Leo has said the world needs to hear a message of peace and coexistence, after US President Donald Trump attacked him for a second time this week on social media. Speaking on Wednesday during his flight from Algeria to Cameroon for the second leg of a whirlwind 10-day ‌Africa tour, the first US pontiff urged respect for all people and said his travels so far had shown the importance of pursuing dialogue between different communities. “Although we have different beliefs, we have different... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3350217/pope-leo-stresses-message-peace-and-unity-despite-another-trump-attack?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3350217/pope-leo-stresses-message-peace-and-unity-despite-another-trump-attack?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:15:08 +0000 Gloria Tso Gloria Tso Yves Saint Laurent famously once said that fashion fades, but style is eternal. For designer Filippo Sorcinelli, who fashions garments for one of the world’s most revered religious figures, that statement carries even greater weight. Having dressed three popes – Benedict, Francis and now Leo – for some of their most notable appearances for the better part of two decades, Sorcinelli, 50, is now affectionately known as the pope’s tailor, his intricately embroidered liturgical vestments akin to the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/icons-influencers/article/3349975/designer-filippo-sorcinelli-dressing-last-three-popes-interview?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/icons-influencers/article/3349975/designer-filippo-sorcinelli-dressing-last-three-popes-interview?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Apr 2026 19:00:09 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service US President Donald Trump on Monday defended his now deleted social media post that appeared to depict himself as Jesus Christ, contending that it was meant to portray him as “a doctor” after right-wing figures continued a recent trend of pushing back on the president’s recent comments. “Well, it wasn’t a depiction. It was me, I did post it. And I thought it was me as a doctor, and had to do with Red Cross,” Trump said during an impromptu event at the White House. “There was a Red Cross worker... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349972/trump-claims-jesus-meme-caused-outcry-was-him-doctor?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349972/trump-claims-jesus-meme-caused-outcry-was-him-doctor?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Apr 2026 02:36:41 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US President Donald Trump delivered an extraordinary broadside against Pope Leo on Sunday night, saying he did not think the US-born global leader of the 1.4-billion-member Catholic Church was “doing a very good job” and that “he’s a very liberal person”, while also suggesting the pontiff should “stop catering to the Radical Left”. Flying back to Washington from Florida, Trump used a lengthy social media post to sharply criticise Leo, then kept it up after disembarking, in comments on the tarmac... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349830/trump-attacks-pope-leo-calling-him-weak-crime-and-terrible-foreign-policy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349830/trump-attacks-pope-leo-calling-him-weak-crime-and-terrible-foreign-policy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2026 02:02:15 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press In his strongest words yet, Pope Leo on Saturday denounced the “delusion of omnipotence” that is fuelling the US-Israel war on Iran and demanded political leaders stop and negotiate peace. Leo presided over an evening prayer service in St Peter’s Basilica on the same day the US and Iran began face-to-face negotiations in Pakistan and as a fragile ceasefire held. History’s first US-born pope did not mention the United States or President Donald Trump in his prayer, which was planned before the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3349769/pope-leo-slams-delusion-omnipotence-stoking-us-israeli-war-iran?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3349769/pope-leo-slams-delusion-omnipotence-stoking-us-israeli-war-iran?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Apr 2026 03:25:35 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg The Pentagon and the Vatican denied allegations of a rift following Pope Leo’s criticism of the Trump administration and a news report of a contentious meeting between a papal envoy and a top US defence official. In separate statements, the two sides both professed an eagerness to get along, saying the meeting that occurred in January was frank but polite. The Defence Department issued a statement that said “we have nothing but the highest regard and welcome continued dialogue with the Holy... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349613/pentagon-plays-down-rift-vatican-despite-pope-leos-criticism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349613/pentagon-plays-down-rift-vatican-despite-pope-leos-criticism?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Apr 2026 05:15:07 +0000 Teresa Elena Frontado,Lucy Quaggin,Orange Wang Teresa Elena Frontado,Lucy Quaggin,Orange Wang Iran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz under a ceasefire agreement with the United States brokered by Pakistan, as the two sides also agreed to start negotiations in Islamabad on Friday for a peace deal. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the US would pause its bombing campaign in Iran for two weeks, calling it a “double-sided ceasefire” requested by Pakistani mediators in a last-minute bid to create space for diplomacy. In a social media post, Trump said the suspension of military action was... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3349299/trump-agrees-suspend-bombing-iran-2-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3349299/trump-agrees-suspend-bombing-iran-2-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Apr 2026 14:28:16 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Pope Leo celebrated his first Easter Mass as pontiff with a call on Sunday to lay down arms and seek peace to global conflicts through dialogue, but he departed from a tradition of listing the world’s woes by name in the Urbi et Orbi blessing from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica. Leo, the first US-born pope, emphasised Easter’s message of hope as a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection after being crucified, in both the blessing and his homily. “Let us allow our hearts to be transformed by his... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3349090/pope-leo-calls-peace-dialogue-amid-ukraine-iran-wars-easter-mass?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3349090/pope-leo-calls-peace-dialogue-amid-ukraine-iran-wars-easter-mass?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Apr 2026 11:35:27 +0000 Cliff Buddle Cliff Buddle The dramatic launch of the first manned space mission to the moon for more than 50 years invokes a childlike sense of excitement and wonder, with reflections on the prospect of another giant leap for mankind. Four astronauts, three from the United States and one from Canada, are on course to travel further away from Earth than any of their predecessors, circling the moon. Some of us are old enough to remember the first lunar missions in the 1960s and ’70s. These formed the backdrop to our... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3349049/lunar-mission-gives-fresh-perspective-troubled-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3349049/lunar-mission-gives-fresh-perspective-troubled-world?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Apr 2026 16:00:09 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Pope Leo lifted a wooden cross and held it aloft from his waist at the start of the 14 stations of the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum on his first Good Friday as pontiff, marking the first time in decades that a pope has set out to carry the cross to every station. “I think it will be an important sign because of what the pope represents, a spiritual leader in the world today, and for this voice, that everyone wants to hear, that says Christ still suffers,” Leo told reporters this week... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3349008/pope-leo-carries-cross-full-good-friday-procession-first-do-so-decades?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3349008/pope-leo-carries-cross-full-good-friday-procession-first-do-so-decades?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 20:50:00 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Pope Leo on Saturday denounced the widening gap between the haves and have-nots as he visited Monaco, a millionaires’ playground that is the surprise pick for the first Western European trip of his papacy. Arriving by helicopter from Rome, the Pope was greeted by Monaco’s ruler Prince Albert II and his wife Princess Charlene at Monte Carlo’s heliport under radiant sunshine. Just after his arrival at the tiny principality on the French Riviera, Leo condemned what he termed the widening “chasms... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3348236/pope-leo-heads-swanky-monaco-pro-poor-message?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3348236/pope-leo-heads-swanky-monaco-pro-poor-message?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Mar 2026 06:05:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Pope Leo XIV demanded a ceasefire in the Middle East on Sunday in his strongest comments to date, directly addressing the leaders who launched the war in Iran. “On behalf of the Christians of the Middle East and all women and men of good will, I appeal to those responsible for this conflict,” Pope Leo said. “Cease fire so that avenues for dialogue may be reopened. Violence can never lead to the justice, stability and peace that the people are waiting for.” Pope Leo did not cite the United States... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3346681/cease-fire-pope-leo-demands-end-middle-east-war-urging-those-responsible-talk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3346681/cease-fire-pope-leo-demands-end-middle-east-war-urging-those-responsible-talk?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2026 14:36:40 +0000 Reuters Reuters Pope Leo lamented ⁠a world “in flames” ⁠due to wars and ⁠the destruction of the environment during an Ash Wednesday Mass, opening the season of Lent for the world’s Christians. Before sprinkling ashes on the heads of participants, a sign of mortality, ‌the pope said the ashes could represent “the weight of a world that is ablaze, of entire cities destroyed by war”. He also told participants the ashes could signify “the ashes of international law and justice among peoples, [and] the ashes of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3343941/pope-leo-laments-world-flames-ash-wednesday-service?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3343941/pope-leo-laments-world-flames-ash-wednesday-service?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Feb 2026 19:06:25 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Sarah Mullally was confirmed as Archbishop of Canterbury on Wednesday, becoming the first woman to lead the Church of England. The worldwide Anglican Communion, which includes the Episcopal Church in the US, has no formal head, but the archbishop traditionally has been seen as its spiritual leader. Mullally, 63, a cancer nurse turned cleric, officially took up the responsibilities of her new job as judges presided over a legal ceremony confirming her appointment, which was announced almost four... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3341578/sarah-mullally-confirmed-archbishop-canterbury-first-woman-lead-church-england?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3341578/sarah-mullally-confirmed-archbishop-canterbury-first-woman-lead-church-england?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Jan 2026 12:42:28 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse All 40 people who perished in a New Year’s fire at a Swiss ski resort bar were identified on Sunday, with half of them under the age of 18. A heavy pall of grief hung over Crans-Montana as more than a thousand mourners walked in silence through the resort to remember those killed and injured in the tragic blaze at the Le Constellation bar. After days of agonising uncertainty for loved ones, local police on Sunday finished identifying the fire’s 40 fatalities. Their ages ranged from 39 to two who... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3338700/raw-emotion-mourners-pay-tribute-victims-swiss-ski-resort-fire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3338700/raw-emotion-mourners-pay-tribute-victims-swiss-ski-resort-fire?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Jan 2026 20:18:47 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Britain’s King Charles called for “compassion and reconciliation” at a time of “division” across the world in his Christmas Day message on Thursday. The 77-year-old monarch said he found it “enormously encouraging” how people of different faiths had a “shared longing for peace”. Charles praised individuals who risked their lives to save others in situations of violence, including those caught up in the killings at a Jewish event at Bondi Beach in Australia this month. “Individuals and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3337748/king-charles-calls-reconciliation-christmas-speech?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3337748/king-charles-calls-reconciliation-christmas-speech?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Dec 2025 23:05:05 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse In an appeal on Thursday during a message and blessing given at Christmas and Easter, Pope Leo called for an end to all global wars. Speaking from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to thousands of people in the square below, he lamented conflicts, political, ‌social or military, in Ukraine, Sudan, Mali, Myanmar, ‌and Thailand and Cambodia, among others. Leo said people in Ukraine, where Russian troops are threatening cities critical to the country’s eastern defences, have been... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3337672/pope-leo-celebrates-first-christmas-pontiff?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3337672/pope-leo-celebrates-first-christmas-pontiff?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Dec 2025 23:56:39 +0000 Reuters Reuters Pope Leo urged US President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday not to try to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro using military force. Leo, the first US pope, said it would be better to attempt dialogue or impose economic pressure on Venezuela if Washington wants to pursue change there. The Trump administration has been weighing options to combat what it has portrayed as Maduro’s role in supplying illegal drugs that have killed Americans. The socialist Venezuelan president has denied... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3334965/pope-leo-urges-trump-admin-not-attempt-military-ousting-venezuelas-maduro?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3334965/pope-leo-urges-trump-admin-not-attempt-military-ousting-venezuelas-maduro?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Dec 2025 17:34:38 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Pope Leo challenged Lebanon’s political leaders on Sunday to be true peacemakers and put their differences aside, as he sought to give Lebanon’s long-suffering people a message of hope and bolster a crucial Christian community in the Middle East. At Beirut airport, where his plane landed with a Lebanese military jet escort, Pope Leo XIV was greeted first by President Joseph Aoun, then by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. Leo arrived in Beirut from Istanbul on the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3334673/pope-leo-travels-lebanon-will-appeal-peace-amid-israeli-strikes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3334673/pope-leo-travels-lebanon-will-appeal-peace-amid-israeli-strikes?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Nov 2025 10:44:12 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial The world stands with Hong Kong at this difficult time, with condolences and support streaming in from mainland China and foreign countries as the city’s deadliest high-rise building inferno was finally brought under control on Friday. The Tai Po fire tragedy has also drawn the city closer together as donations and relief aid for victims and survivors mount. The process of healing and rebuilding will be long and requires concerted and sustainable efforts from all sides. The blaze, which started... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3334521/hong-kong-must-stay-united-long-road-recovery-tai-po-fire-tragedy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3334521/hong-kong-must-stay-united-long-road-recovery-tai-po-fire-tragedy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Nov 2025 23:15:14 +0000 Reuters Reuters The head of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said on Friday it retained the right to respond to Israel’s killing days ago of its top military commander and left open the possibility of a new conflict with Israel. Naim Qassem spoke in a televised address as fears grew in Lebanon that Israel could escalate its bombardment of the country to compel Hezbollah to relinquish its arsenal across the country, which the group has repeatedly rejected. Israel’s killing of Hezbollah’s top military commander... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3334589/hezbollah-leader-leaves-open-possibility-new-war-israel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3334589/hezbollah-leader-leaves-open-possibility-new-war-israel?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Nov 2025 20:34:19 +0000 Reuters Reuters Pope Leo lamented that the world was seeing an unusual number of bloody conflicts during his first trip outside Italy as Catholic leader on Thursday, and he warned that a third world war was being “fought piecemeal”, with humanity’s future at risk. In his first speech given overseas since his election in May to lead the 1.4 billion-member Church, Leo, the first US pope, said “ambitions and choices that trample on justice and peace” were destabilising the world. He told political leaders in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3334417/pope-leo-warns-piecemeal-third-world-war-turkey-trip-future-humanity-stake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3334417/pope-leo-warns-piecemeal-third-world-war-turkey-trip-future-humanity-stake?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Nov 2025 14:25:17 +0000 Reuters Reuters Fifty of the more than 300 students kidnapped from a Nigerian Catholic school last week have escaped and have been reunited with their parents, the Catholic Church and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said on Sunday. But around 253 of the kidnapped children, along with 12 staff members and teachers, were still with the kidnappers, said CAN Chairman Bulus Yohanna, a Catholic Bishop who is also the proprietor of the school. In a statement, Yohanna said the pupils escaped on Friday and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3333882/dozens-kidnapped-catholic-school-students-nigeria-escape-captors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3333882/dozens-kidnapped-catholic-school-students-nigeria-escape-captors?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Nov 2025 02:54:26 +0000 Reuters Reuters Pope Leo told a group of leading Hollywood actors and filmmakers on Saturday that cinemas were struggling to survive and that more should be done to protect them and preserve the shared experience of watching films. Screen stars Cate Blanchett, Monica Bellucci, Chris Pine and Viggo Mortensen were among those invited to the private Vatican audience, along with award-winning directors Spike Lee, Gus Van Sant and Sally Potter. Leo, the first US pope, said cinema was a vital “workshop of hope” at a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3332953/pope-hosts-hollywood-stars-vatican-laments-decline-cinema-going?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3332953/pope-hosts-hollywood-stars-vatican-laments-decline-cinema-going?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Nov 2025 18:35:38 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The Vatican on Saturday returned 62 artefacts to indigenous peoples from Canada as part of the Catholic Church’s reckoning with its role in helping suppress indigenous culture in the Americas. Pope Leo gave the artefacts, including an iconic Inuit kayak, and supporting documentation to a delegation of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops during an audience. According to a joint statement from the Vatican and Canadian church, the pieces were a gift and a “concrete sign of dialogue, respect... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3332938/vatican-returns-62-artefacts-connected-indigenous-peoples-canada?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3332938/vatican-returns-62-artefacts-connected-indigenous-peoples-canada?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Nov 2025 12:11:00 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan played down days of bloody protest as she was inaugurated on Monday, despite the opposition warning that hundreds were killed. The electoral commission said Hassan won 98 per cent of the vote. The main opposition party, Chadema, which was barred from running, has rejected the results. It has called for fresh elections, saying last Wednesday’s vote was a “sham”. In her speech, Hassan called for “unity and solidarity” but also alleged that some of the young... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3331397/tanzanias-president-sworn-opposition-says-hundreds-killed-protests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3331397/tanzanias-president-sworn-opposition-says-hundreds-killed-protests?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Nov 2025 20:59:00 +0000 Reuters Reuters Britain’s King Charles and Pope Leo prayed together in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel on Thursday, in the first joint worship including an English monarch and a Catholic pontiff since King Henry VIII broke away from Rome in 1534. Latin chants and English prayers echoed through the chapel, where Leo was elected the first US pope by the world’s Catholic cardinals six months ago in front of frescoes by Michelangelo depicting Christ delivering the Last Judgment. Charles, supreme governor of the Church... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3330096/king-charles-pope-leo-pray-together-500-year-first?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3330096/king-charles-pope-leo-pray-together-500-year-first?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Oct 2025 11:30:57 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Bells rang out on Sunday over St Peter’s Square as Pope Leo XIV created seven new saints, including the first from Papua New Guinea, an archbishop killed in the Armenian genocide and a Venezuelan “doctor of the poor”. Also canonised during the solemn ceremony, under sunny skies in the vast plaza on World Mission Day, were three nuns who dedicated their lives to the poor and sick, and former satanic priest Bartolo Longo. The Italian lawyer born in 1841 subsequently rejoined the Catholic faith and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3329590/nuns-teen-influencer-and-ex-satanic-priest-among-seven-new-saints?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3329590/nuns-teen-influencer-and-ex-satanic-priest-among-seven-new-saints?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Oct 2025 13:54:58 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Arm in arm, young people of different faiths perform the dabke, an Arabic folk dance, in the Italian port of Ostia, elated by a visit from Pope Leo. Behind them is the Bel Espoir, a schooner vessel on which the young people – whether from Libya and Egypt or France and Bosnia – have been sailing the Mediterranean to promote peace. “For me especially, it means a lot that the pope believes in the project and he wants to come and meet us,” said Jesus Marro, a 30-year-old Spaniard. “He believes in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3329519/pope-leo-visits-ship-sailing-mediterranean-peace-mission?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3329519/pope-leo-visits-ship-sailing-mediterranean-peace-mission?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Oct 2025 10:11:18 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The Catholic Church and Church of England, divided for centuries over issues that now include the ordination of female priests, will take a historic step on the path to unity next week when Britain’s King Charles and Pope Leo pray together in the Sistine Chapel, officials said Friday. The October 23 ecumenical prayer service, drawing on the shared concern for care of God’s creation, marks the first time since the Reformation that the heads of the two Christian churches pray together. Buckingham... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3329478/king-charles-be-first-uk-monarch-pray-pope-centuries?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3329478/king-charles-be-first-uk-monarch-pray-pope-centuries?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Oct 2025 17:11:05 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Pope Leo XIV declared a 15-year-old computer whiz the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint on Sunday, giving the next generation of Catholics a relatable role model who used technology to spread the faith and earn the nickname “God’s influencer”. Leo canonised Carlo Acutis, who died in 2006, during an open-air Mass in St Peter’s Square before an estimated 80,000 people, many of them millennials and couples with young children. During the first saint-making Mass of his pontificate, Leo also... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3324672/pope-leo-declares-teenage-computer-whiz-carlo-acutis-first-millennial-saint?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3324672/pope-leo-declares-teenage-computer-whiz-carlo-acutis-first-millennial-saint?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Sep 2025 18:50:05 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Hundreds of LGBTQ Catholics and their families took part in a Holy Year pilgrimage to Rome on Saturday, celebrating a new level of acceptance in the Catholic Church after long feeling shunned and crediting Pope Francis with the change. The vice-president of the Italian bishops conference, Bishop Francesco Savino, celebrated Mass for the pilgrims in a packed Chiesa del Gesu, the main Jesuit church in Rome. He received a sustained standing ovation in the middle of his homily when he recalled that... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3324617/lgbtq-catholics-celebrate-new-sense-acceptance-holy-year-pilgrimage-rome?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3324617/lgbtq-catholics-celebrate-new-sense-acceptance-holy-year-pilgrimage-rome?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Sep 2025 14:08:49 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial Stability is the foundation for progress in the world of diplomacy. Newly elected Pope Leo XIV has raised hopes for the constructive development of Beijing-Vatican ties, after he affirmed the importance of maintaining communication with the mainland Chinese authorities and pledged to follow the direction set by the late Pope Francis. Even though a substantive breakthrough in ties might take time, hopefully the continuity can strengthen mutual respect and goodwill. The Holy See’s commitment was... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3324433/cardinals-meeting-pope-good-sign-sino-vatican-relations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3324433/cardinals-meeting-pope-good-sign-sino-vatican-relations?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Sep 2025 23:15:07 +0000 Edith Lin,Willa Wu Edith Lin,Willa Wu Newly elected Pope Leo XIV has recognised the importance of maintaining communication with mainland Chinese authorities and will follow the course set by his predecessor regarding Beijing-Vatican ties, Hong Kong’s Catholic bishop has revealed. Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan disclosed the details in an article published in Catholic newspaper the Sunday Examiner on Thursday, two days after his first significant meeting with the new pontiff since taking part in the conclave in May. The meeting, held... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3324272/pope-leo-xiv-pledges-commitment-beijing-vatican-ties-hong-kong-cardinal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3324272/pope-leo-xiv-pledges-commitment-beijing-vatican-ties-hong-kong-cardinal?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Sep 2025 03:21:53 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Russia accused Ukraine on Sunday of launching drone attacks that sparked a fire at a nuclear power plant in its western Kursk region overnight, as Ukraine celebrated 34 years since its independence. Russian officials said several power and energy facilities were targeted in the overnight strikes. The fire at the nuclear facility was quickly extinguished with no injuries reported, according to the plant’s press service on Telegram. While the attack damaged a transformer, radiation levels remained... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3322997/ukraine-marks-independence-day-russia-says-kyiv-has-struck-nuclear-power-plant?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3322997/ukraine-marks-independence-day-russia-says-kyiv-has-struck-nuclear-power-plant?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Aug 2025 17:14:55 +0000 Associated Press,Agence France-Presse Associated Press,Agence France-Presse Pope Leo XIV presided over a final mass in Rome for over one million young people on Sunday, the culmination of a youth pilgrimage that has drawn Catholics from across the world. On Saturday night, before a twilight vigil led by the pope, organisers had confirmed the attendance of 800,000 people in the vast, open-air space on Rome’s eastern outskirts, and on Sunday the Vatican said that number had grown to one million people. Most of those attending slept on the ground in tents, in sleeping bags... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3320560/half-million-young-catholics-invade-rome-awaiting-pope-leo-holy-year-youth-festival?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3320560/half-million-young-catholics-invade-rome-awaiting-pope-leo-holy-year-youth-festival?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Aug 2025 18:14:00 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Pope Leo XIV marked the 56th anniversary of man’s arrival on the moon on Sunday with a visit to the Vatican astronomical observatory in Castel Gandolfo and a call to astronaut Buzz Aldrin. After praying the Sunday Angelus at his summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo, Leo headed to the astronomical observatory located in the Pontifical Villas, where he took a close look at the telescopes that have supported celestial exploration from a faith-based perspective for decades. The pontiff was accompanied... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3318937/pope-marks-56th-anniversary-moon-landing-observatory-visit-call-buzz-aldrin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3318937/pope-marks-56th-anniversary-moon-landing-observatory-visit-call-buzz-aldrin?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Jul 2025 23:51:24 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Pope Leo XIV signalled commitment to continuing the fight against clergy sexual abuse by appointing France’s Bishop Thibault Verny to head the Vatican’s child protection advisory commission on Saturday. Verny, 59, replaces American Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the retired archbishop of Boston. O’Malley was the founding president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, an advisory group Pope Francis established in 2014 to advise the church on best practices to fight abuse and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3317106/pope-leo-signals-continuity-fighting-child-abuse-vatican-appointee?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3317106/pope-leo-signals-continuity-fighting-child-abuse-vatican-appointee?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Jul 2025 13:59:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters Pope Leo warned politicians on Saturday of the challenges posed by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), addressing its potential impact on younger people as a prime concern. Speaking at an event attended by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and parliamentary delegations from 68 countries, Leo revisited a topic that he has raised on a number of occasions during the first few weeks of his papacy. “In particular, it must not be forgotten that artificial intelligence functions as a tool for... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3315342/pope-leo-warns-against-ai-soulless-machines-vatican-address?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3315342/pope-leo-warns-against-ai-soulless-machines-vatican-address?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Jun 2025 12:17:44 +0000