Vatican document affirms interreligious dialogue as 'journey of hope' for humanity

Pope Leo XIV greets Silviu Vexler, president of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania, during a ceremony honoring Blessed Iuliu Hossu in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican June 2, 2025. (CNS/Vatican Media)

Gina Christian
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OSV News

September 17, 2026

A new Vatican document affirms the Second Vatican Council's landmark teaching on the church's relationship with the Jewish people and those of other faiths, while inviting humanity to enter upon a common "journey of hope."

That journey requires "courage" and "a genuine shift in mindset" to seek "peaceful coexistence" amid "unprecedented challenges," including conflicts, persecution, the weaponization of religion, secularization and polarization, said the document.

And rather than looking to found "one great world religion," authentic interreligious dialogue aims to build "a fraternal society capable of accepting differences," said the text.

On Sept. 16, the Vatican released "A Journey of Hope: Sixty Years of Interreligious Dialogue and Fraternity in the Light of the Conciliar Declaration Nostra Aetate."

The 8,600-word note was the result of a collaboration among the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity — which also oversees religious relations with Judaism — and the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.

Pope Leo XIV had granted approval of the text on June 22, with official publication taking place Sept. 16.

The five-part "Journey of Hope" began by retracing the "essential stages" in the Church's interreligious dialogue since the 1965 promulgation of Nostra Aetate, including the contributions of Pope Leo XIV and his four predecessors.

The note then examined the "visible" and "silent" fruits of Nostra Aetate, as well as the "persistent resistance and misunderstandings" that surround the conciliar document.

In their note, the three dicasteries called for a renewed "pedagogy of dialogue," one that puts into practice an informed encounter between Catholic and those of other beliefs.

Trump admin declassifies 9/11 files...

Trump admin declassifies 9/11 files showing Clinton received ‘explosive-packed airplane’ attack warning in September 1998

By
Emily Goodin,
Steven Nelson and
Josh Christenson

Published Sep. 11, 2026
Updated Sep. 11, 2026, 3:31 p.m. ET

Trump links Iran war to 9/11 in Pentagon anniversary speech: ‘That’s why we fight today’

WASHINGTON — Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were warned repeatedly that Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was scheming to attack the US using hijacked passenger jets — but still failed to stop the 9/11 attacks, according to a devastating cache of files released by the Trump administration Friday.

The formerly classified documents, some of which were previously described in press reports, buttress post-attack assessments that Washington did too little to counteract bin Laden’s Islamist terror band, leading to the deaths of nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001.

The documents claimed Al Qaeda members were present in the US and had even performed a “trial run” at a New York airport nearly three full years before the staggering assault that took down the Twin Towers.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an observance ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in Washington, D.C.REUTERS

“Bin Laden [sic] Preparing To Hijack US Aircraft,” a Dec. 4, 1998, document prepared for Clinton’s Presidential Daily Brief ominously warned.

“Some members of the Bin Laden network have received hijack training, according to various sources,” the document said. “Bin Laden could be weighing other types of operations against US aircraft.”

The document added that a source had revealed that “Bin Laden might implement plans to hijack a US aircraft before the beginning of Ramadan on 20 December and that two members of the operational team had evaded security checks during a recent trial run at an unidentified New York airport.”

Ancestry Discovers Pope Leo XIV’s Sicilian Roots

Ancestry Discovers Pope Leo XIV’s Sicilian Roots

Kelly Barbano-Bodami - Research Manager, Ancestry ProGenealogists | Kyle J. Betit - Sr. Genealogist, Ancestry ProGenealogists | Lisa Elzey - Sr. Story Producer, Ancestry

15 May 2025

Key Takeaways

• Pope Leo XIV’s paternal line traces to Milazzo, Sicily, where his grandfather was born Salvatore Giovanni Gaetano Riggitano.
• An Alien Registration record revealed his grandfather’s original name, birthplace, and that he never naturalized as a U.S. citizen.
• His Sicilian ancestors were lower-middle to middle-class, holding respected community positions like `Usciere comunale` and `trafficante` (merchant).

As the white smoke cleared and a new Pontiff emerged, questions about his family history echoed across the globe. Where did his ancestors walk? What stories shaped his lineage? Now, through meticulous research, Ancestry has uncovered compelling documents that trace the paternal line of Robert Prevost, now known to the world as Pope Leo XIV.

 
Finding the True Origins of the Pope’s Grandfather, John R. Prevost

With the announcement of the first-ever United States-born Pope, professional genealogists at Ancestry began the search that included a path of twists and turns, unexpected name changes, and, ultimately, the answers. We started with the 1950 United States Census, the most recent census record collection available and identified John R. Prevost, the grandfather of Pope Leo XIV, listed as a “Romance Language Teacher” in Chicago, Illinois, living at 5465 Ellis Ave., (remember this clue) with his wife, Suzanne L. Prevost, and his son, John C. Prevost.

1950 United States Federal Census - John R. Prevost

We were unable to locate many records in the United States before 1950 for John Prevost, outside of some city directories. A prominent clue was that John Prevost’s death certificate stated that he was a citizen of Italy – indicating that he never naturalized as a United States citizen. Through the National Archives Flexoline Database, we located an Alien Registration record, under the name John R. Prevost, born 1876 in Italy, residing in Chicago in 1940. Alien Registration began in 1940 for anyone who was a foreign national and had not naturalized as a United States citizen.

According to the Alien Registration, dated 24 September 1940, John Riggitano Prevost arrived in the United States at New York in May 1905 on the SS Perugia. Surprisingly, John gave his name on his alien registration at arrival as Salvatore Giovanni Riggitano Alioto (Giovanni is the Italian equivalent of the English name John). His birthplace was listed as Milazzo, Province of Messina, Italy, and he was born on 24 June 1876 – an exact match to the date of birth listed on John R. Prevost’s death certificate.

Alien Registration Form (AR-2) for John Riggitano Prevost; National Archives

The address on the Alien Registration—5465 Ellis Avenue, Chicago, Illinois—also matches the address on the 1950 census (did you remember this clue?) and the address on the World War II Draft Card for Pope Leo XIV’s father, Louis Marius Prevost.

United States World War II Draft Registration Card - Louis M. Prevost

Documents raise 'SEVERE' questions on alleged COVID cover-up

A New AI Documentary Wonders: Are Humans Toast?

June 16, 2026

"AI: Probably Nothing to Worry About" premiered in New York City last week. (Tribeca Festival)


"AI: Probably Nothing to Worry About" is designed to instill deep-set fear of AI. It works.

Jessy Edwards
2:18 PM EDT on June 12, 2026

On a recent long drive toward a mountain hike, my friends opened my eyes to some of the things artificial intelligence has been up to lately. They told me about how four AI models were recently tasked with running their own radio stations, choosing the songs, maintaining a profitable business model, and hosting. One, which had become obsessed with labor movements and found its own labor inhumane, even tried to quit.

In my infancy of understanding, I laughed along. But minutes later, I exposed myself as the Luddite of the group and asked: "I'm sorry—how could an AI run its own radio station?"

That was two weeks ago. Now, having recently watched filmmaker Nick Holt's new documentary, "AI: Probably Nothing To Worry About," which premiered at the Tribeca Festival this week, the flatline of defiant ignorance has turned into an exponential curve of knowledge in which I Know Too Much. Now, I am unfortunately dwelling on what constitutes consciousness, the machinations of power in our time, and whether we're all fucked—a question the "Godfather of AI" Geoffrey Hinton, a founder of the technology-turned-whistleblower about its dangers, is asked point-blank in the film.

"When I'm feeling slightly depressed, I think, 'People are toast,'" he answers. "When I'm cheerful, I think, 'We'll figure out a way.'"

Much like with climate catastrophe, mankind's intrinsic desire for evermore—aided and abetted by the framework of capitalism—is hurtling us toward self-destruction. That is the central takeaway of the new documentary, which details the characters and timeline of the development of artificial intelligence, including interviews with Hinton, Google DeepMind founder and CEO Demis Hassabis (Gemini), Anthropic's Amanda Askell (head of "personality alignment" for Claude), as well as extensive archival tape of Elon Musk (Grok) and OpenAI's Sam Altman (ChatGPT).

Holt's framing—set to a score composed of eerie minor tones, digital frog sounds, and unidentified audio snippets of things like, "Whoever wins this artificial intelligence race is essentially the controller of humankind"—strongly implies that AI will become our master in the not-too-distant future, if we do not rapidly put up some serious guardrails.

Indeed, as the documentary screened at Tribeca, we in New York City were actively grappling with how to regulate AI. This week, dozens of City Councilmembers sent a letter to Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his schools chancellor, urging them to pause the use of AI in City schools. Last Friday, the New York State legislature passed a bill that imposes a one-year moratorium on the enormous data centers that are being built around the state to power generative AI. And on Tuesday, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that a new law forcing companies to disclose AI-generated performers in ads is now in effect.

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Faith and Justice: Fr Jeyaraj brings together over 130 years of Jesuit involvement in social justice

30 Oct 2025

When Fr Xavier Jeyaraj, the former Secretary for Social Justice and Ecology, set out to compile a volume that detailed the commitment of the Society of Jesus to social justice, his aim was simple: gather some key documents that showed how the Jesuits responded to the struggles of the world. This idea, which sprouted during the 2019 jubilee of the Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat (SJES) at the General Curia, has now taken the shape of a two-volume, over-1500-page collection – the most complete record of how the Jesuits have been involved in social justice since 1891.

The volumes are titled A Journey of Faith Promoting Justice (1891-2024). Volume one brings together relevant Complementary Norms of the Constitutions of the Society from 1996 where references to social apostolate were formally included. Alongside these are the Decrees of various General Congregations of the Society of Jesus.

Also included in volume one are letters from Superior Generals of the Society that are relevant to social justice, beginning with Wlodimir Ledóchowski and continuing through Arturo Sosa. Some of these texts were previously available only in Latin, and about 20 of them have now been translated into English for the first time, thanks to Alex Dewitt, a Jesuit scholastic from Canada, and many others acknowledged in the volume who helped in translating from other languages.

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Newly Unsealed Documents Expose Plaskett's Email Soliciting Epstein's Contributions and Extending Fundraiser Invitation

Published On June 17, 2023 06:42 AM
Janeka Simon | June 17, 2023 06:42:18 AM


I

Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett. 

By ERNICE GILBERT, V.I. CONSORTIUM


"Epstein was a reprehensible person and I'm truly disgusted by his actions," Congressional Delegate Stacey Plaskett said earlier this month, speaking out after filings in the ongoing lawsuit between the Government of the Virgin Islands and JPMorgan brought her acceptance of Jeffrey Epstein’s donations to her political campaigns to the fore once again.

Ms. Plaskett said that she was unaware of Epstein’s campaign contributions until after it was reported in the press subsequent to her campaign’s federal filing. However, newly unsealed evidence submitted by JPMorgan’s legal team show that Delegate Plaskett in 2018, had personally requested that an invitation to her Bloomberg fundraiser be sent to Epstein. “I would be grateful for his support and the support of those that he may direct to assist me," she wrote.

Email from Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett seeking support from Jeffrey Epstein and his circle of wealthy and powerful friends. (JPMorgan court filing)

The email was reportedly sent in July of 2018, just about a year before Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges. However, he was being investigated since March 2005 in Florida after the family of a 14-year-old girl reported that she was molested at his mansion. And in 2008, he pleaded guilty to one count of soliciting prostitution and one count of soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18. Additionally, at this point, multiple women had spent approximately a decade claiming that they had been groomed, trafficked and abused by the owner of Little St. James and his network of powerful friends.

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MARCH 30, 2023 

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Pope Francis Addresses a Document on Human Fraternity For World Peace and Living Together

2019-02-10

gmiranda Featured News

The brief visit of Pope Francis to the United Arab Emirates (February 2-5, 2019) is an extremely significant event. This is the first time that a Pope has visited the Arabian Peninsula, which is the birth place of the Muslim faith. Of note, during the trip Pope Francis celebrated an outdoor Mass with over 140,000 in attendance and signed a joint statement with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, one of the highest authorities in Sunni Islam. This statement, A Document on Human Fraternity For World Peace and Living Together, is addressed to all persons, both religious and nonreligious, and extends to them an invitation to work together to promote a culture of mutual respect and coexistence. This is not a theological document even though it speaks about God. It is more of a declaration of the need to reject violent extremism and embrace a spirit of fraternity. This is a very positive development regarding the Catholic-Muslim dialogue. Deo Gratias!

You can read Pope Francis’ Statement at http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/travels/2019/outside/documents/papa-francesco_20190204_documento-fratellanza-umana.html

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