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Pope Leo's France visit anchors a crowded church news day, from AI fears to frozen aid

By The FaithDaily Desk

Good morning. Pope Leo XIV's visit to France drew the widest reporting. Charisma News said an estimated 800,000 people gathered in central Paris on Saturday for an open-air Mass, describing it as a striking display of public faith in an increasingly secular nation. On his final day in the country, Religion News Service reported from Metz that the pope urged European leaders to uphold multilateralism and international law and to reject what he called the "illusion" of rearmament, warning that invoking God to justify war is to "profane" his name.

Speaking to reporters aboard his return flight, the pope turned to artificial intelligence. Religion News Service quoted him saying existential concerns about the technology "should be taken seriously." He added, "If someone were to ask me, am I in panic mode? No, I sleep at night," while rejecting the idea that warnings about AI are "fake news, as some have said."

In the United States, Christianity Today reported that more than 120 Christian leaders, musicians and authors, spanning conservative and liberal-leaning evangelicals, signed a letter urging the Trump administration to spend $1.35 billion designated for global health initiatives before the funds potentially lapse. Christianity Today also published an argument against state bills that would prosecute women for abortion, noting that no such prosecution bill reached a legislative floor.

Anglican affairs featured heavily. Anglican Ink reported that a federal judge in South Carolina dismissed the Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy's lawsuit against the Anglican Church in North America, holding that the dispute could not be settled in a civil court without intruding into church discipline and governance. The same outlet described an unresolved impasse over episcopal oversight for St Helen's Bishopsgate in the City of London, and carried the Archbishop of Canterbury's sermon at Christ Church, Greenwich.

Elsewhere, Charisma News reported that pastors and church workers from an influential Chinese house-church network had reportedly been detained, citing ChinaAid, as authorities pressed those worshipping outside the state-controlled system. Charisma News also reported that Andrew Jones, founder of Noah's Ark Scans, reportedly received death threats before a burglary at his apartment, and covered online reaction to an Episcopal priest's homily on gender delivered in March. The Gospel Coalition offered lighter fare, with a books interview and a reflection on courtesy toward AI chatbots.