Cardinal William Goh speaks during an interview with EWTN News on April 19, 2024, in Singapore. / Credit: Sean Boyce/EWTN News
Madrid, Spain, Apr 30, 2025 / 15:49 pm (CNA).
In a pastoral letter published by the Archdiocese of Singapore, Cardinal William Goh called on the faithful to pray for the cardinals involved in electing the successor to St. Peter.
Goh first noted that the members of the College of Cardinals are holding general congregations “to hear the views and assessment” of the current situation and “what the Church needs to do after Pope Francis.”
“Hence, it is urgent and important that you all pray for us so that we can discern what kind of pope the Church needs in this present day, because every pope brings with him his own charisms,” the prelate emphasized.
The cardinal asked for prayers “that we will choose the right candidate to be the successor of St. Peter to lead the Church in this complex world.”
Specifically, the cardinal encouraged the organization of “novenas, rosary, and divine mercy devotions to pray fervently, unceasingly, for the cardinals to be guided by the Holy Spirit to elect a good, holy, compassionate, wise, and strong pope.”
A pontiff who, he added, “will not only be a shepherd after the heart of Christ but also courageous in defending the deposit of faith handed down to the Church through the ages.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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Pope Benedict XVI returns to his homeland for his first international event since being elected pope. He participated in World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany Aug. 16–21, 2005. / Vatican Media
Boston, Mass., Jan 3, 2023 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
In his l… […]
Pope Leo XIV greets the faithful in St. Peter’s Basilica, May 31, 2025 / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
CNA Newsroom, May 31, 2025 / 17:58 pm (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV has praised an international bioethics summit in Rome for advancing an “authentically human” approach to science, urging researchers to pursue truth grounded in the dignity of the human person.
In a message delivered by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the pope expressed his “vivid appreciation” for the 3rd International Bioethics Conference, held May 30–31 at the Patristicum.
The event was organized under the theme “The Splendor of Truth in Science and Bioethics.”
The pope described the initiative as “a valuable opportunity to reflect on the ethical implications of scientific progress” and encouraged “interdisciplinary dialogue grounded in the dignity of the human person,” according to the Vatican message. He expressed his hope that such efforts would “foster approaches to science that are increasingly authentically human and respectful of the integrity of the person.”
Held under the patronage of the Pontifical Academy for Life and the Dicastery for Culture and Education, the conference brought together nearly 400 participants — including researchers, physicians, philosophers, and legal scholars — from universities across Latin America, Europe, and Africa.
‘Science must serve the truth,’ cardinal says
Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk of the Netherlands opened the conference with a keynote address outlining three foundational principles for bioethics and scientific research in service of truth.
The archbishop of Utrecht, who is also a medical doctor, on Friday said the Pontifical Academy for Life should give more attention to the bioethical issues linked to “transgender” treatments and the push for “gender theory” .
Eijk emphasized that human reason must recognize its ability to know metaphysical truth, that human beings possess only relative autonomy, and that human life is an intrinsic value.
The cardinal warned: “Without metaphysics and a proper anthropology, science becomes dangerous because it loses its moral compass.”
Participants gather for a group photo at the 3rd International Bioethics Conference at the Pontificio Istituto Augustinianum in Rome on May 31, 2025. Credit: Jérôme Lejeune Foundation
Scholars highlight the role of philosophy in science
Spanish philosopher Juan Arana, a member of the Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, argued that modern science too often neglects the pursuit of deeper philosophical truths. While acknowledging the empirical advances of science, he emphasized that “great truths of philosophy and the small truths of science” are still connected “by threads that, though subtle, are effective.”
Bernard Schumacher of the University of Fribourg criticized the modern scientific method for reducing reality to the mathematical and quantifiable, while French philosopher Thibaud Collin challenged assumptions within natural law theory.
Two roundtables tackled practical bioethical challenges in genetics and conscience rights. Geneticist Teresa Perucho, surgeon Emmanuel Sapin, and neonatologist Robin Pierucci discussed the moral foundations of genetic counseling and the need to support parents with compassion and clarity when faced with difficult prenatal diagnoses.
Upholding a Catholic vision of science
The conference was organized by the International Chair of Bioethics Jérôme Lejeune and supported by more than 40 academic institutions worldwide. Since its founding in 2023, the event has become a leading forum for Catholic engagement with contemporary bioethical issues.
Jean-Marie Le Méné, president of the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, closed the gathering by recalling the late French geneticist’s legacy: “The scientist is one who admits without shame that what he knows is microscopic compared to all that he does not know — and is fascinated by the adventure of intelligence on the path toward the intelligible.”
Jérôme Lejeune, a devout Catholic and pioneer in genetics, discovered the chromosomal cause of Down syndrome and became a passionate defender of the unborn, laying the foundation for much of the Church’s engagement in bioethics today.
Pope Leo XIV concluded his message with a call for scientists to “contribute to the search for truth, so that science may remain at the service of humanity, never becoming its master.”
Vatican City, Jun 20, 2025 / 18:46 pm (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV has issued a fresh warning about the negative effects that artificial intelligence (AI) can have on the “intellectual and neurological developmen… […]
“But I don’t believe that we should try to compromise the Gospel. And that is my fear: that, today, even Church leaders are compromising the Gospel. I don’t think Jesus ever compromised the Gospel, even for the adulterous woman. He says, ‘I do not judge you, I do not condemn you, but please sin no more.’ I think that has to be mentioned. This is where the importance of truthfulness, mercy, and compassion [comes in].”
“…as has often been said, or some bishops are suggesting, perhaps there should be another level where it is really a Synod of Bishops, after hearing the laypeople, after journeying with them; there should be that level of bishop synods, where the bishops can come together, because that synod [with laity] cannot really be considered a theological dogmatic synod, because not all are theologically trained.”
The diocese of crossroads Singapore also hails from a deeply multicultural setting, celebrates four national languages, is near 21st century’s atheistic Chinese regime, and is roughly and refreshingly almost equidistant from (central to?) Europe and North and South America. (And, yet, continental Africa also has much to offer, in its clear-eyed rejection to Fernandez’ anti-binary Fiducia Supplicans.)
Singapore, not big geographically, but neither were synodaler Cardinal Hollerich’s Luxembourg nor synodaler Cardinal Grech’s Malta….After all, at 284 square miles, the Singapore city-state is still 1700 times as big as the Vatican’s 109 acres…an interesting numerology as we enter the 1700th anniversary of Nicaea!
A Catholic pope will do very well.
About “discern[ing] what kind of pope the Church needs in this present day,” a healthy minimum would be a pope who preaches the whole gospel (mercy and conversion) and who restores the difference between a town hall meeting and a “synod of bishops” as successors to the Apostles. About which, check out this April 2024 interview with Cardinal Goh: https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2024/05/03/cardinal-goh-of-singapore-deep-encounter-with-jesus-is-key-to-passing-on-the-faith/. Cardinal Goh:
“But I don’t believe that we should try to compromise the Gospel. And that is my fear: that, today, even Church leaders are compromising the Gospel. I don’t think Jesus ever compromised the Gospel, even for the adulterous woman. He says, ‘I do not judge you, I do not condemn you, but please sin no more.’ I think that has to be mentioned. This is where the importance of truthfulness, mercy, and compassion [comes in].”
“…as has often been said, or some bishops are suggesting, perhaps there should be another level where it is really a Synod of Bishops, after hearing the laypeople, after journeying with them; there should be that level of bishop synods, where the bishops can come together, because that synod [with laity] cannot really be considered a theological dogmatic synod, because not all are theologically trained.”
The diocese of crossroads Singapore also hails from a deeply multicultural setting, celebrates four national languages, is near 21st century’s atheistic Chinese regime, and is roughly and refreshingly almost equidistant from (central to?) Europe and North and South America. (And, yet, continental Africa also has much to offer, in its clear-eyed rejection to Fernandez’ anti-binary Fiducia Supplicans.)
Singapore, not big geographically, but neither were synodaler Cardinal Hollerich’s Luxembourg nor synodaler Cardinal Grech’s Malta….After all, at 284 square miles, the Singapore city-state is still 1700 times as big as the Vatican’s 109 acres…an interesting numerology as we enter the 1700th anniversary of Nicaea!