Great truth teller, you birth prophets in the form of simple humans, animals big and small, craggy mountains, lazy streams, and wandering plants. You impart your wisdom and send your messengers into the world, to spread the news that is sometimes hard to receive. May we slow down in order to feel the truth in our bones.
Pope Leo XIV, Vatican City, released the encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas” which frames AI as the new industrial revolution and makes an appeal to “disarm AI” by removing it from military and economic interests. “Disarming does not mean renouncing technology, but preventing it from dominating humanity,” Pope Leo XIV said.
May we encounter the light of your love in one another.
At least two people were killed, and eight others were injured after a 900,000-gallon tank containing a hazardous chemical mixture ruptured at a packaging facility in Washington, USA. The tank contained a mixture called white liquor, which is used in paper-making processes and can cause severe burns when it comes into contact with skin.
May our prayers be a soothing balm for those who suffer.
Five villagers stuck in a flooded cave in central Laos for more than a week were found alive, but two others are still missing. Heavy rain triggered flash flooding that blocked the exit and trapped seven people, according to Lao and Thai rescue teams involved in the operation.
May there be a safe reunification with love at the forefront.
Officials in Uganda ordered that the country close its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo as its neighbor to the east struggles to contain an Ebola outbreak that has already crossed the border and killed more than 220 people across the two countries.
May we grieve those who have died as we strive to protect the lives of the vulnerable.
Deep within the increasingly fragile dry forests of Madagascar, an ecological tragedy is quietly unfolding. One of the island’s oldest and most deeply revered sacred baobab trees—a towering 1,200-year-old giant known affectionately to locals as Tsitakakantsa—is slowly dying, signaling the terrifying collapse of a species that has survived millennia.
May we hear the wail of Mother Earth as she mourns her loss.
Zambian law enforcement agents raided a house in the capital city of Lusaka and arrested ten people, who were allegedly involved in the illegal wildlife trade of over 550 kg (1,212 lbs) of ivory discovered at the property. Agents have spent more than 40 years investigating, documenting, and exposing illegal wildlife trafficking networks operating throughout Africa.
May we hold one another responsible in our actions that cause harm.
Police in Paris, France, are examining more than 100 allegations of mistreatment, physical violence and rape of children as young as three by school monitors during lunch breaks, nap times and after-school activities, prosecutors have confirmed. Parents’ groups said they had fought for years for allegations to be taken seriously. They said failures in the recruitment process and checking of school monitors had allowed abuse to continue.
May we hold the safety of children and other vulnerable people as a sacred responsibility that belongs to all of us.
Holy One, lead us to your truth, your light, your healing, and your love for all the world. Amen.