WORLD CARDINALS GATHER AT VATICAN TO DISCUSS WAR, SYNODALITY, AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

This news was conveyed by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the Council of Cardinals, in an official letter sent to all cardinals on June 3, 2026, and reported by Vatican News on Thursday.

Not Just a Regular Meeting

In his letter, Cardinal Re emphasized that this consistory was designed not to be a formal meeting alone. He emphasized that the meeting "is intended primarily as a space for listening, dissensing and jointly exploring issues relevant to the life and mission of the Church today."

Pope Leo XIV himself, Cardinal Re said, "wished to gather the experience and advice of the members of the Council of Cardinals, while relying on the active assistance and support of each of them in their various places and their responsibilities in the service of the Church."

The meeting is expected to take place "in a climate of listening, freedom, and parrhesia" — a Greek term meaning the courage to speak honestly and openly — "in order to encourage mutual disagreement on the issues to be discussed."

Session One: Hearing the Cry of the World

The opening session of the consistory will begin with a "joint meditation departing from the current international situation." The atmosphere of prayer will be the foundation, where the cardinals are invited to "let appear, before the Lord, what we are experiencing in different parts of the world and in the local Churches."

Two guiding questions will lead to reflection:

First, what are the sufferings, tensions, and questions that most urgently affect the people and communities of the Church entrusted to cardinals today? Second, what signs of hope, faithfulness to the Gospel, and possible reconciliation should be brought before a common listener?

Second & Third Session: War, Peace, and the New Encyclical

The next two sessions will center on Pope Leo XIV's latest encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, published May 15, 2026. The main focus is Chapter Five of the encyclical which discusses peace as "a condition for the universal common good."

The cardinals — especially those from war-torn regions — will be asked to reflect on how the conditions of armed conflict are realizing how the conditions of armed conflict are actually affecting their communities. The session will also discuss the possibility of renewing the doctrine of "just war", a centuries-old theological concept whose relevance is now being questioned in the midst of modern conflicts.

Cardinal Re stressed the need for cardinals "to become aware of how painful this reality is for many of them, especially those from war-torn regions, while at the same time challenging other contexts in which languages, logics and practices that undermine the possibilities of reconciliation and coexistence are beginning to re-emerge."

The third session will deepen the encyclical invitation to read the transformation of this age in the light of the Gospel.

Fourth Session: Synodality and Free Dialogue with the Pope

The final session was divided into two parts. First, the latest report on the implementation process of the Synod — a major agenda of the Catholic Church that has been running since the era of Pope Francis. Second, a "free dialogue" session between the cardinals and Pope Leo XIV, where each cardinal gets three minutes to speak directly to the Pope.