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Hello, I'm Gina Christian, and you're listening to our OSV Newscast for Friday, May 29th, 2026. Let's catch you up on the Catholic news of the day. Here we go. Well, after its launch on Pentecost, the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage is marking its first full weekend with events in the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina. Four parishes in that state are hosting Mass and Eucharistic adoration as the nine perpetual pilgrims traveling this year's route head north along the East Coast. The pilgrimage kicked off on May 24th in St. Augustine, Florida, and it likened its six-week journey to that of the early Franciscan missionaries who helped the Catholic faith take root along the coast of what is now Florida and Georgia. The pilgrims expect to accompany Jesus in the Eucharist from Florida to Maine, with the pilgrimage concluding in Philadelphia, my hometown, just in time for the nation's 250th birthday celebration. The pilgrimage's theme is One Nation under God, which is a phrase from the Pledge of Allegiance. Jason Shanks, president of the National Eucharistic Congress, the organization that operates the pilgrimage, said for Americans, the Catholic contribution for us started with Mass. I think with these times of polarization and ideology, it's really important for us to go back to the roots. And for us as Catholics, it's going back to the roots of Mass and the Eucharist. Catholics may have more power than they realize in shaping the future of artificial intelligence. That's according to AI ethics expert Ron Ivy. He's a research fellow at Harvard's Human Flourishing Program and the founder of the Noesis Collaborative. And he told OSV News that Pope Leo XIV's new encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, could inspire collective action among the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. Ivy said, we do have alternatives. We do have different ways of using AI. We make choices about how we buy and use these products. In the encyclical, Pope Leo warned against business models that thrive on human weakness. Ivy said Catholics, as consumers, can pressure tech companies to adopt more ethical practices and support alternatives such as smaller, open source AI models rooted in the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity. Ivy also raised concerns about AI companions and the loneliness economy, warning that technologies designed to profit from emotional isolation could harm children and weaken social development. Ivy said he's eager to see what civil society and Catholic institutions emerge from Pope Leo's encyclical over the coming decade, and whether a distinctly Catholic ecosystem of AI products and services might take root alongside the dominant commercial platforms. And speaking of Pope Leo's new encyclical on AI, the Knights of Peter Claver, one of the Catholic Church's largest historically black Catholic lay fraternal organizations, said it offers its full support for the Pope's acknowledgement in that document of the Church's role in slavery. Pope Leo warned against AI's potential to cause new forms of slavery, especially by facilitating human trafficking and exploiting laborers, including children, in mining resource materials for the technology, and the Pope lamented the delay with which both society and the church came to denounce the scourge of slavery. He said, For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon. In a statement to OSV News, Supreme Knight Christopher Pichon Sr., CEO of the New Orleans-based Knights of Peter Claver, said, The Holy Father's words reflect a spirit of humility, truth, and pastoral leadership that is not only essential for healing and reconciliation, but also embodies the ministry of our patron, St. Peter Claver. Christians in Lebanon are facing a growing humanitarian crisis as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continues and the country's economic collapse deepens. Father Jan Zelosny, head of the Polish section of aid to the church in need, said many Christian families feel trapped in a conflict that is not their war, yet they are suffering its consequences every day. He described isolated Christian villages living under constant fear, with drone strikes and attacks continuing near the southern border. Many residents refuse to leave, worried they'll never return home. Catholic charities are providing food, shelter, and emergency support, while also funding projects aimed at restoring dignity through work, including religious crafts and solar energy initiatives. But Father Zhelazny said the greatest danger is hopelessness, especially among young people who now speak mainly about leaving the country. He said that despite the hardship, churches and shrines remain full, sustained by a faith that helps people endure. And he said there is fatigue in Lebanon, but there is also something deeper. Before our eyes, the world of values has collapsed, and he spoke with emotion about watching the slow unraveling of a country he loves. And finally, the relics of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the French visitation sister who experienced visions of Jesus revealing his sacred heart will be present with the U.S. bishops in Orlando, Florida, when they consecrate the United States to the Sacred Heart on June 11th. The relics will be flown from Paris to New York on June 2nd, and they'll remain in the U.S. until September. During their spring meeting in Orlando from June 10th to 12th, the U.S. bishops will celebrate Mass and pray the act of consecration. The bishops will also hear reflections on the Sacred Heart ahead of that Mass. Arnaud Bouteillon, the lay leader of the Knights of Columbus in France, will be in charge of the unusual transatlantic trip with the reliquary, which is the container that holds the relics. Bouteillon will first take the reliquary to the international headquarters of the Knights of Columbus in New Haven, Connecticut, where those relics will be venerated during the first week of June. Then they'll be taken to Orlando for the consecration. Bouteillon described the arrival of the relics as an invitation to consecrate families and individuals to the Sacred Heart. And as you may remember from yesterday's podcast, St. Margaret Mary received visions of Jesus between 1673 and 1675 in her visitation monastery in France. Christ showed her his sacred heart and invited her to experience his love, mercy, and tenderness. And that's your OSV Newscast for today. I'm Gina Christian. Check out the show notes for a link to our website where you can find the stories in this episode. As always, make sure to subscribe to this podcast, follow us on social media, and bookmark osvnews.com. We'll be back on Monday, and wherever you are in the world as you're tuning in, thanks so much for listening and God bless.

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