The research, led by Dr Andrea Salins of ACU’s Australian Centre for the Advancement of Literacy, is the first of its kind to examine the relationship between the reading-related mental health of children with reported ear and hearing difficulties (rEHD). Photo: Sourced. Children with hearing difficulties who experience early reading struggles are at risk of developing poor mental health ou...

Pope Leo XIV blesses a baby as he rides in the popemobile around St Peter's Square at the Vatican before his first weekly general audience on 21 May 2025. Photo: CNS/Vatican Media. By Rev Dr Eamon Conway Pope Leo intends, albeit in his own way and according to his own style, to press forward with the same priorities that Pope Francis held. Pope Leo has called for a renewal of everyone...

A religious sister gives Pope Leo XIV a jar of cookies at the end of his meeting with the national directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the Vatican's Clementine Hall on 22 May 2025. Photo: CNS/Vatican Media. Recognising themselves as members of the one body of Christ, all Catholics should sense an urgency to share the Gospel message of God's love with others and to welcome them ...

The central theme for children 0-6 years of age is the parable of the Good Shepherd. Photo: Supplied. The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is an approach to the religious formation of children. Rooted on scripture, liturgy and the educational principals of Maria Montessori, at its heart it helps both children and the adults who serve them – also referred to the Catechist - to enter more d...

Less than 48 hours after his election, Pope Leo XIV made a humble pilgrimage – riding in a minivan to a Marian shrine outside Rome and stopping at St Mary Major to pray at Pope Francis’s tomb and before the icon of Mary, Salus Populi Romani.

Pope Leo XIV will maintain an active presence on X and Instagram via the official @Pontifex accounts, continuing the legacy of digital evangelisation. His first post: a message of peace from his Urbi et Orbi address.

In a festive St Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV led his first Regina Coeli, urging prayers for vocations, peace in Ukraine and Gaza, and honoring Mother’s Day with warm wishes to all mothers. Entrusting it all to Mary, Queen of Peace, he renewed the plea: “Never again war.”

In his first address to the College of Cardinals, Pope Leo XIV called the Catholic Church alive, beautiful, and strong, urging renewed commitment to Evangelii Gaudium and modern Catholic social teaching — especially in the face of AI and today’s evolving world.

Pope Leo XIV has urged journalists to be peacemakers, rejecting prejudice and anger in their reporting. On 12 May, he also called for the release of imprisoned journalists, reminding the world: “The suffering of these journalists challenges the conscience of nations… we must safeguard the precious gift of free speech and of the press.

Moviegoers may want to take a break from their cell phones after seeing the intriguing thriller Drop (Universal). That’s because the technology involved in send-ing the titular type of message – as well as the ubiquity of the devices themselves – has the film’s protagonist in a quandary.