Also known as: the Pope
Pope leading the Roman Catholic Church; recently visited Lampedusa and Canary Islands addressing migrant crises and excommunicated SSPX members over schismatic ordinations.
Verbatim sentences from the source article.
The Ghanaian Times
… IFA president Gianni Infantino last week where he said: “The Iranian team is coming, for sure.” The FT reported Zampolli’s plan was suggested to smooth things over between the US and Italy after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticised Trump over his comments towards Pope Leo XIV …
World Cup 2026: No FIFA plan to swap Iran and ItalyPope Leo XIV visited Italy's Lampedusa island to urge European leaders to better help migrants integrate and improve conditions in their home countries, saying those lost at sea are victims of both made and unmade decisions. The visit follows the EU's recent approval of tougher migration rules with stricter border controls and broader detention powers.
6 July 2026 · The Chronicle →
Pope Leo XIV visited Italy's Lampedusa island to urge European leaders to better help migrants integrate and improve conditions in their home countries, saying those lost at sea are victims of both made and unmade decisions. The visit follows the EU's recent approval of tougher migration rules with stricter border controls and broader detention powers.
6 July 2026 · The Chronicle →
The Vatican excommunicated more than half a million members of the Society of Saint Pius X, a conservative Catholic splinter sect, after the group consecrated four bishops against papal instruction. The Vatican said all SSPX lay members are to be considered schismatic and excommunicated, though those who leave and return to the Roman Catholic Church would be welcomed back.
2 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Thousands gathered in a Swiss village to witness the ordination of four new Catholic bishops from the Society of Saint Pius X, defying Pope Leo XIV's last-minute appeal. The SSPX, which rejects Vatican modernising reforms from the 1960s and 1970s, proceeded with the ordination despite the Pope describing it as a "schismatic act."
1 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Italy's Giorgia Meloni responded to US President Donald Trump's criticism of her popularity on social media, telling him to focus on his own while denying his claims that she had repeatedly requested a photo with him. The exchange reflects a developing rift between the two countries over US military operations in Iran and Italian base usage.
21 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said President Donald Trump "made up" allegations that she begged him for a photograph at the G7 summit in France. The public disagreement has prompted Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to cancel a planned trip to the US, and marks a deterioration in the earlier close relationship between the two leaders.
19 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa expressed confidence that the global campaign for reparatory justice for Africans is approaching a breakthrough, citing unprecedented international support since a landmark UN resolution on slavery. President Mahama, serving as African Union Champion for Reparatory Justice, convened a three-day High-Level Next Steps Conference in Accra bringing together heads of state, foreign ministers, legal experts, and diaspora representatives to deliberate on the next phase of the reparations agenda.
19 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa says critics who once dismissed Ghana's UN resolution on the trans-Atlantic slave trade as merely academic are now reconsidering, as reparatory justice gains global traction through apologies, acknowledgements and policy shifts.
18 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Pope Leo XIV visited the Canary Islands to listen to migrants' stories and call for legal and safe migration pathways, emphasizing their dignity and lamenting deaths at sea as Europe's conscience must not grow accustomed to migrant deaths.
12 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Ghanaian lawyer Ace Ankomah has urged Africa's next generation of leaders to prioritise ethics, integrity and service alongside technological advancement, arguing that moral character rather than national power or machine capability will determine the future. Speaking at the 2026 graduation ceremony of SOS-Hermann Gmeiner International College in Tema, Ankomah warned that artificial intelligence advances are creating unprecedented risks and that "the defining question of your generation will therefore not be what technology can do, but what kind of people will control it."
8 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Lawyer and public intellectual Ace Ankomah told SOS-Hermann Gmeiner International College graduates that young Africans must combine technological excellence with ethical values as artificial intelligence reshapes economies and politics, and that Africa should lead rather than follow in this global revolution.
7 June 2026 · Joy Online →
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the Iranian team is "coming, for sure," after US special envoy Paolo Zampolli suggested Italy replace Iran at the 2026 World Cup. Zampolli told the Financial Times he had proposed the swap to Trump and Infantino, citing Italy's four World Cup titles, but FIFA did not formally endorse the plan.
24 April 2026 · The Ghanaian Times →