SSPX Showdown: The Vatican has issued a final, formal warning to the Society of St. Pius X: consecrating bishops without papal mandate in July would be a “schismatic act” and trigger automatic excommunication, with Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández saying Pope Leo XIV is praying the leaders will reconsider. Pope in the Crosshairs: The same week, Pope Leo XIV awarded the Vatican’s top honour to Iran’s ambassador, drawing Iranian anger and raising fresh friction with Washington after Tehran-linked violence against protesters. Rubio Meets Leo, Peace Still the Theme: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Pope Leo XIV and Cardinal Parolin in Rome, with both sides stressing peace work—while the broader Trump–Vatican dispute over the Iran file continues to loom. Church, Work, and the Poor: A Vatican-linked reflection revisits Leo XIII’s “Rerum Novarum” as a lens on today’s labor anxieties, while the U.S. bishops push a Catholic media campaign framed as a “critical need.” Local Politics, Global Echoes: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced a Rome meeting with the pope later this month, as Lebanon’s war-weariness and Haiti’s plea for international solidarity keep dominating the wider headlines. Violence and Accountability: Israel indicted a man accused of assaulting a Catholic nun near Jerusalem, while Sri Lanka activists renewed pressure over the decades-old killing of a Catholic priest.