Pope Leo XIV stressed the importance to society of sport in his Angelus address in the Vatican on Sunday. Sport was more than physical achievement, but could also "become an important means of reconciliation and encounter: between peoples and within communities,

"What does the pope think about us being related? That's my question," one cousin said. "What does he think of us because we're Afro American?" She plans to write a letter inviting Leo to her home if he ever visits New Orleans.

In his first words directed specifically to Americans, Pope Leo XIV told young people on Saturday how to find hope and meaning in their lives through God and in service to others.

The pope urged Catholic faithful to be a "light of hope," to serve others, and to make the world a better place.

There is no evidence Pope Leo XIV publicly said the quote in question. A Google search of the words " Pope Leo 'you cannot follow both Christ and the cruelty of kings' " revealed only social media posts featuring the graphic above or attributing the quote to Pope Leo XIV without any evidence.

Holy pop! According to a new deep dive published by The New York Times, the newly named Pope Leo XIV is related to two of pop music's biggest names: Madonna and Justin Bieber. In assembling a detailed family tree for the Chicago-born religious leader - who was elected the new head of the Catholic Church in May following the death of Pope Francis - the publication found that Leo is distantly linked to the two singers through a shared ancestor born about six generations back.

Carlo Acutis was 15 when he died in northern Italy in 2006, after a short bout with leukemia. The pope announced Friday he'll be canonized in September.