Cardinals gather at the Vatican for discussions with the pope

Cardinals from all over the world gathered at the Vatican on Friday for a rare special summit with Pope Leo XIV.

The extraordinary consistory began this morning with an initial working session.

The deliberations are set to continue on Saturday. According to the Vatican, the topics under discussion include the global situation, artificial intelligence (AI) and the next steps in the World Synod reform project.

Such gatherings are extremely rare. Unlike ordinary consistories, which can take place several times a year, an extraordinary consistory convenes not only the cardinals based in Rome, but all of the more than 240 cardinals around the world.

The consistory is regarded as the pope's most important advisory body.

At his first extraordinary consistory as pope in January, Leo decided to continue this format of dialogue in future and to hold it at regular intervals.

The decision was seen as a sign that the pope was striving for a new leadership style within the Catholic Church and wished to involve cardinals from all over the world more closely.

On Friday morning, the pontiff and the cardinals celebrated Mass in St Peter's Basilica. Speaking there ahead of the first working session on the state of the world, Leo said that war will never be blessed by God.

He added that human beings had been endowed with reason and free will in order to resolve conflicts. The unity of the human family, he said, was more important than nations and states.