(OPINION) We are all curious to see how Pope Leo XIV will engage with the Trump administration. The Chicago Archdiocese’s upcoming celebration of the pope, an American-Peruvian dual citizen, stands in contrast to the military parade being hosted in Washington, D.C. on the same day. At the same time, the Catholic Church has seen empires rise and fall.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Leo’s elevation broke the longstanding rule of thumb that no American, as a citizen of a superpower, could or even should become pope. But that did not trouble the College of Cardinals in May, and leading up to his election Cardinal Robert Prevost felt free to critique current American policies.
(ANALYSIS) So far, Pope Leo XIV has not addressed ongoing debates about restrictions on use of the Tridentine Mass, often called the “traditional Latin Mass.” Bishops around the world have been pulled into these battles after the 2021 release of the Pope Francis apostolic letter “Traditionis Custodes (Guardians of Tradition).”
Read MoreBerlin faces growing intolerance of immigrants and their religions, especially Muslim Arabs from countries like Turkey and Syria. right-wing extremist political parties like the Alternative for Germany echo Nazi talking points and pine for a homogenous, white and Christian society. History, however, shows that such a time never existed.
Read More(REVIEW) “The Ritual” is a movie you’ve seen many times before. But the story is clearly powerful enough that it is worth retelling. Hopefully, filmmakers will start figuring out how to tell these stories in new and different ways. In the meantime, we have movies like “The Ritual” and can always rewatch a classic such as “The Exorcist” again.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Houses of worship need social enterprise now more than ever. Churches, synagogues and other houses of worship are facing a dire situation. Up to 100,000 U.S. houses of worship may close over the next decade. The percentage of Americans belonging to a faith institution has plummeted from 70% to 47% over one generation with no sign of abating.
Read MoreHow will Leo’s formative three decades in the United States before life in Peru and Rome shape his church of 1.4 billion souls? Yes, the cardinals must be thinking an American could solve the Holy See’s $98 million annual deficit, severely underfunded pensions, and declining donations. They may also hope his solid administrative experience might tame the curia, the Vatican’s notoriously Italianate “deep state.”
Read MoreTexas Rangers slugger Jake Burger’s return to form coincided with the election of a fellow Midwesterner as the first U.S.-born pope. Faith is ingrained in the devout Catholic athlete and his family.
Read MoreZachariah Fufeyin, a priest hailing from the Catholic Diocese of Bomadi in southern Nigeria, had only one mission when he started livestock farming at Our Lady of the Waters Farm in November 2019: To help the poor and provide animal protein to low-income families.
Read MoreThe U.S. Supreme Court could not find five votes for either side in an appeal that would have established the first state-supported religious charter school in the nation. The 4-4 split — made possible by Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s recusal — allowed to stand the lower court’s decision that it would be unconstitutional for St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School in Oklahoma City to be established with public funds.
Read MoreSuper-intelligent computers that go bad isn’t a new concept, as fans of the “Terminator” franchise know all to well. However, when I think about digital evil, I remember the haunting voice of the HAL 9000 supercomputer in 1968 sci-fi classic “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Think about this: That was a voice that Sir Anthony Hopkins heard in his head as he prepared to play the brilliant serial killer Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs.”
Read MoreWith the fisherman's ring and the lambswool pallium over his shoulders, these links to John Paul II helped Leo XIV stress the need for unity and core Catholic traditions. Nonetheless, he faces painful challenges even while calling for unity.
Read More(ANALYSIS) During his time in the South American nation, Pope Leo XIV lived alongside his parishioners through a bloody civil war, a decade-long dictatorship and an unstable post-dictatorship period that has so far led to three former presidents being handed prison sentences.
Read MoreIn India, caste oppression is a persistent and insidious reality that continues to affect millions, even in communities that formally reject caste divisions. The Christian community, which upholds the belief in equality before God, is not exempt from this social inequality. Dalit Christians, in particular, face discrimination and exclusion — even within church spaces. However, a growing number of Dalit Christians are challenging this oppression.
Read MoreTwo years after gaining political independence from Britain in 1980, Zimbabwe plunged into another dark era. The government sanctioned a military operation named “Gukurahundi,” which means “the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains.” More than 20,000 civilians were murdered in the 1980s — and now churches are being called on to help with the reckoning.
Read MoreMany Christian families reported living in fear — facing threats of social boycott, electricity cuts and verbal abuse. Some have left their villages or publicly disavowed their faith to avoid conflict. Others now live with the trauma of having been denied the chance to grieve with dignity. In cases where women were disrobed or attacked during mourning, the abuse was not only communal but gendered.
Read MoreThat’s exactly how I feel these days when reading most mainstream news coverage of Catholic life in the age of Donald Trump. I know that it’s going to be cold, it’s going to be black and white and it’s going to stay that way until a blue, “progressive” politician seizes the White House. And I say that as a former blue-dog, pro-life Democrat who is now a #NeverTrump third-party voter.
Read MoreThe link between the papacy and the sporting world looks set to continue under Pope Leo XIV. With a new pope installed as Francis’ successor, that sporting theme could continue in the Vatican, though the center of gravity may migrate from soccer to baseball. As befitting a U.S. pope, Leo is known to be a fan of the national pastime, in particular the Chicago White Sox.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The days after a pope's death are hectic, and it's a hard time for Vatican officials to examine complex, controversial documents. Nevertheless, the bishops of Germany announced — two days after Pope Francis died on April 21 — guidelines for handling blessings for same-sex couples and other "irregular" relationships. Welcome to the Chair of St. Peter, Pope Leo XIV.
Read More(ANALYSIS) To what degree will the new pope stand or not stand in continuity with Francis? As a scholar who has studied the writings and actions of the popes since the time of the Second Vatican Council, a series of meetings held to modernize the church from 1962 to 1965, I am aware that every pope comes with his own vision and his own agenda for leading the church.
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