World News

Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, DC, joined other local religious leaders in condemning the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis. “The murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti—two U.S. citizens devoted to civic engagement and to caring for their immigrant neighbors—have left communities in Minneapolis and across the ... read more

In a message marking the 800th anniversary of Toledo Cathedral in Spain, Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to the Mozaribic Rite of the sacred liturgy. “Throughout this year, the cathedral will show, through important liturgical celebrations and cultural events, the rich spiritual heritage of that particular Church,” Pope Leo wrote in his ... read more

Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, called on religions to resists the “weaponization” of thoughts and words. Addressing an interfaith service on January 28, Archbishop Balestrero said that “one of the most urgent services religions can offer today to a suffering ... read more

Pornography is a strange thing—it takes something good and natural (sex), exploits that appetite for the good, inverts it, turns it inward, monetizes it, and sets the table for a one-man digital gorge-fest. The flood of digital images in the pornographic realm over the past three decades has been exponential and simply impossible to reign ... read more

Detail from a 1621 portrait of Venerable Mary Ward (Image: Wikipedia) Few American Catholics have ever heard of Mary Ward. The more recent books and articles about her tend to portray her as a proto-feminist, a seventeenth-century Catholic woman who spent her life fighting for the rights of women and being persecuted ... read more

Addressing the bishops of central Africa, the president of the Symposium of Bishops’ Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) offered strong praise for Ecclesia in Africa (The Church in Africa), Pope St. John Paul II’s 1995 post-synodal apostolic exhortation. Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa said that “we are called to recognize that this ... read more

The president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops invited bishops and priests to hold a Holy Hour for Peace in the coming days. “Let us pray for reconciliation where there is division, for justice where there are violations of fundamental rights, and for consolation for all who feel overwhelmed by fear or ... read more

Fielding questions from journalists, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, described violence in Minneapolis is “unacceptable” and said that “difficulties, problems, and contradictions must be resolved in other ways.” Cardinal Parolin also hinted that the Holy See will reject President Trump’s invitation to join his Board of Peace for ... read more

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, sent a telegram in the Holy Father’s name to athletes who are gathering at a basilica in Milan for the arrival of the Olympic Cross. The Pontiff “hopes that this important event will foster sentiments of friendship and fraternity, strengthening awareness of the ... read more

Pope Leo XIV surprised the bishops of Peru by joining them for lunch yesterday. The bishops are in Rome for their ad limina visit. Pope Leo was bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, from 2015 to 2023. ... read more

Detail of autistic Barbie from Mattel. (Image: shop.mattel.com) In April 2023, Mattel began selling a new Barbie that had the features of a young woman with Down syndrome. At the time, I thought this was a great step forward for little girls who could see in a plastic playmate features they shared. ... read more

At least one of the reasons there has been a revolt at the Heritage Foundation has less to do with Tucker Carlson and more to do with a gentleman many young policy people will not have heard of, the great Paul Weyrich. What many have forgotten is that Paul Weyrich founded the Heritage Foundation alongside ... read more

Pope Leo XIV received participants in the plenary assembly of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and praised the dicastery for its work over the past two years. ... read more

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, sent a message in the Holy Father’s name to the bishops of the Association of Episcopal Conferences of the Central Africa Region, who are meeting in N’Djaména, Chad. “An important question is the inculturation of faith,” Cardinal Parolin wrote in his letter, published on ... read more

Pope Leo XIV received Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, on January 29. “A meaningful morning at the Vatican during an audience with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV,” Metsola wrote on social media following the meeting. “Grateful for his clarity of purpose and for our shared reflections on advancing peace through dialogue ... read more