Tuesday, April 21, 2026

Hundreds of Men to Be Ordained in US in 2026

 

Priestly ordination underway in St. Peter’s Basilica, April 25, 2021.

Hundreds of Men to Be Ordained in US in 2026

The church Pope Francis left us

Pope Francis greets people during an audience with donors of the Vatican's Christmas tree and Nativity scenes, in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Dec. 3, 2022.
Posted inFaith and Reason

The church Pope Francis left us

Pope Francis greets people during an audience with donors of the Vatican's Christmas tree and Nativity scenes, in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Dec. 3, 2022.

Editor’s note: This article is adapted from the Laetare lecture on March 26, given in New York after the author was awarded the Loyola Medal by the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola. 

Pope Francis’ vast legacy will take a generation to unpack. But already it is being developed in Pope Leo XIV, who was “the last surprise of Pope Francis” according to the subtitle of a recent account of the conclave that elected him from America correspondent Gerard O’Connell and Elisabetta Piqué. The cardinals spoke in the weeks before that election a year ago of the need to press on with the era opened by Francis, which they sought to capture in such words as humble, pastoral, merciful, synodal, missionary, discerning and fraternal. 

Reflecting their desires, Leo told the cardinals right after the conclave that he would “continue on the journey” Francis had started. He described it as “renewing the path of the Second Vatican Council,” which, he said, Francis “masterfully and concretely set forth” in his first great teaching document, “The Joy of the Gospel” (“Evangelii Gaudium”).

Georgetown panel highlights Pope Leo's comments amid current war in Iran

 

Panelists participate in an April 13 dialogue hosted by the Georgetown University Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life. From left, top row, are Mary Ellen O’Connell; Elisabetta Piqué; and Kim Daniels; from left, bottom row, are Phil Klay and Sohrab Ahmari. (Courtesy of Georgetown University)

Georgetown panel highlights Pope Leo's comments amid current war in Iran

Pope Francis revealed: His final days, intimate friends and a legacy to keep

 

Pope Francis receives drawings from the children of Vatican News journalist Salvatore Cernuzio at Casa Santa Marta, Vatican City, June 2022. (Courtesy of Salvatore Cernuzio)

Pope Francis revealed: His final days, intimate friends and a legacy to keep

Monday, April 20, 2026

How my Catholic faith informs my environmental advocacy

 

Faith in Focus

How my Catholic faith informs my environmental advocacy

Credit: iStock/EmilyNorton

 The insulting shouts are met with cheers from within the town hall.

At the microphone, a man yells at the life-size cardboard cutout of Eli Crane, our U.S. Representative from District 2, who had not responded to the invitation to the town hall from his constituents in Flagstaff, Ariz.

“Eli Crane does not care about his constituents! He is a self-centered disgrace, who doesn’t even live in his district!”

The room sends forth an uproar of agreement. I squirm in my seat. As a Catholic who is active in environmental and creation care advocacy, I also don’t agree with many of Eli Crane’s policies, but this moment felt uncomfortably emblematic of the way I’ve noticed our country falling deeper into division and hatred.

We need a better way to talk about Pope Leo

Pope Leo XIV prays the rosary for peace during an evening prayer vigil in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican April 11, 2026. (CNS/Vatican Media)

We need a better way to talk about Pope Leo

 

Beyond the clash: What Trump's attacks on Leo reveal about history of US-Vatican relations

 

The Vatican's influence lies less in direct political power than in its ability to shape moral debate over time, one expert says.

Beyond the clash: What Trump's attacks on Leo reveal about history of US-Vatican relations

Sunday, April 19, 2026

Takeaways From the Trump vs. Pope Leo Debacle

Takeaways From the Trump vs. Pope Leo Debacle

EDITORIAL: If, God willing, this surreal episode is coming to a close, it’s a good time to reflect on some of the lessons we can learn from it.

President Donald Trump speaks to the press outside the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on April 13.
President Donald Trump speaks to the press outside the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on April 13. (photo: Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images)

Could we be nearing a cessation of hostilities in one of the world’s most senseless conflicts? Let’s hope so.

We’re speaking of the fierce criticism President Donald Trump has leveled this past week against Pope Leo XIV, which has stunned and deeply offended many of the president’s Catholic supporters.

In a series of diatribes — coupled with a sacrilegious AI-generated image, which Trump posted on social media and later took down, depicting himself dressed like Jesus — the president repeatedly accused the American-born Pontiff of liberal politicking, chafing at his vocal opposition to the U.S.-led war with Iran and the Trump administration’s aggressive mass deportation of immigrants living in the country illegally.