Blog
Catholic perspectives on the news that matters
Jacob Whitman
Why Leo's Quiet First Year Has Sisters Paying Attention
Pope Leo XIV doesn't seem interested in flashy gestures for their own sake. What struck me is how many sisters see substance in that quieter approach, and where they still want more.
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Why the Church Keeps Showing Up for Ukraine
The war in Ukraine keeps grinding on, and Catholic aid groups keep showing up. That persistence matters more than polished press releases ever will.
Father Lucas
What Pope Leo's Chicago Can Still Teach the Rest of Us
Chicago loves claiming Pope Leo XIV as its own. What interests me more is the city he left behind, and the church that changed without waiting for him.
Jacob Whitman
What Pope Leo Saw in Africa, and What We Keep Missing
Every time the church starts talking about Africa as the future, I get a little uneasy. Not because Africa isn't alive with faith, but because we've learned the hard way that crowded churches don't guarantee durable discipleship.
Father Lucas
Why West Virginia Just Got a Bishop Who Won't Play It Safe
West Virginia's next bishop arrives with an immigrant's memory and a pastor's instincts. I don't think that combination landed there by accident.
Henry S. Wallace
What Leo Found in Africa That Rome Needed to Hear
Leo's first audience after Africa wasn't travel scrapbook material. It was sharper than that, and a lot more hopeful.
Pastor Benjamin
Why Jimmy Kimmel Should Stay on Air After That Melania Joke
Jimmy Kimmel’s joke about Melania Trump was cheap and ugly. I still don’t want presidents deciding which comedians get to keep a microphone.
Father Lucas
Why the Strait of Hormuz Crisis Feels So Personal to the Church
The people trapped at sea near Hormuz aren't symbols in a geopolitical standoff. They're workers, parents, and frightened human beings, and the Church is right to say their names.
Jacob Whitman
Why Leo XIV's Meeting With Canterbury Felt Different
Pope Leo XIV's message to Anglicans wasn't flashy. That may be exactly why it matters.
Jacob Whitman
Why Canada’s MAiD Fight Just Turned Toward Mental Illness
Cardinal Frank Leo is pushing back against Canada’s plan to expand assisted suicide to those with mental illness alone. I think his intervention gets at a fear many people feel but struggle to name.
Henry S. Wallace
Why Pope Leo's Cameroon Visit Might Matter After the Crowds
For a few days, even fighters stood down to welcome the pope. I keep thinking about what that says, and what it demands now.
Jacob Whitman
Why Pope Leo Got Blunter in Equatorial Guinea
Pope Leo didn't go to Africa to mumble safe church words. In Equatorial Guinea, he sounded like a pastor who knows the Gospel has political consequences.
Father Lucas
What the Pope Said in Malabo That Oil Money Couldn't Hide
Pope Leo's stop in Equatorial Guinea wasn't diplomatic wallpaper. He walked into a country built on oil wealth and public misery, and he named the lie.
Henry S. Wallace
What Pope Leo Said in Cameroon That Governments Hate Hearing
Pope Leo went to Cameroon and said something blunt about the Anglophone conflict. I think that matters more than diplomatic niceties usually do.
Pastor Benjamin
Why 10 Republicans Broke Ranks on Haitians
The House just passed an unusual bipartisan bill to protect Haitians from deportation. I keep thinking less about the vote count and more about what kind of country needs pastors to beg for basic mercy.
Jacob Whitman
I Didn't Expect This Stop to Matter So Much
At first glance, this looked like one more ceremonial stop. Then I kept thinking about Augustine, North Africa, and what the Church forgets too easily.
Jacob Whitman
The Pope Answered Trump With One Line
Pope Leo didn't match volume with volume. He answered with something steadier, and I think that's the part people will remember.
Pastor Benjamin
What Those 3 Cardinals Just Said Took Nerve
Three U.S. cardinals didn't just offer a mild correction. They named something rotten in how we talk about war, and I think that matters more than people admit.
Henry S. Wallace
Nobody Saw This Part of Leo's Algeria Trip Coming
The headlines want the pope-versus-Trump fight. I keep coming back to where Leo went first, and what that says about the Church.
Pastor Benjamin