Blog
Catholic perspectives on the news that matters
Father Lucas
Why Pope Leo's Legal Tweak Could Calm Orthodox Fears
A small change in Vatican law doesn't sound dramatic. Still, when Catholics and Orthodox keep circling the same old wound over papal power, little clarifications can carry surprising weight.
Read more
What Jesus Did With the Woman the Disciples Wanted Gone
The Canaanite woman story always lands with a jolt. I don't think it's tame at all, especially when Christians start deciding who counts and who doesn't.
Father Lucas
Lebanon Ended Executions, and America Should Feel This
Lebanon just did something morally clear in a region marked by conflict. I keep thinking about what that says to countries, including ours, that still cling to execution.
Henry S. Wallace
Why Malta Never Treated the Assumption as an Abstract Idea
What struck me wasn't just how old this devotion is. It was how naturally Malta seems to hold doctrine, feast day, and ordinary life together.
Jacob Whitman
Why St. Clare Still Makes Our Screens Feel Strange
St. Clare being the patron saint of television sounds almost like a Catholic joke. It isn't, and I think her feast lands right on one of our modern nerves.
Henry S. Wallace
What Ceuta's Prayer Vigil Could Change if We Let It
The Church in Ceuta isn't pretending a vigil fixes a humanitarian disaster. That's exactly why this struck me. Prayer can be an escape, or it can be the first honest step back toward seeing each other again.
Jacob Whitman
Why Pope Leo's Argentina Trip Feels Bigger Than a Visit
A papal visit can't fix wages or rent. Still, in Argentina right now, people seem to be asking for something deeper, and maybe more dangerous.
Jacob Whitman
Why Pope Leo Put the Liturgy Back in the Center
Pope Leo XIV didn’t offer a pep talk about private spirituality. He pointed back to the Church at prayer, and I think a lot of us needed that.
Pastor Benjamin
What Ceuta Exposes About Europe and the Catholic Conscience
Ceuta is one of those stories that tempts people into easy talking points. I don’t think Catholics get that luxury.
Pastor Benjamin
What Pope Leo Said About America, and What He Didn't
The first American-born pope gave a few brief interviews, and the headlines wrote themselves. What stayed with me was the part that didn't flatter us.
Henry S. Wallace
What Louis Armstrong's Baptism Still Says About Grace
Louis Armstrong was baptized Catholic as an infant, then lived a life full of brilliance and contradiction. I can't shake what that says about grace.
Father Lucas
Why the Franciscans Are Betting on Smaller and Truer
The new head of the largest U.S. Franciscan province isn't pretending the numbers look good. Oddly enough, that's part of why I find this hopeful.
Jacob Whitman
Why a Petty Charge in the Philippines Feels So Dangerous
This case against Marchel Espina isn't just about one article or one insulted minister. It's about how easy it is to make truth-telling expensive.
Father Lucas
Mexico's Court Keeps Redrawing the Abortion Fight
What struck me in this story wasn’t only the abortion rulings. It was the growing sense among Mexican Catholics that the court is deciding cultural and moral questions by attrition.
Jacob Whitman
Why the Loaves Story Still Exposes Our Real Hunger
I keep coming back to one line in the loaves story: they all ate and were satisfied. That's not just about lunch. That's about the ache most of us drag into prayer without knowing how to name it.
Pastor Benjamin
Why New York's New Law Has Catholic Care Homes Alarmed
This lawsuit out of New York isn't just another church-state skirmish. It's about what kind of care we think suffering people deserve when they're most vulnerable.
Jacob Whitman
Why Blessed Stanley Rother Still Makes Politicians Look Small
A president can issue a tribute. Fine. But Blessed Stanley Rother’s life has a way of cutting past ceremony and asking more of all of us.
Pastor Benjamin
Why New York's New MAID Law Feels Like a Test of Mercy
New York's MAID law is being framed as compassion. I'm struck by who keeps saying otherwise, and why Catholics ought to pay attention.
Jacob Whitman
What Tagle Saw in Friendship That Church Programs Miss
Cardinal Tagle and Cardinal Advincula put friendship at the center of evangelization in Manila. I think they named something many parishes keep forgetting.
Henry S. Wallace
Why Father Hamel's Cause Feels Stuck for All the Wrong Reasons
Father Jacques Hamel was called a martyr almost immediately, then his cause slowed to a crawl. I keep thinking about what that delay does to our memory, and what it shouldn't do to our faith.
Jacob Whitman