Pope Leo XIV
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How Iran broke Trump’s alliance with Catholic America
At an Easter vigil for peace, Cardinal McElroy preached that the United States entered the Iran war by choice, not necessity, and failed to exhaust negotiation. He called both its initiation and continuation morally illegitimate.
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Secret dinners and deal-making behind Pope Leo’s election
Two new books detail how private dinners, diplomatic alliances and backroom conversations among cardinals shaped the election of Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, revealing the conclave’s hidden power dynamics in unprecedented detail.
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A passive voice is how we hide from the wars we choose
We have constructed an entire vocabulary of evasion around war. Violence “erupts,” conflicts “spiral,” casualties get “reported” — all passive, all subjectless. Leo XIV punctures that fog by insisting someone chose this, restoring human agency and accountability to every act of destruction.
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God is not a weapon
Pope Leo XIV’s Palm Sunday homily quoted Isaiah directly at those prosecuting the Iran offensive, saying God does not hear the prayers of those whose hands are full of blood. It was among the sharpest papal condemnations of an active military campaign in recent memory.
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Catholics and other Christians thanking God together: has the time come to change our practice?
When Pope Francis visited Rome’s Lutheran church in 2015, he reframed the Eucharist not as a doctrinal reward but as sustenance for a pilgrim people. That shift in language was small but significant, opening theological space that had been closed for decades under two conservative popes.
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‘We,’ not ‘I’: An Ohio archbishop called Catholics to talk their way to consensus
Cincinnati’s Archbishop Robert G. Casey has announced a 2027 archdiocesan synod, making his diocese one of the very few in the United States to formally respond to the Vatican’s call for local synodal assemblies. His vision of leading with “we” rather than “I” is drawing attention well beyond Ohio.
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Interpreting Pope Leo on the Middle East
Pope Leo has returned regularly to the Israel-US-Iran War in the Middle East in his public statements. He commented almost immediately after both Israel and the USA began their strikes on Iran and has maintained his focus on the topic. The Pope clearly prefers peace and diplomacy to war and aggression — his language about…
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Artificial intelligence as seen by two popes
As artificial intelligence reshapes work, culture and decision-making, two pontificates converge on a deeper concern – not technological progress itself, but the risk of reducing human life to efficiency, calculation and control.
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Rethinking peace while facing modern signs of war
Global military spending reached record highs as autonomous weaponry and AI changed the face of combat. These technologies erase moral responsibility. This is why modern advancements demand a re-evaluation of peace and a move away from tools that experts describe as small, cheap, and abundant.
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Pope Leo asks: Can we stay real in the age of simulation?
Pope Leo’s communication day message arrives when AI touches politics, arts, warfare, employment, education and economy. Rather than becoming overwhelmed by technical details, we need coherent principles. The message provides these by focusing on what makes communication truly human.
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