Poverty
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The sari that speaks
Choosing Indian dress over European habits, Mother Teresa modeled a form of inculturation the Church would only later embrace. The modest garment worn by street cleaners became a worldwide emblem of compassion, poverty and spiritual commitment.
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Global child hunger hides in plain sight
Malnutrition affects tens of millions of children globally, with devastating, lifelong consequences for health and development.
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The vacuum where leaders should be
Politics and institutions are increasingly governed by risk management, not leadership. But real leadership requires imagination, courage and the willingness to challenge false stories. Of course, there are Trump, Netanyahu, Putin, Xi, Kim, and the Ayatollahs, who run their worlds according to their own storyline. But none in any meaningful way serve democracies. But are…
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The poor don’t debate climate change — they survive it
The poor do not discuss climate change in conference halls. They encounter it at noon, under a tin roof, on a construction site, beside a dry hand pump, in a field where the soil has turned to powder, or in a flooded lane where schoolbooks float like dead birds. For them, climate change is not…
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Knowledge without borders belongs to everyone
True progress isn’t measured by innovation alone, but by whether AI serves people with no leverage, voice, or seat at the table.
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Service, not imposition: the church’s place in public life
Leo insists the church respects political autonomy, affirming separation of church and state andrejects Christian nationalism outright.
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I’m giving up Trump for Lent
Lent is traditionally a season of penance, prayer and self-examination. For Tom Reese, the most honest act of penance he can manage is admitting that his Trump consumption has become compulsive, corrosive and entirely optional — and, while not claiming perfect resolve, choosing, for 40 days, to stop.
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From Gaza to Heaven: One church
The Communion of Saints is not a tidy diagram of heavenly categories, but a living, breathing mystery. The boundaries are porous. Those struggling in war zones or poverty share something real with the canonised. All are caught up in one story of grace.
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Beyond statistics: poverty is personal
Poverty wears a human face. We see it in those we pass on the street and, at times, in ourselves. This reflection calls us to compassion and solidarity—to stand with and for the poor, and to rediscover the shared humanity that poverty obscures.
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The burden borne by poor women
Women, Leo points out, suffer disproportionately from poverty, violence, and exclusion. Quoting Pope Francis, he affirms their dignity and heroic witness. Yet, the exhortation raises questions about whether the church’s actions match its words on gender equality.
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