In what seems to be an act of surprising confidence and agreement, the College of Cardinals came to quick agreement on the second day of this week’s papal Conclave to launch white smoke from the Sistine chapel. Thousands gathered outside…
Pope Leo XIV is likely to continue the Francis agenda
Pope Leo XIV will be known for many things, including being the first American pope and the first Augustinian pope, but he most likely will not be known for turning the Catholic Church in a more conservative direction. Cardinal Robert…
Has any Republican leader feigned concern for image of Trump as pope?
Baptist News Global has conducted an internet search for any currently elected Republican official who has criticized President Donald Trump’s AI-generated image of him as pope and found none. It is possible some Republican officials have spoken privately about the…
The president stands at the gate of heaven and St. Peter says …
Many Americans watched the funeral coverage of Pope Francis with chagrin, noting the bright blue suit of the president of these United States, which stood out sharply from the prescribed black clothing of other dignitaries who had come to mourn…
The ancient and modern politics behind choosing a pope
In the colonnade of St. Peter’s Square, not far from the free medical clinic and showers for the homeless and undocumented migrants opened by Pope Francis in 2018, sits a man on a bench. From behind, his clothes are rough…
USCCB’s immigration chief: ‘We announce the gospel, in season and out’
In 2022, Pope Francis was asked about the U.S. bishops’ conference and identified one man, El Paso, Texas, Bishop Mark Seitz, as an example of a “good pastor.” Seitz, who had just been named to head the U.S. Conference of…
Dividing lines at Catholic Conclave may be different than you expect
The process of choosing a successor for the late Pope Francis will certainly include maneuvering by conservative and progressive elements in the Catholic Church, but with little if any of the zero-sum scheming common among bitterly divided U.S. denominations, Vatican…
Mr. Trump goes to Rome
Most of the time, when people say, “Just joking,” they’re not joking at all. Often, we use “just joking” as a cover when we’ve trotted out ideas we know will be controversial or hurtful but we want to say them…
What The Roman Catholic Church needs is a wholesale reset, not a new Pope
The death of Pope Francis, after a very public diminishment, closes a signal chapter in Catholic history with absolutely no certainty about who or what comes next. Rather than reflexively corralling the cardinals into a Conclave to elect his successor,…
The Latin American pontiff who changed the papal narrative
In the broad sweep of world history, some leaders come and go without leaving a lasting impact, while others mark their era indelibly. Pope Francis — born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the first Latin American pontiff…
A conservative Baptist’s prayerful appreciation for Pope Francis
“Pope Francis has died.” Those words were the first banner I saw on my iPhone when I woke up Easter Monday. The Supreme Pontiff and Bishop of Rome (yes, it’s hard for a Baptist to type those words) died at 7:35…
Crowds flock to newest Catholic saint in Assisi — a millennial teen whose ordinariness is the draw
Pilgrims have been pouring into this medieval hilltop town to venerate not only two of the Catholic Church’s most celebrated saints, Francis and Clare, but its newest — Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint, who will be canonized on April 27.