Jeanie Hannaman

By Grace Porto, Catholic Vote - Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., issued a statement upon the May 8 election of Pope Leo XIV, expressing prayers and gratitude for the American pope’s staunch dedication to the right to life... “Catholics — and people of good will around the world — look to the papacy for moral leadership and clarity,” Rep. Smith wrote in an emailed press release, “and we are encouraged by Pope Leo’s call for peace, his example of faith and humility and his focus on charity and upholding the dignity of the vulnerable and the poor.”

By Catholic Vote - On May 5, as the cardinals were gathering in the General Congregation, a voice against abuse rose from the very heart of the Church: that of Father Marco Contini, asking the cardinals to look for a pope that will end sexual abuse in the Church... Also known as “Father Paolo,” Fr. Contini has been a priest for 25 years, is pastor of three communities, and is a university theology lecturer. In a letter to the cardinals, he disclosed having been a victim of sexual abuse as a teenager in the seminary.

By Fr. Anthony R. Lusvardi, S.J., The Catholic Thing - For those who wish to proclaim the message of Christian hope in our secular age, there is a lesson in his style. Caravaggio, in the end, is a master of luminosity. A dark background means a gloomy work only when the colors of the foreground blur and fade away. Caravaggio’s reds and oranges and bursts of illumination stand out because of their bold contrast. For those who know the stakes – as Caravaggio no doubt did – grayscale will not do. Faith in our time calls for a light that refuses to be anything less than radiant in the darkness.

By Devin Watkins, Vatican News - The newly-elected Pope began his remarks with a call for communication to foster peace by caring for how people and events are presented... He invited media professionals to promote a different kind of communication, one that “does not seek consensus at all costs, does not use aggressive words, does not follow the culture of competition, and never separates the search for truth from the love with which we must humbly seek it.”... “The way we communicate is of fundamental importance,” he said. “We must say ‘no’ to the war of words and images; we must reject the paradigm of war.” ...