News

By Gavin Ashenden, Catholic Herald - The fear that fuelled the civil war within the Catholic Church under Francis was that the pope was covertly driving a non-Catholic accommodation with secularists over feminism and homosexuality... All that fear has been removed at a stroke by the discovery that as a bishop and Cardinal, Robert Prevost refused outright what he called the “clericalisation of women” and was vocal in criticising the homosexual lifestyle as being “at odds with the Gospel”... The civil war that has been bubbling away in the last 12 years may suddenly evaporate. But there is healing required as well as fires to put out.

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.