World & Nation

Pope Leo XIV smiles as he greets a child dressed as the pope from the popemobile while riding around St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican before his weekly general audience March 11, 2026. (Photo: CNS/Lola Gomez) “All roads lead to Rome.” This proverbial saying from the ancient empire remained true even as Jesus’ disciples made their way across the world. The Eternal City, the capital of one of the world’s greatest empires, has served as the center of Christ’s Church for two thousand years,...

(Photo courtesy of the Archdiocese of Denver Office of Catholic Schools) Before joining what once imagined itself the world’s greatest deliberative body, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) was a decorated naval aviator, test pilot, and NASA astronaut with four space shuttle missions to his credit. Now, like approximately 80% of his senatorial colleagues, Senator Kelly looks in the mirror in the morning and sees a future president. Before he takes the plunge, however, I hope Senator Kelly...

(Photo: Vatican Media) Imagine for a moment you were made a bishop by Pope Francis in 2015. Now imagine you were made a cardinal just two years ago in 2023. Now imagine your boss, Pope Francis, just recently passed, so you’re quickly ushered to the Vatican to help elect the next pope. You’re thinking there’s no possible way you’ll be elected. You haven’t been around all that long. You’re just a simple missionary priest at heart. You’re also an American, for crying out loud. Now imagine your...

A recent pilgrimage sponsored by the Mother Cabrini Shrine gave local Catholics the opportunity to encounter the beloved saint whose legacy continues to shape Colorado ahead of the 80th anniversary of her canonization. The Colorado pilgrims visited Casa Cabrini when they arrived in Rome, meeting with leadership of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, Mother Cabrini's order, and coming to know the great saint more deeply. (Photo courtesy of Mother Cabrini Shrine) It’s no secret that...

St. George's Cathedral in Lviv, Ukraine. During the 19th and 20th centuries, St. George served as the mother church of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. (Photo: Haidamac, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons) Pardon the Latin-rooted neologism, but if “patricide” works for murdering your father and “regicide” for taking out a king, why not “ecclesiacide” for trying to kill an entire Church? That’s what happened some eighty years ago, on March 8-10, 1946, at St. George’s Cathedral in L’viv,...

On the first anniversary of Pope Francis’ death, we remember the late pontiff and some of the most significant moments of his papacy. Pope Francis during a general audience. (Photo by Daniel Ibáñez/CNA) By Francesca Pollio Fenton/EWTN News On April 21, 2025, the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica tolled for Pope Francis, marking the end of his life and his 12-year papacy. As the 265th successor of St. Peter, the Argentinian pontiff left a lasting impact on the Catholic Church. Here are nine...

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, have taken issue with the pope’s Gospel teaching on peace. Vice President of the United States J. D. Vance speaking with attendees at the 2025 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons) The U.S. bishops’ chair for doctrine issued a clarification on April 15 reaffirming that Catholic just war theory sets strict moral limits on the use of military...

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich in November 2018. (Photo by Olivier LPB via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0). Your Eminence: In an article recently published by a major German Catholic website, you suggested that the question of whether the Church can ordain women has not been definitively settled: “I cannot imagine how a Church can continue to exist in the long run if half of God’s people suffer because they have no access to ordained ministry.” Putting aside for a moment the questions of...

Archbishop James R. Golka preaches during his March 25 Installation Mass. (Photo by Rachel Moore/Denver Catholic) In response to a Sunday evening social media post by President Donald J. Trump criticizing Pope Leo XIV, Denver Archbishop James R. Golka has joined his brother bishops in responding. His brief statement is printed in full below. "I join my brother bishops in stating clearly that the recent remarks directed at Pope Leo by President Trump are not acceptable. Such language fails to...

The Holy Father’s global challenge comes amid growing tensions in the Middle East and beyond. Pope Leo XIV greets the crowd after delivering his Easter blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world) from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican April 5, 2026. (Photo: CNS/Lola Gomez) In the face of increasing tensions worldwide, Pope Leo XIV has called the faithful to join him in a prayer vigil for peace on Saturday, April 11. An Easter Challenge In his first Easter Urbi...

Pope Leo XIV greets visitors and pilgrims from the popemobile while riding around St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican before his weekly general audience March 18, 2026. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez) On March 21, the Wall Street Journal published a lengthy profile of the Pope as its “Saturday Essay.” The subtitle — “Pope Leo XIV pushes back against President Trump. Can the pontiff from Chicago make a difference in an era of power politics?” — gave the game away from the git-go: the Pope is to be...

"Christ Falling on the Way to Calvary" by Raphael, c. 1516. (Photo: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons) The Way of the Cross — and the third, seventh, and ninth stations in particular — has been an especially appropriate Lenten devotion this year. Every day, it seems, some new craziness erupts in the world, the country, or the Church. Every time we think we see rays of hope and possibility, we take another fall. So it’s good to remember this Holy Week, with Hans Urs von Balthasar, that we...