Pope Leo XIV picked one of the most common names in history for a pope. But it is a name with great resonance in modern church history, and one whose selection suggests quite a bit about what the reign of the new pontiff might be like.
Papal Authority
Posted inFaith, News
Pope Benedict XVI’s former private secretary Georg Gänswein begins role as apostolic nuncio in Lithuania
Archbishop Georg Gänswein’s appointment as Apostolic Nuncio for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania calls attention to the Catholic Church’s support for Ukraine
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
What’s the right role of the Bishop of Rome and papal primacy? Vatican document seeks path to unity with other Christian churches
The Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity released a study document on the role of the bishop of Rome and how that role is viewed by other Christian churches.
Posted inExplainer, Faith
Explainer: Papal documents and their (different) levels of authority
The Catholic Church has communicated with its flock throughout the centuries by means of papal bulls. But what on earth is a papal bull?
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
I find ‘Fiducia Supplicans’ hard to accept. Maybe that’s the point.
Amid all the wrestling with theology we do, maybe our job is also to notice what is being done to us. To behold the way God uses vexing things like conflict in the church to work on us, to purify us.
Posted inFaith, News
Holy Smoke: A history of tobacco and the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church played a major role in bringing tobacco to Italy, which is still the number one producer of raw tobacco in the European Union today.
Posted inFaith, News
Pope Francis reveals he signed resignation letter in case of medical impairment
Pope Francis said he wrote a resignation letter in 2013, his first year in office, to be used in case he became physically or mentally impaired and unable to fulfill the duties of the papacy.
Posted inExplainer, Faith
Papal infallibility is often misunderstood. Here’s what it means—and what it doesn’t.
Papal infallibility is not always properly understood. Some on the right think that the magisterium can resolve every question or problem with a declaration. Those on the left often grow impatient and dispute its interventions.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis beatifies John Paul I, the ‘smiling pope’ who governed the church for 33 days in 1978
The beatification of John Paul I took place on a rainy but joyous Sunday in St. Peter’s Square, with a homily by Pope Francis on the beauty of a church “with a happy, serene and smiling face.”
Posted inExplainer, Faith
Pope John Paul I will be beatified on Sunday. Who was he?
Pope for only 33 days, John Paul I is known both as “The Smiling Pope” and “The Forgotten Pope.” On Sept. 4, he will be beatified. What were his life and papacy like?