Michael T. Castori, S.J., earned a doctorate in Near Eastern Religions from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2008. He speaks English, Spanish, Hebrew, Greek, Latin and Tongan.
Pope Leo XIV
Posted inNews
Pope Leo comforts 13 priests from southern Lebanon with a surprise video call from Rome
Pope Leo XIV surprised 13 priests from southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel, by joining a video call from Rome on Wednesday, telling them they were in his prayers and that he hoped peace would soon prevail along the tense frontier.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Trump attacks Pope Leo again ahead of Marco Rubio’s Vatican visit
President Trump publicly attacked Pope Leo again on May 5, alleging that “he’s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people” and falsely claiming yet again that for the pontiff, “it’s O.K. for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo encourages Catholic Charities USA to continue work amid political turbulence
Alluding to the current turbulent political, social and economic situation in his homeland, Pope Leo said, “I am fully aware that the Catholic Charities agencies in the United States of America are by no means immune from these challenges that continue to manifest themselves in our own day.”
Posted inFaith and Reason
Cardinal Cupich: What the Gospel demands in times of war
What does it mean, concretely, to be peacemakers?
Posted inPodcasts
‘Speaking fearlessly’: Pope Leo’s Africa Trip
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Gerry O’Connell gives Colleen Dulle an inside look at Pope Leo XIV’s recent visit to four African countries.
Posted inPodcasts
Podcast: Pope Leo on same-sex blessings—plus, is Easter harder than Lent?
This week on “Jesuitical,” a conversation about practicing Easter with Laura Kelly Fanucci, plus Father James Martin on Pope Leo’s comments on same-sex blessings
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Interview: Pope Leo’s visit invites renewed faith and peaceful coexistence in Angola
The Jesuit superior in Angola reflects on Pope Leo’s message of peace to a country still scarred by 27 years of civil war.
Posted inFaith and Reason
Cardinal McElroy: Why the Catholic Church can and should judge the morality of the Iran war
The exclusion of the church from any substantive role in evaluating the moral legitimacy of decisions to go to war is a pathway to amoral decisions on war, not moral ones.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Interview: Jesuit provincial on what Pope Leo’s visit meant for Cameroon
“Pope Leo is widely seen in Cameroon as a deeply inspiring and unifying spiritual leader, whose presence evokes strong emotional and religious fervor among the faithful,” Jean Luc Enyegue, S.J., the superior provincial of the Jesuits in 10 French-speaking countries of West Africa, said.