“The question is: Why would you attack any religious leader—especially one as influential and as popular as Pope Leo? It makes no political sense to do so.”
Pope Leo XIV
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo calls on leaders to ‘bridge the gap’ between poor and rich in Equatorial Guinea
On the second day of his visit to Equatorial Guinea, a predominantly Catholic country of 1.8 million people in central Africa, Pope Leo XIV issued an unequivocal call to authorities “to serve the common good rather than private interests, bridging the gap between the privileged and the disadvantaged.”
Posted inNews
Pope Leo tells inmates ‘you are not alone’ during Equatorial Guinea prison visit at end of Africa tour
After Leo left, the drenched inmates broke into a raucous dance party in the courtyard as the rain continued to pour, shouting “Libertad! Libertad! Libertad!” (Freedom, freedom, freedom).
Posted inNews
Pope Leo’s delicate task in Equatorial Guinea: Bless the faithful, not the regime
Observers say the pope’s visit comes at a sensitive moment in Equatorial Guinea, as growing economic pressures and long-standing governance concerns continue to shape daily life for many citizens.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo remembers ‘the great gift’ of Pope Francis on the first anniversary of his death
Pope Francis “has given so much to the church, with his life, his witness, his words and his gestures,” Pope Leo said on the plane from Angola to Equatorial Guinea.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo tells Angola’s Catholic leaders: ‘Never cease to denounce injustices.’
On the evening of his last full day in Angola, Pope Leo XIV told the leadership of the Catholic Church in this predominantly Christian country, “Your loyalty to Angola—as it should be throughout the world—is today particularly linked to the proclamation of peace.”
Posted inFaith and Reason
After Trump’s A.I. Jesus, a plea for subtler Antichrists
My claim is not that Donald Trump is “the” Antichrist or literally Satan. My claim is that just as people like Robert Prevost—or Dorothy Day or Óscar Romero—can “image” Christ, can show us glimpses of the face of Christ, so also those who descend into selfishness and egomania can “image” Satan.
Posted inNews
Pope Leo to Angolans: ‘Build a country where old divisions are overcome forever’
He told them: “Only in this way will a future of hope be possible, especially for the many young people who have lost it.”
Posted inNews
Pope Leo in Angola: ‘Put the common good before partisan interests’
In his first speech on arrival in Luanda, the capital of Angola, Pope Leo called on the state authorities to “put the common good before partisan interests, never confusing your part for the whole.”
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo: I am ‘not trying to debate the president’
Some journalists have sought to interpret Leo’s statements in Africa in an anti-Trump light, even though they were all written many days before the president made his statement on social media.