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Russia does not see the Vatican as a serious venue for peace talks with Ukraine because the Holy See is the seat of Catholicism and is surrounded by Italy, a NATO and EU member, three senior Russian sources told Reuters. They also point out that many Russian officials cannot even fly there due to Western restrictions. The Vatican has so far been silent in public on the idea raised by U.S. President Donald Trump after a call with President Vladimir Putin that Pope Leo XIV could host talks aimed at ending Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two. Italian Prime...

After leaving the Marines and beginning his higher education, Vice President JD Vance drifted into atheism — struggling, he would eventually write, with feelings of “irrelevance” in his faith and with “a desire for social acceptance among American elites.” Vance, who later converted to Catholicism, this weekend made his second trip to the Vatican in less than a month. On the first visit, Vance met with Pope Francis on Easter, hours before he died. On Sunday, Vance led a U.S. delegation at the inaugural Mass of the first U.S.-born pope, Leo XIV…The vice president scored a prime seat in the...

Provocative podcast host Piers Morgan asked Lou Prevost — brother of Pope Leo XIV and a supporter of President Donald Trump — if anyone from the Vatican has called to ask him to tone it down. PIERS MORGAN: ...You posted a meme in October. LOUIS PREVOST: Oh, here we go. PIERS MORGAN: ...Earlier this year, you reshared a post that said, please pray for the 33% who approve of Biden that they be healed of their mental affliction. And in August, you posted, referring to an alleged incident where illegal immigrants tried to hijack a bus of children, “Between the...

Usha Vance has been seen wearing an elegant black ensemble paired with a traditional veil as she attended Pope Leo XIV's inauguration mass. The second lady - who is Hindu - stood dotingly beside her Catholic convert husband, Vice President JD Vance, as they returned to the Vatican on Sunday. Usha, 39, supported her husband and the new American pontiff by clasping her hands in prayer during the service despite not sharing the same faith. She also showed respect through her black mantilla, a traditional Spanish veil symbolizing reverence, modesty and piety. Pope Leo, 69, warmly took hold of Vance's...

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday hailed Christian communities in the Middle East who “persevere and remain in their homelands, resisting the temptation to abandon them” despite war, marginalization or persecution. “Christians must be given the opportunity, and not just in words, to remain in their native lands with all the rights needed for a secure existence. Please, let us strive for this!” he told a meeting of Eastern Catholic Churches at the Vatican. On Sunday, the pontiff called for an "authentic and lasting peace" in Ukraine, a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all Israeli hostages held by militant group...

As scientific discoveries bring humanity closer than ever to confirming the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life, award-winning filmmaker, musician, and UFOlogist Mark Christopher Lee is making an urgent appeal to the newly elected Pope Leo: prepare the Catholic Church — and its global followers — for first contact. Lee, whose work on the intersection of spirituality, disclosure, and UFO phenomena has earned him a dedicated international following, warns that the world is on the verge of a transformational moment — one that could redefine our understanding of religion, science, and the human story itself. Snip... “With new data emerging from...

“The View” co-host Sunny Hostin revealed Monday she now “loves” Pope Leo XIV after discovering his “black” background. Hostin had previously expressed concerns about the new pontiff on Friday after his comments referencing the “homosexual lifestyle” resurfaced. On Monday, she spoke more optimistically about Pope Leo after learning his maternal grandparents were described as “people of color” on documents, with his grandfather’s original birthplace listed as Haiti. “There’s one other thing that’s very interesting to me because President Trump, as you remember, called Haiti a certain type of country,” Hostin said. “As it turns out, our new American pope has...

[Catholic Caucus] Wisdom from Pope Leo XIII That We Hope Pope Leo XIV Will Follow Wisdom from Pope Leo XIII That We Hope Pope Leo XIV Will Follow Although some Catholics have already voiced concerns with the election of Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV, we can at least recognize that there were several other cardinals receiving serious consideration who have been far more ostentatious in their anti-Catholicism. Time will tell whether Leo XIV will accelerate or reverse the evils plaguing the Church, but in these early days we can at least hope and pray that he will cooperate...

[Catholic Caucus] Leo XIV: the Man, the Priest, and the Bishop - Who is He? An Assessment, by RORATE CÆLI Who Is He?by Serre Verweijfor Rorate CæliMay 10, 2025Robert Francis Prevost has become Pope Leo XIV. Before May 8, 2025, most people did not know the name Prevost, but now he is the chief shepherd of over a billion Catholics. Both orthodox Catholics and modernists have been celebrating, while there have been naysayers on both sides, too. This reflects the fact Prevost was touted as a ‘compromise candidate’ and pushed by strong prelates on both sides. Both the orthodox and...

Make no mistake: a Pope from Chicago terrifies me. But I have cause for some hope, which I will share. Pope Francis was, in the surprisingly well-chosen words of the New York Times, "ostentatiously humble." Fully recognizing the irony of a Catholic critiquing the Pope for lacking humility, I also mean to acknowledge that from that humility it took me a long time to give up on Pope Francis. For the longest while, I tried to learn what I could from him, becoming frustrated only after he made it stunningly care that his flock was not the billion and a...

So the world’s got a new pope. Because Catholicism is the largest Christian denomination in the United States – and perhaps the world – and because Catholics live in almost every nation, and certainly on every continent, the world can claim Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, as “the world’s pope,” as I’ve already heard on the news. From what I can tell, so far, he’s a lot like the old pope, Pope Francis. This is frightening. The new pope is billed in the press as a U.S. American, but he’s legally a citizen of Peru, where he spent...

Why pick the first American Pope now? Robert Prevost was made Pope Leo XIV as a counterweight to President Trump. There’s been little ambiguity about the new pope’s politics and less about the overall agenda. Pope Francis had all but rigged the process to assure another radical successor.

Prevost is a vocal critic of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration and has consistently used his X account to promote material hostile to Trump’s immigration policies. In one instance from February 3, Prevost reposted an article by NCROnline titled “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.” The article criticizes the U.S. vice president for correctly arguing that we owe more immediate responsibility to our own family members and country than to those overseas – a position taught by St. Thomas Aquinas and reiterated in the “social encyclicals” of the nineteenth- and twentieth-century popes....

Robert Francis Prevost, now Leo XIV, was named the first American pope of the Catholic Church on Thursday — and his lineage traces back to New Orleans, according to Jari Honora, a local genealogist and historian. When Honora heard the last name "Prevost," he started digging, on the odd chance Leo XIV's paternal line might be French Canadian or Acadian with Louisiana ties. What he found, to his surprise, was that Prevost's mother, Mildred Martinez, was the one with familial cords to the city. In less than an hour, Honora — who works as a historian for The Historic New...

Before Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost became pope, a social media account under his name shared criticisms of the Trump administration’s positions on immigration.Months before Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost became the first American pope, a social media account under his name expressed criticism of Vice President JD Vance, sharing an article that called the vice president’s interpretation of Christian doctrine “wrong.” The piece, published in The National Catholic Reporter, was a rebuttal to Mr. Vance’s interpretation of a Catholic teaching that he had used to defend the Trump administration’s deportation policies. The post on X, which the account shared in February,...

Former President Obama congratulated Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native, on his selection as the next pontiff for the Roman Catholic Church. “Michelle and I send our congratulations to a fellow Chicagoan, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV,’ Obama wrote in a Thursday post on X. “This is a historic day for the United States, and we will pray for him as he begins the sacred work of leading the Catholic Church and setting an example for so many, regardless of faith,” he added. Leo, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Prevost, holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Peru. He is...

Could Cardinal Prevost be the first American pope?Seemingly out of nowhere, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost is being discussed as a serious candidate in the upcoming conclave.Why this piece is important: Prevost is being seriously considered as a papal candidate—but questions surround his silence and his actions as Prefect for the Dicastery of Bishops. The big picture: Prevost has cooperated in advancing Francis’ agenda, facilitated the appointment of heterodox bishops throughout the world, and tacitly denied the traditional teaching on the episcopate. Flashpoint: He oversaw the deposition of the most conservative U.S. bishop (Strickland) and the appointment of a notorious liberal...

A new pope has been named, and for Villanova University and Philadelphia, the pope might be a familiar face and name. Pope Leo XIV, formerly known as Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, is a class of 1977 Villanova University graduate, earning his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. The new pope, a 69-year-old Augustinian friar, was one of the 21 new cardinals selected by Pope Francis. According to Villanova University, Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago, Illinois, and joined the Order of St. Augustine in 1977. Following his undergraduate studies at Villanova, Pope Leo XIV earned a Master of Divinity degree...

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