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Pope Leo XIV is expected to name Bishop Ronald Hicks of Joliet, Illinois, to succeed retiring 75 year old Timothy Cardinal Dolan as archbishop of New York, sources briefed on the transition say. About Bishop Hicks Pope Leo is from Illinois, and he has tapped a fellow Illinois native to lead the archdiocese of New York. Hicks, 58, and Pope Leo have much in common. They were both born and raised in suburban Chicago, with Hicks being born in Harvey and raised in South Holland. Both men also speak fluent Spanish after spending years ministering to the poor in South...

My topic this year is “anti-Christendom.” But what does that even mean? Christendom as a concept is considered by many to be something of the past…Ever since the time of the Reformation and the shattering of the beautiful Catholic unity that had pre-existed, with an objective moral standard that was shared by all of Europe, the concept of Christendom has been in retreat… In these three examples alone, we see the philosophical (postmodernism), the intellectual (the sexual revolution) and the practical (libertarian capitalism) assault themselves on the historic territory of Christendom. The forces of anti-Christendom are therefore aping the historic...

Pope Leo urges Christians to ‘be less fearful’ of Islam, encourages ‘dialogue’ with Muslims'One of the values of this trip is precisely to raise the world’s attention to the possibility that dialogue and friendship between Muslims and Christians is possible,' Leo stated.Pope Leo XIV has spoken warmly about the relationship between Muslims and Christians and downplaying fears of Islamization.During his recent international trip to Turkey and Lebanon, the Pope gave a speech at an interfaith meeting held at Martyrs’ Square in Beirut.“Dear friends, your presence here today, in this extraordinary place where minarets and bell towers stand side by side,...

IZNIK, Turkey (AP) — Pope Leo XIV joined Eastern and Western patriarchs and priests Friday in commemorating an important anniversary in Christian history, gathering at the site in Turkey of an unprecedented A.D. 325 meeting of bishops to pray that Christians might once again be united. Leo, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and other Christian leaders met on the shores of Lake Iznik, the site of the Council of Nicaea that produced a creed, or statement of faith, that is still recited by millions of Christians today. Standing over the ruins of the site, the men recited the creed, which Leo...

Pope Leo XIV called a two-state arrangement the “only solution” to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, doubling down on the Holy See’s longstanding position in his first airborne news conference en route to Lebanon on Sunday. “We all know that at this time Israel still does not accept that solution, but we see it as the only solution,” he said, as he flew from Istanbul to Beirut for the second and final leg of his maiden voyage as pope. “We are also friends with Israel, and we are seeking to be a mediating voice between the two parties that might help...

Pope Leo visited Istanbul's Blue Mosque on Saturday, removing his shoes in a sign of respect but not appearing to pray in his first visit as leader of the Catholic Church to a Muslim place of worship during his four-day visit to Turkey. The first U.S. pope bowed slightly before entering the mosque and was led on a tour of the expansive complex, able to hold 10,000 worshippers, by its imam and the mufti of Istanbul. Leo, walking in white socks, smiled during the 20-minute visit and joked with one of his guides, the mosque's lead muezzin - the official...

BELEM, Brazil (AP) — Pope Leo XIV on Monday urged countries at United Nations climate talks to take “concrete actions” to stop climate change that is threatening the planet, telling them humans are failing in their response to global warming and that God’s creation “is crying out in floods, droughts, storms and relentless heat.” In a video message played for religious leaders gathered in Belem, Leo said nations had made progress, “but not enough.” “One in three people live in great vulnerability because of these climate changes,” Leo said. “To them, climate change is not a distant threat, and to...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican on Saturday returned 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples from Canada as part of the Catholic Church’s reckoning with its role in helping suppress Indigenous culture in the Americas. Pope Leo XIV gave the artifacts, including an iconic Inuit kayak, and supporting documentation to a delegation of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops during an audience. According to a joint statement from the Vatican and Canadian church, the pieces were a gift and a “concrete sign of dialogue, respect and fraternity.” The items were part of the Vatican Museum’s ethnographic collection, known as the Anima...

But since We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty, Who will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth, and now that Our advanced age and the bitterness of anxious cares urge Us on towards the end common to every mortal, We feel drawn to follow the example of Our Redeemer and Master, Jesus Christ, Who, when about to return to Heaven, implored of God, His Father, in earnest Prayer, that His Disciples and followers should be of one mind and of one heart: I pray . . . that...

Pope Leo XIV met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for the first time on Thursday, and the two men discussed the urgent need to provide assistance to civilians in Gaza and to pursue a two-state solution to end the conflict in the region. The meeting, which lasted about an hour and was described as “cordial” in a brief Vatican statement, comes nearly a month after the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement came into effect in the Gaza Strip. The pope and Abbas had not met in person previously. They had spoken over the phone in July to talk about developments in the conflict...

Speaking in English, and reaching a US audience directly, he reiterated the Catholic belief that every Christian will ultimately be judged on how they welcomed "the foreigner". In some of his strongest criticism to date of President Donald Trump's administration, the first ever US-born pope also warned that the US bombing of Venezuelan ships, suspected of carrying drugs, risked increasing tensions in the region.

King Charles will become the first reigning English monarch since Henry VIII split from Rome in 1534 to pray publicly with a pope during his state visit to the Holy See next week.The king will join Pope Leo XIV at an ecumenical service in the Sistine Chapel during his visit with the queen to the Vatican on 22-23 October, a gesture regarded as a “significant moment” in relations between the Catholic church and the Church of England, of which Charles is supreme governor.The royals will also visit the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, whose connections with the English...

VATICAN CITY — The supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church issued a sharp criticism of the Almighty Creator of the universe this week, as Pope Leo XIV publicly condemned God for instituting the death penalty.When asked by the media to comment on critics of the death penalty, the pope singled out the Lord, offering a stinging critique of the Almighty for instituting capital punishment and questioning whether or not God was actually pro-life."I question God's moral standing here," Pope Leo told reporters. "Someone who says, ‘I'm against abortion,' but says, ‘I'm in favor of the death penalty,' is not really...

Pope Leo XIV met Monday with one of the most prominent advocates for greater LGBTQ inclusion in the Catholic Church and encouraged his ministry, just days before a planned Holy Year pilgrimage of LGBTQ Catholics to the Vatican. The Rev. James Martin, a New York-based Jesuit author and editor, said Leo told him he intended to continue Pope Francis’ policy of LGBTQ acceptance in the church and encouraged him to keep up his advocacy. The message he received from Leo was “that if people were happy with Pope Francis’ approach to LGBTQ Catholics, they’re going to be happy with Pope...

Young people from 146 countries celebrated with Pope Leo XIV at the concluding Mass of the World Youth Jubilee at Rome's University of Tor Vergata on Sunday.The Vatican put the number of youths attending the event at more than a million, based on official estimates. Leo arrived by pope mobile to cheers and applause.He urged the celebrants "to adventure with the Lord toward eternity" saying that the Lord was "gently knocked" at the window of their souls.

A new rite published by the Vatican on Thursday will allow priests to celebrate a Mass to exhort Catholics to exercise care for the Earth, in the latest push by the 1.4-billion-member global Church to address global climate change. For centuries, Catholic priests have been able to celebrate special Masses to pray for their country, give thanks after a harvest or ask God to end a natural disaster. The new "Mass for the care of creation," prepared by two Vatican offices, allows priests to pray that Catholics will "lovingly care" for creation and "learn to live in harmony with all...

Rep. Tom Tancredo – who vied for the Republican presidential nomination to make illegal immigration a priority issue – suggested in a House speech yesterday that Pope Benedict XVI is encouraging Latin Americans to come to the U.S. to bolster flagging membership in the Catholic Church.

.... and there are 4.5 million Muslims in America alone ...

In these last few day many people have asked me what I think about the new Pope Leo XIV? As a priest and pastor, one of my most important priorities is to protect the sheep from the wolf, that is, to try to be a “good shepherd” ready to “lay down my life for the sheep” (Jn 10:11; 1Pt 5:1-4), and thus to warn the souls of the many dangers and traps today in this period of the great apostasy before the manifestation of the Antichrist (2Thess ch2) when “if possible, even the elect” (Mt 24:24) will be led astray....

Vice President JD Vance met with Pope Leo XIV on Monday and gave the Chicago-born pontiff a Bears football jersey inscribed with his title. Vance, a Catholic convert, brought along the present on his visit with the first American pope, who said, “Good choice,” as he accepted it. Video obtained by CBS News also shows the vice president handing Pope Leo XIV a letter from President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, inviting the new Catholic leader to the White House. “I know you have many things to do, but I wanted to make sure I gave you that...