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[Catholic Caucus] Santa Marta is too expensive: Pope Leo returns to the Apostolic PalaceThe first steps taken by Pope Leo XIV at the helm of the Church are largely satisfying the expectations of the cardinals who elected him. The eminent prelates were looking for a good shepherd, but even more so they trusted that the new pontiff would be able to restore balance to a form of government that, under Pope Francis, had taken on authoritarian tendencies and destabilized the clergy and the faithful with numerous acts considered overly bold.Leone has first of all reestablished—with kindness but firmness—the dignity proper...

Yesterday, Pope Leo XIV gave the first sign that he is willing to take on the debacle left by Pope Francis regarding the plight of Catholics in China.As LifeSiteNews has reported, the secret Vatican-China deal – set up by disgraced Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and approved and perpetuated by Francis and his Secretary of State Pietro Parolin – has seen Catholics forced underground as the communist nation effectively controls Catholicism in the totalitarian regime. After praying the Regina Caeli on Sunday, Leo XIV proved himself quite the diplomat. He first spoke about a Polish martyr who died under the communists, and...

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...

<p>My election has taken place during the year of the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. That Council represents a milestone in the formulation of the Creed shared by all Churches and Ecclesial Communities. While we are on the journey to re-establishing full communion among all Christians, we recognise that this unity can only be unity in faith. As Bishop of Rome, I consider one of my priorities to be that of seeking the re-establishment of full and visible communion among all those who profess the same faith in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.</p>

Around noon on Thursday, as I walked along L Street in downtown Washington, my phone exploded with the news of white smoke in Vatican City. We all knew that it was coming. And in fact, the conclave that elected Pope Francis took about the same time as the most recent one that elected Pope Leo XIV. I wondered if holding the largest conclave in history—one hundred and thirty-three cardinals—might make for a longer one, but that was not the case. Cardinal Nichols of the UK told reporters this week that the entire experience was "immensely peaceful." To be elected to...

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....

Pope Leo XIV surprised the cardinals with the choice of his papal name and then did the same when he announced his intention to focus on the AI Revolution. When he addressed the College of Cardinals the day after his election, he explained these choices: “Sensing myself called to continue in this same path, I chose to take the name Leo XIV. There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII, in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum, addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day, the Church offers...

[Catholic Caucus] Will Leo XIV Reaffirm the Forgotten Truths of Paul VI’s 1968 Credo?For those defenders of the Vatican II revolution who consider Paul VI to be a saint, there should be little justification for resisting his 1968 Credo. But the need for Leo XIV to boldly proclaim these truths can be measured by the extent to which they have today been abandoned even by those men who purport to revere the legacy of Paul VI.In his Open Letter to Confused Catholics, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre praised Paul VI’s 1968 Credo of the People of God, Solemni Hac Liturgia, as a...

In an indication of the direction of his papacy, Pope Leo XIV has made his first bishop appointments, and for San Diego, his choice was a huge winner.According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops:WASHINGTON – Pope Leo XIV has appointed Most Reverend Michael Pham, auxiliary bishop of San Diego and diocesan administrator, as the Bishop of San Diego.The appointment was publicized in Washington, D.C. on May 22, 2025, by Monsignor Većeslav Tumir, chargé d’ affaires, a.i. of the Apostolic Nunciature, in the temporary absence of Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.Bishop Pham’s biography may be found...

LEO XIV: The Upcoming Challenges for the New Pope by Serre Verweijfor Rorate CæliWe have a new Pope elected during a Jubilee year. He instantly faces many crucial tasks and dilemmas. This might seem obvious for any new Pope, but in 2013 Pope Francis primarily had to deal with curial reform, he did not have to deal with countless open questions, and even open wounds, left by his predecessors. Pope Leo XIV will have to deal with foreign policy debacles, a multiyear synod, and national churches that are in open rebellion against the faith.Firstly, Cardinal Grech announced that Pope Francis...

Cardinal Goh: Leo XIV will put clarity back into Doctrine -- and enough with persecution of those who prefer the Traditional Mass From an interview granted by Cardinal Goh, Archbishop of Singapore, to Bussola Quotidiana:Your Eminence, do you think you cardinals elected the right man? Yes, I think Leo XIV is exactly the pope the world needs at this time. Francis strengthened the missionary dimension of the Church, trying to bring the Gospel to all of humanity, including sinners, the marginalized, the vulnerable. But I think the least pleasant aspect of his pontificate has been that, in his attempt to...

"Every man has by nature the right to possess property as his own," wrote Pope Leo XIII, in his famous 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, laying down the basics of Catholic social teaching. The plans of contemporary socialists to seize private property, Leo XIII denounced as "emphatically unjust, for they would rob the lawful possessor, distort the functions of the State, and create utter confusion in the community." The last Pope Leo's defense of private property adds no small amount of irony to the small Chicago suburb of Dolton, Illinois' plan to honor the new American-born Pope Leo XIV by seizing...

[Catholic Caucus] Leo XIV: Peace in the World and Unity in the Church -- by Roberto de MatteiCorrispondenza RomanaMay 21, 2025Two words recur frequently in Pope Leo XIV's speeches from the very beginning of his pontificate: “peace” and “unity.” Peace is what the Pontiff invokes in the face of an international scenario that in the Regina Caeli of May 12 he described as "dramatic." Unity is what the Church needs in order to face a fragmented world, as he explained in his May 18 enthronement speech. The world is indeed torn apart by geopolitical conflicts, but Pope Leo knows well...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo’s reference to St. Augustine suggests he differs from Pope Francis on ‘Synodality’St. Augustine was not infected with the errors of false ecumenism and Synodality, and he knew that true love required him to correct his neighbors' errors.In the sermon for his inauguration Mass, Pope Leo XIV spoke of his vision of the Petrine ministry in serving the Church to help build “God’s house in fraternal communion”:The ministry of Peter is distinguished precisely by this self-sacrificing love, because the Church of Rome presides in charity and its true authority is the charity of Christ. It is never...

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...

[Catholic Caucus] The Bishops of France and Cardinal Roche Still at War Against the Traditional Pilgrimages of France -- What Will Leo XIV do?Sometimes, decisions can wait. At other times, they have to be made fast.In April and early May, making use of the interregnum for their nefarious ends, the anti-traditional bishops of France negotiated with Cardinal Roche, Prefect of Divine Worship, in order to make as hard as possible the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass and sacraments in the Paris-Chartres Pilgrimage -- and all other pilgrimages in France.Leo XIV was not involved in these decisions. What will he...

[Catholic Caucus] Leo XIV: Synodality with EcumenismLeo XIV, today, in Audience to Representatives of other Christian Communities and Other Religions:"Aware, moreover, that synodality and ecumenism are closely related, I wish to assure my intention to continue Pope Francis' commitment to promoting the synodal character of the Catholic Church and developing new and concrete forms for an ever more intense synodality in the ecumenical field."Our common journey can and should also be understood in a broad sense, involving everyone, in the spirit of human brotherhood I mentioned above. Today is a time for dialogue and building bridges. And therefore I am...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo XIV suggests he believes Pope Francis is in heavenThe remark by the American pope has raised eyebrows and given rise to speculation of a papal canonization, though such an event is unlikely in the immediate future. Pope Leo XIV commented Sunday that he believed Pope Francis was in heaven, thus echoing a phrase employed by a prominent cardinal just prior to the conclave.Some 200,000 people are estimated to have been present in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday for the opening Mass of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate.Just around a month after the death of Pope Francis, the...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo XIV removes controversial Archbishop Paglia as head of John Paul II InstituteThe nomination is the first major appointment made by Pope Leo XIV in the various offices of the Roman Curia, and is being welcomed by pro-life advocates.In one of the first major appointments of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV has replaced the controversial president of the John Paul II Institute, which was itself gutted by Pope Francis in 2019.As announced by the Holy See Press Office today, Leo XIV has named Cardinal Baldassare Reina as the Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Theological Institute “John Paul...

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...