J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterwork The Lord of the Rings has made it into Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical — and the reference reads like a veiled rebuke of Peter Thiel, the billionaire tech investor and Tolkien superfan whose dystopian vision twists...
Pope Leo XIV has recently surprised many not only by saying that he is not afraid of those who flaunt great military and political power. He has also surprised us by offering a critical — and at the same time...
There are few images that haunt me. One of them was hanging on a wall of the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago as part of the Blue Paradox Exhibit on microplastics. In the image, a person wades...
Much of Pope Leo XIV’s journey to Africa has been overshadowed by a media firestorm over tweets and comments US President Donald Trump made about the pope, and sadly Leo’s message and the people of Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial...
The following is a modified version of an Easter reflection that was first published on March 30, 2026 by Catholic Standard. “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,...
In the work I do with people who have experienced harm and abuse in the Church, a question that often comes up is: Why are you still Catholic? Every person responds to that question in their own way. Maybe the...
Note: Some names have been altered to protect the individuals involved in this article. For Lila, the racism started in the third grade. After an older boy repeatedly made hurtful comments about the color of her skin, Lila began telling...
With dust-like ashes crossed upon our foreheads, each one of us is firmly presented with Ash Wednesday’s wake-up call that our mortal body, this earthly life, is passing away — sooner than we realize — and that you and I...
The United Nations has been unjustly vilified over the years, usually by people who have an agenda or do not understand how it works, its context, and the stakes involved. The reality is that the UN is a beneficial organization...
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18). With these words Jesus inaugurated his mission. The “good news,” the kerygma, was first for the poor and...
I’ve been reflecting on how MLK confronted structures of sin within Christianity, and how he would respond to Catholics today. Specifically, how he would respond to Bishop Barron’s failure to be a voice of moral clarity during the ICE raids...
Note: This article was first featured January 8, 2026 on Radio Veritas Asia. If 2025 left us worried, 2026 does not yet give much reason for comfort. The Jubilee Year of Hope came with good intentions, but it was marked...
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