Historic

Fishing Boats and City Lights – Fishing boats illuminate the Arabian Sea along India’s west coast with green lights designed to attract squid, shrimp, sardines, and mackerel in this nighttime photograph from the International Space Station, orbiting 259 miles above Earth. At lower right, the city lights of Hyderabad—renowned for its historic diamond and pearl trade—stretch westward toward the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, home to over 26 million people and the heart of Bollywood.
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Fishing Boats and City Lights – Fishing boats illuminate the Arabian Sea along India’s west coast with green lights designed to attract squid, shrimp, sardines, and mackerel in this nighttime photograph from the International Space Station, orbiting 259 miles above Earth. At lower right, the city lights of Hyderabad—renowned for its historic diamond and pearl trade—stretch westward toward the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, home to over 26 million people and the heart of Bollywood.

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Fishing boats illuminate the Arabian Sea along India’s west coast with green lights designed to attract squid, shrimp, sardines, and mackerel in this nighttime photograph from the International Space Station, orbiting 259 miles above Earth. At lower right, the city lights of Hyderabad—renowned for its historic diamond and pearl trade—stretch westward toward the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, home to over 26 million people and the heart of Bollywood.

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Catholic thinkers, tech experts reflect on promise and perils of AI at New York Encounter #Catholic NEW YORK — How can Catholic social teaching guide us in weighing the benefits of artificial intelligence against the dangers it poses to human dignity? That question animated a wide-ranging discussion among Catholic thinkers and technology experts at the New York Encounter on Saturday.Citing Pope Leo XIV’s call to use AI responsibly as well as the Church’s historic defense of human dignity in the face of modern technology, Davide Bolchini, moderator and dean of the Luddy School of Informatics at Indiana University, opened the discussion before an audience of several hundred people gathered for the three-day cultural conference in New York City.“The pope encouraged us to use AI responsibly, to use it in a way that helps us grow, not to let it work against us, but to let it work with us, not to substitute human intelligence, not to replace our judgment of what’s right … our ability of authentic wonder,” Bolchini said.With technology rapidly advancing, Bolchini asked, how can the Church stay ahead of these challenges?Chuck Rossi, an engineer at Meta who is developing AI-driven content moderation technology at the technology conglomerate, which includes Facebook and Instagram, argued that in his work, developments in AI have been instrumental in safeguarding human beings from harm. AI systems, he said, can examine 2.5 billion pieces of of shared online content per hour, filtering harmful material including nudity and sexual activity, bullying and harassment, child endanger, dangerous organizations, fake accounts, hateful conduct, restricted goods and services, spam, suicide and self-injury, violence and incitement, and violent and graphic content.“That’s my world,” he said. “It’s a very, very hard problem. If we miss 0.1% of 2. 5 billion, that’s millions of things that we didn’t want to be seeing. But we do an excellent job, and we have for years — we’re one of the best at it,” Rossi said.Using AI also protects human content moderators from being exposed to disturbing material, as they were in the past.“The good thing that we are giving back to humans is you never have to do this horrible work,” he said.Paul Scherz, professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame, acknowledged the benefits of AI, which he said included advances in medicine and efficiency for tasks like billing (“Nobody wants to do billing,” he said).But Scherz warned of the dangers of relying on technology to do what is intrinsically human.“We are really starting to turn to AI as people more broadly for these relational aspects, which would be tragic because there is something in that human-to-human connection, the ‘I/thou connection,’ as Martin Buber called it, that is irreplaceable by a machine,” Scherz said. He noted that AI has even moved into ministry, with the rise of Catholic apps relying on bots to offer catechesis.Scherz also cautioned that substituting AI for human interaction and intelligence risks eroding our skills, whether in relationships or in professional life.“My fear is as we use these chatbots more and more we will lose those person-to-person skills. We’ll no longer be able to engage one another as well, or have the patience and virtue to deeply love and encounter one another,” Scherz said.In addition, relying on AI in our work, for example, when a doctor consults AI to make a diagnosis, will result in our “de-skilling,” he said. “We know that people, when they’re using automated systems, they tend to just become biased and complacent and just approve the automated system. They lose their skills,” he said, adding that airline pilots who rely too much on autopilot are more prone to making errors.Louis Kim, former vice president of personal systems and AI at Hewlett-Packard who is currently pursuing graduate studies in theology and health care, pointed out that it’s not possible to know today what skills will be required in the future.“My personal view is I often find that predictions of impacted technology are largely unconsciously based on what we know of the current paradigm and structure and technologies,” Kim said.“There are going to be skills needed to control AI that are going to be different,” he said.Kim also called for “humility” in discussions about AI’s potential to affect human relationships.“Let’s ask ourselves about the quality of our current human relationships, whether it’s in the workplace, in toxic cultures, sometimes at home — even at conferences, at your next break, as you go around talking to this person [or] that person, how many times that person is looking over your shoulder for the more important person to talk to?” he said.Our moral formation, he said, will continue to shape the quality of our encounters with others.
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Catholic thinkers, tech experts reflect on promise and perils of AI at New York Encounter #Catholic NEW YORK — How can Catholic social teaching guide us in weighing the benefits of artificial intelligence against the dangers it poses to human dignity? That question animated a wide-ranging discussion among Catholic thinkers and technology experts at the New York Encounter on Saturday.Citing Pope Leo XIV’s call to use AI responsibly as well as the Church’s historic defense of human dignity in the face of modern technology, Davide Bolchini, moderator and dean of the Luddy School of Informatics at Indiana University, opened the discussion before an audience of several hundred people gathered for the three-day cultural conference in New York City.“The pope encouraged us to use AI responsibly, to use it in a way that helps us grow, not to let it work against us, but to let it work with us, not to substitute human intelligence, not to replace our judgment of what’s right … our ability of authentic wonder,” Bolchini said.With technology rapidly advancing, Bolchini asked, how can the Church stay ahead of these challenges?Chuck Rossi, an engineer at Meta who is developing AI-driven content moderation technology at the technology conglomerate, which includes Facebook and Instagram, argued that in his work, developments in AI have been instrumental in safeguarding human beings from harm. AI systems, he said, can examine 2.5 billion pieces of of shared online content per hour, filtering harmful material including nudity and sexual activity, bullying and harassment, child endanger, dangerous organizations, fake accounts, hateful conduct, restricted goods and services, spam, suicide and self-injury, violence and incitement, and violent and graphic content.“That’s my world,” he said. “It’s a very, very hard problem. If we miss 0.1% of 2. 5 billion, that’s millions of things that we didn’t want to be seeing. But we do an excellent job, and we have for years — we’re one of the best at it,” Rossi said.Using AI also protects human content moderators from being exposed to disturbing material, as they were in the past.“The good thing that we are giving back to humans is you never have to do this horrible work,” he said.Paul Scherz, professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame, acknowledged the benefits of AI, which he said included advances in medicine and efficiency for tasks like billing (“Nobody wants to do billing,” he said).But Scherz warned of the dangers of relying on technology to do what is intrinsically human.“We are really starting to turn to AI as people more broadly for these relational aspects, which would be tragic because there is something in that human-to-human connection, the ‘I/thou connection,’ as Martin Buber called it, that is irreplaceable by a machine,” Scherz said. He noted that AI has even moved into ministry, with the rise of Catholic apps relying on bots to offer catechesis.Scherz also cautioned that substituting AI for human interaction and intelligence risks eroding our skills, whether in relationships or in professional life.“My fear is as we use these chatbots more and more we will lose those person-to-person skills. We’ll no longer be able to engage one another as well, or have the patience and virtue to deeply love and encounter one another,” Scherz said.In addition, relying on AI in our work, for example, when a doctor consults AI to make a diagnosis, will result in our “de-skilling,” he said. “We know that people, when they’re using automated systems, they tend to just become biased and complacent and just approve the automated system. They lose their skills,” he said, adding that airline pilots who rely too much on autopilot are more prone to making errors.Louis Kim, former vice president of personal systems and AI at Hewlett-Packard who is currently pursuing graduate studies in theology and health care, pointed out that it’s not possible to know today what skills will be required in the future.“My personal view is I often find that predictions of impacted technology are largely unconsciously based on what we know of the current paradigm and structure and technologies,” Kim said.“There are going to be skills needed to control AI that are going to be different,” he said.Kim also called for “humility” in discussions about AI’s potential to affect human relationships.“Let’s ask ourselves about the quality of our current human relationships, whether it’s in the workplace, in toxic cultures, sometimes at home — even at conferences, at your next break, as you go around talking to this person [or] that person, how many times that person is looking over your shoulder for the more important person to talk to?” he said.Our moral formation, he said, will continue to shape the quality of our encounters with others.

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“The pope encouraged us to use AI responsibly, to use it in a way that helps us grow, not to let it work against us, ” said Davide Bolchini, the moderator of an AI panel at the weekend conference.

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Head of U.S. bishops joins call for Notre Dame to drop appointment of pro-abortion professor #Catholic U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops President Archbishop Paul Coakley is urging the University of Notre Dame to drop the leadership appointment of an outspoken pro-abortion professor, joining nearly a dozen bishops in calling on the historic Catholic university to back away from the controversial decision. The controversy at Notre Dame exploded this week after Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, Bishop Kevin Rhoades on Feb. 11 expressed “dismay” and “strong opposition” to the school's appointment of Professor Susan Ostermann as director of the school’s Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies.Ostermann has in the past spoken out strongly in favor of abortion and sharply criticized the pro-life movement, at times suggesting that its roots are in "white supremacy" and misogyny. Rhoades said Ostermann's beliefs, coupled with her leadership promotion at the Catholic school, were “causing scandal to the faithful of our diocese and beyond.”Multiple U.S. bishops from around the country backed Rhoades's call throughout the week, with Coakley himself speaking out about the controversy on Feb. 13. "I fully support Bishop Kevin Rhoades in his challenge to Notre Dame to rectify its poor judgement in hiring a professor who openly stands against Catholic teaching when it comes to the sanctity of life, in this case protection of the unborn," Coakley said in a statement on X. TweetThe statement was shared hundreds of times on X, including by Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, the bishop emeritus of Hong Kong. Though criticism against Notre Dame's decision has come from top Catholic leadership in the U.S. throughout the week, the school has indicated that it will be standing by its plan to have Ostermann lead the institute. Notre Dame told EWTN News on Feb. 13 that Ostermann is "a highly regarded political scientist and legal scholar" who is "well prepared" to serve in the role. At the same time the university stressed its “unwavering” commitment “to upholding the inherent dignity of the human person and the sanctity of life at every stage.” Ostermann herself has told media that she “respect[s] Notre Dame’s institutional position on the sanctity of life at every stage." She has described herself as "fully committed to maintaining an environment of academic freedom where a plurality of voices can flourish."
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Head of U.S. bishops joins call for Notre Dame to drop appointment of pro-abortion professor #Catholic U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops President Archbishop Paul Coakley is urging the University of Notre Dame to drop the leadership appointment of an outspoken pro-abortion professor, joining nearly a dozen bishops in calling on the historic Catholic university to back away from the controversial decision. The controversy at Notre Dame exploded this week after Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, Bishop Kevin Rhoades on Feb. 11 expressed “dismay” and “strong opposition” to the school's appointment of Professor Susan Ostermann as director of the school’s Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies.Ostermann has in the past spoken out strongly in favor of abortion and sharply criticized the pro-life movement, at times suggesting that its roots are in "white supremacy" and misogyny. Rhoades said Ostermann's beliefs, coupled with her leadership promotion at the Catholic school, were “causing scandal to the faithful of our diocese and beyond.”Multiple U.S. bishops from around the country backed Rhoades's call throughout the week, with Coakley himself speaking out about the controversy on Feb. 13. "I fully support Bishop Kevin Rhoades in his challenge to Notre Dame to rectify its poor judgement in hiring a professor who openly stands against Catholic teaching when it comes to the sanctity of life, in this case protection of the unborn," Coakley said in a statement on X. TweetThe statement was shared hundreds of times on X, including by Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, the bishop emeritus of Hong Kong. Though criticism against Notre Dame's decision has come from top Catholic leadership in the U.S. throughout the week, the school has indicated that it will be standing by its plan to have Ostermann lead the institute. Notre Dame told EWTN News on Feb. 13 that Ostermann is "a highly regarded political scientist and legal scholar" who is "well prepared" to serve in the role. At the same time the university stressed its “unwavering” commitment “to upholding the inherent dignity of the human person and the sanctity of life at every stage.” Ostermann herself has told media that she “respect[s] Notre Dame’s institutional position on the sanctity of life at every stage." She has described herself as "fully committed to maintaining an environment of academic freedom where a plurality of voices can flourish."

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The school has indicated it will stick by its decision for Professor Susan Ostermann to lead a university institute.

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More bishops call for Notre Dame to drop appointment of pro-abortion professor #Catholic Nearly half a dozen more bishops have joined the growing backlash against the University of Notre Dame over its controversial appointment of an outspoken abortion advocate to lead a university department.Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, Bishop Kevin Rhoades on Feb. 11 issued a statement criticizing the university for appointing global affairs Professor Susan Ostermann as director of the school’s Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies.Three of Rhoades’ fellow bishops quickly backed the prelate’s remarks, voicing support on social media and calling on the university to drop Ostermann’s nomination. On Feb. 12, five more bishops commended Rhoades for his statement and expressed hope that the historic Catholic university would rescind the appointment. Gallup, New Mexico, Bishop James Wall praised Rhoades for his stance, with the western U.S. prelate offering a quote attributed to Pope Leo XIV: “We cannot build a just society if we discard the weakest, whether the child in the womb or the old man in his fragility, for both are gifts from God.”TweetSan Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone also thanked Rhoades for “speaking up.” “Holy Mary, Mother of God and Our Lady, pray for the university that bears your name,” Cordileone said. TweetGreen Bay, Wisconsin, Bishop David Ricken, meanwhile, wrote: “I fully affirm and stand in solidarity with my brother bishop [Rhoades].” He said Rhoades spoke “with clarity, courage, and fidelity to the Church’s mission.”“[L]et us turn with confidence to our Blessed Mother. Our Lady, pray for us! You are our loving Mother — we love you and entrust this to your Immaculate Heart,” Ricken wrote.TweetMadison, Wisconsin, Bishop Donald Hying described Rhoades’ statement as “a profound reflection on human dignity and the culture of life.”Tweet“We pray that all of our educational institutions support Catholic teaching, especially regarding human life,” he said. Lincoln, Nebraska, Bishop James Conley said he “stand[s] in support of Bishop Rhoades” while sharing his concern over the appointment. “Catholic institutions must faithfully reflect the truth of the dignity of every human life in both their mission and their leadership,” he said. TweetThe University of Notre Dame has continued to stand by its appointment of Ostermann, whose post is scheduled to take effect July 1. Rhoades on Feb. 11 said there is “still time [for the university] to make things right.”Ostermann, meanwhile, told the National Catholic Register in January that her role at the school “is to support the diverse research of our scholars and students, not to advance a personal political agenda.”The professor said she “respect[s] Notre Dame’s institutional position on the sanctity of life at every stage” and described herself as “inspired by the university’s focus on integral human development, which calls us to promote the dignity and flourishing of every person.”
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More bishops call for Notre Dame to drop appointment of pro-abortion professor #Catholic Nearly half a dozen more bishops have joined the growing backlash against the University of Notre Dame over its controversial appointment of an outspoken abortion advocate to lead a university department.Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, Bishop Kevin Rhoades on Feb. 11 issued a statement criticizing the university for appointing global affairs Professor Susan Ostermann as director of the school’s Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies.Three of Rhoades’ fellow bishops quickly backed the prelate’s remarks, voicing support on social media and calling on the university to drop Ostermann’s nomination. On Feb. 12, five more bishops commended Rhoades for his statement and expressed hope that the historic Catholic university would rescind the appointment. Gallup, New Mexico, Bishop James Wall praised Rhoades for his stance, with the western U.S. prelate offering a quote attributed to Pope Leo XIV: “We cannot build a just society if we discard the weakest, whether the child in the womb or the old man in his fragility, for both are gifts from God.”TweetSan Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone also thanked Rhoades for “speaking up.” “Holy Mary, Mother of God and Our Lady, pray for the university that bears your name,” Cordileone said. TweetGreen Bay, Wisconsin, Bishop David Ricken, meanwhile, wrote: “I fully affirm and stand in solidarity with my brother bishop [Rhoades].” He said Rhoades spoke “with clarity, courage, and fidelity to the Church’s mission.”“[L]et us turn with confidence to our Blessed Mother. Our Lady, pray for us! You are our loving Mother — we love you and entrust this to your Immaculate Heart,” Ricken wrote.TweetMadison, Wisconsin, Bishop Donald Hying described Rhoades’ statement as “a profound reflection on human dignity and the culture of life.”Tweet“We pray that all of our educational institutions support Catholic teaching, especially regarding human life,” he said. Lincoln, Nebraska, Bishop James Conley said he “stand[s] in support of Bishop Rhoades” while sharing his concern over the appointment. “Catholic institutions must faithfully reflect the truth of the dignity of every human life in both their mission and their leadership,” he said. TweetThe University of Notre Dame has continued to stand by its appointment of Ostermann, whose post is scheduled to take effect July 1. Rhoades on Feb. 11 said there is “still time [for the university] to make things right.”Ostermann, meanwhile, told the National Catholic Register in January that her role at the school “is to support the diverse research of our scholars and students, not to advance a personal political agenda.”The professor said she “respect[s] Notre Dame’s institutional position on the sanctity of life at every stage” and described herself as “inspired by the university’s focus on integral human development, which calls us to promote the dignity and flourishing of every person.”

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The university has endured sustained backlash for nominating the outspoken abortion advocate to lead an academic department.

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Notre Dame, Villanova finalizing plans to open college basketball season in Rome #Catholic Pope Leo XIV may get the opportunity to watch his alma mater play basketball in person during the 2026-2027 season. According to a report from CBS Sports, the Villanova and Notre Dame men’s and women’s basketball teams have received special clearance from the NCAA to open their seasons in Rome for a doubleheader on Nov. 1.The college basketball season officially starts on Nov. 2 but, according to the report, the NCAA approved a waiver in January to allow the teams to start one day before given the precedence of these games.Both universities are prominent Catholic schools that have ties to the pope. Pope Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, is a 1977 alumnus of Villanova University. As for the University of Notre Dame, it is regarded as the most prominent Catholic institution of higher learning in the world and has an outpost in Rome.It is well known that Pope Leo is an avid sports fan. He has already welcomed several athletes to the Vatican during his papacy, including the SSC Napoli soccer team after its league championship in May 2025 and Italian professional tennis player Jannik Sinner. Many have also seen the viral image of the pope attending game 1 of the Chicago White Sox’s World Series run in 2005.The teams will play the doubleheader at the Palazzetto dello Sport, also known as the PalaTiziano. The arena seats 3,500 people and was built in the late 1950s for the 1960 Olympics in Rome. It is about 30 minutes away from the pope’s residence in Vatican City.The director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, told EWTN News it was “too early to tell” if Leo will participate in the historic game.According to the report, officials from both universities have been in contact with the pope and people around the Holy See. Leadership from Notre Dame had a private meeting with Pope Leo in November 2025 and Villanova officials attended the pope’s inaugural Mass.For the men’s teams, it is believed this will be the first season opener outside of the U.S. in men’s college basketball history. For the Notre Dame women, this will be their second regular season game outside of the country. They opened the 2023-2024 season against South Carolina in Paris.Hannah Brockhaus contributed to this report from Rome.
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Notre Dame, Villanova finalizing plans to open college basketball season in Rome #Catholic Pope Leo XIV may get the opportunity to watch his alma mater play basketball in person during the 2026-2027 season. According to a report from CBS Sports, the Villanova and Notre Dame men’s and women’s basketball teams have received special clearance from the NCAA to open their seasons in Rome for a doubleheader on Nov. 1.The college basketball season officially starts on Nov. 2 but, according to the report, the NCAA approved a waiver in January to allow the teams to start one day before given the precedence of these games.Both universities are prominent Catholic schools that have ties to the pope. Pope Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, is a 1977 alumnus of Villanova University. As for the University of Notre Dame, it is regarded as the most prominent Catholic institution of higher learning in the world and has an outpost in Rome.It is well known that Pope Leo is an avid sports fan. He has already welcomed several athletes to the Vatican during his papacy, including the SSC Napoli soccer team after its league championship in May 2025 and Italian professional tennis player Jannik Sinner. Many have also seen the viral image of the pope attending game 1 of the Chicago White Sox’s World Series run in 2005.The teams will play the doubleheader at the Palazzetto dello Sport, also known as the PalaTiziano. The arena seats 3,500 people and was built in the late 1950s for the 1960 Olympics in Rome. It is about 30 minutes away from the pope’s residence in Vatican City.The director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, told EWTN News it was “too early to tell” if Leo will participate in the historic game.According to the report, officials from both universities have been in contact with the pope and people around the Holy See. Leadership from Notre Dame had a private meeting with Pope Leo in November 2025 and Villanova officials attended the pope’s inaugural Mass.For the men’s teams, it is believed this will be the first season opener outside of the U.S. in men’s college basketball history. For the Notre Dame women, this will be their second regular season game outside of the country. They opened the 2023-2024 season against South Carolina in Paris.Hannah Brockhaus contributed to this report from Rome.

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Pope Leo XIV is a 1977 alumnus of Villanova University and an avid sports fan.

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Picture of the day The Neckarfront in Tübingen, Germany, seen in the blue hour over the river Neckar. At the left the Hölderlinturm, followed by a row of historic town houses, at the top the tower of St. George’s Collegiate Church. #ImageOfTheDay
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Picture of the day The Neckarfront in Tübingen, Germany, seen in the blue hour over the river Neckar. At the left the Hölderlinturm, followed by a row of historic town houses, at the top the tower of St. George’s Collegiate Church. #ImageOfTheDay

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Picture of the day
The Neckarfront in Tübingen, Germany, seen in the blue hour over the river Neckar. At the left the Hölderlinturm, followed by a row of historic town houses, at the top the tower of St. George’s Collegiate Church.
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Catholics express mixed views on first year of Trump’s second term #Catholic With Speaker of the House Mike Johnson by his side, President Donald Trump speaks to the press following a House Republican meeting at the U.S. Capitol on May 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. | Credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images Jan 20, 2026 / 12:21 pm (CNA). Catholics are offering mixed reactions to the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, which included domestic policy actions that align with U.S. bishops on gender-related issues, and also tensions over immigration, expansion of the death penalty, and reduced funding for organizations that provide food and basic support to people in need.Trump secured his electoral victory in 2024 with the help of Catholics, who supported him by a double-digit margin, according to exit polls. A Pew Research Center report found that nearly a quarter of Trump’s voters in 2024 were Catholic.Throughout his first year, Trump — who calls himself a nondenominational Christian — has invoked Christianity and created a White House Faith Office. He created a Religious Liberty Commission by executive order in May 2025 and became the first president to issue a proclamation honoring the Catholic feast of the Immaculate Conception in December.Last year, the president also launched the “America Prays” initiative, which encouraged people to dedicate one hour of prayer for the United States and its people in preparation for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026.Immigration, poverty, and NGOsJohn White, professor of politics at The Catholic University of America, said the first year of Trump’s second term “challenged Catholics on many levels.”“The brutality of ICE has caused the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to issue an extraordinary statement at the prompting of Pope Leo XIV,” White said, referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a special message in November opposing indiscriminate mass deportations, calling for humane treatment, urging meaningful reform, and affirming the compatibility of national security with human dignity.The Trump administration, with JD Vance, the second Catholic vice president in U.S. history, cut billions of dollars in funding to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which financially damaged several Catholic nonprofits that had received funding. Trump also signed into law historic cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.“The cuts to NGO funding, SNAP, and Medicaid benefits, alongside the huge increases in health care costs, have hurt the poor and middle class at home and around the world,” he said. “Instead of being the good Samaritan, Trump has challenged our Catholic values and narrowed our vision of who we are and what we believe. JD Vance’s interpretation of ‘Ordo Amoris’ of a hierarchy to those whom we love rather than a universal love is a case in point and has been repudiated by Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV,” he said.The cuts aligned federal policy with the administration’s agenda, which included strict immigration enforcement, mass deportations of immigrants who are in the country illegally, and less foreign aid support.Catholic Charities USA was previously receiving more than $100 million annually for migrant services, and the Trump administration cut off those funds. In response, the organization scaled back its services.Since Trump took office, the administration said it has deported more than 600,000 people.Karen Sullivan, director of advocacy for the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), which provides legal services to migrants, said she is “very concerned about the way that immigration enforcement has been carried out,” adding her organization is “very concerned that human dignity of all persons [needs to] be respected.”Sullivan said the administration is “enabling their officers to use excessive force as they are taking people into custody” and “denying access to oversight at their detention centers.” She also expressed concern about the administration increasing fees for asylum applications and giving agents more leeway to conduct immigration enforcement at sensitive locations, such as churches, schools, and hospitals.She said the large number of deportations and the increase in expedited removals has “been a strain” on organizations that seek to provide legal help to migrants.CLINIC receives inquiries from people who are facing deportation and also those who fear they may be deported. She said: “The worry and the fear among those people [who may face deportation] makes them seek out assistance and advice even more often.”“The pace of the changes that have been happening in the past year have been very difficult to manage,” she said. “We are having to respond very quickly to changes."Executive actions on genderSusan Hanssen, a history professor at the University of Dallas (a Catholic institution), viewed the first year of Trump’s second term in mostly successful terms.“As Catholics we know that the law educates, and during Trump’s first year in office we witnessed an actual shift in public opinion on the LGBT/transgender ideology due to his asserting the scientific and natural common sense that there are only male and female,” Hanssen said.Trump took executive action to prohibit what he called the “chemical and surgical mutilation” of children, such as hormone therapy and surgical transition. He signed a policy restricting participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports. He legally recognized only two genders, determined by biology: male and female.“His strong executive action on this essential point — domestically in making the executive branch remove its trans-affirming language, the executive department of education stop subverting parental rights over their children, and women’s rights in sports, and (importantly) putting an end to USAID’s [U.S. Agency for International Development] pushing this gender agenda on the countries who need our economic assistance,” she said.“This has led to a genuine public shift, with fewer independent corporations choosing to enforce June as LGBT Pride month on their customer base, fewer DEI programs pushing the gender agenda on hiring, and a shift (especially among young men) towards disapproval of gender transitioning children and even towards disapproval of the legalization of so-called same sex ‘marriage,’” she added. “We will need to see how these executive branch victories will affect judicial and legislative action moving forward.”Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, senior ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, had a similar view of some of the social changes.“The current administration has focused significant energy on the important task of ‘putting folks on notice,’ so it’s hard to deny, for example, that the misguided medico-pharmaceutical industry that has profited handsomely from exploiting vulnerable youth and other gender dysphoric individuals can no longer miss the loud indicators that these practices will not be able to continue unabated,” he said.Death penaltyTrump signaled a renewed and more aggressive federal capital-punishment policy in 2025, in opposition to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which teaches that the death penalty is “inadmissible.”Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office directing the Justice Department to actively pursue the federal death penalty for serious crimes. He also directed federal prosecutors to seek death sentences in Washington, D.C., homicide cases. His administration lifted a moratorium on executions, reversing a pause in federal executions and following President Joe Biden’s commutations of federal death sentences.Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, then-president of the USCCB, in a Jan. 22, 2025, statement called Trump’s support for expanding the federal death penalty “deeply troubling.” Newly elected USCCB president Archbishop Paul Coakley likewise called for the abolition of the death penalty.
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Catholics express mixed views on first year of Trump’s second term #Catholic With Speaker of the House Mike Johnson by his side, President Donald Trump speaks to the press following a House Republican meeting at the U.S. Capitol on May 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. | Credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images Jan 20, 2026 / 12:21 pm (CNA). Catholics are offering mixed reactions to the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, which included domestic policy actions that align with U.S. bishops on gender-related issues, and also tensions over immigration, expansion of the death penalty, and reduced funding for organizations that provide food and basic support to people in need.Trump secured his electoral victory in 2024 with the help of Catholics, who supported him by a double-digit margin, according to exit polls. A Pew Research Center report found that nearly a quarter of Trump’s voters in 2024 were Catholic.Throughout his first year, Trump — who calls himself a nondenominational Christian — has invoked Christianity and created a White House Faith Office. He created a Religious Liberty Commission by executive order in May 2025 and became the first president to issue a proclamation honoring the Catholic feast of the Immaculate Conception in December.Last year, the president also launched the “America Prays” initiative, which encouraged people to dedicate one hour of prayer for the United States and its people in preparation for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026.Immigration, poverty, and NGOsJohn White, professor of politics at The Catholic University of America, said the first year of Trump’s second term “challenged Catholics on many levels.”“The brutality of ICE has caused the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to issue an extraordinary statement at the prompting of Pope Leo XIV,” White said, referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a special message in November opposing indiscriminate mass deportations, calling for humane treatment, urging meaningful reform, and affirming the compatibility of national security with human dignity.The Trump administration, with JD Vance, the second Catholic vice president in U.S. history, cut billions of dollars in funding to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which financially damaged several Catholic nonprofits that had received funding. Trump also signed into law historic cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.“The cuts to NGO funding, SNAP, and Medicaid benefits, alongside the huge increases in health care costs, have hurt the poor and middle class at home and around the world,” he said. “Instead of being the good Samaritan, Trump has challenged our Catholic values and narrowed our vision of who we are and what we believe. JD Vance’s interpretation of ‘Ordo Amoris’ of a hierarchy to those whom we love rather than a universal love is a case in point and has been repudiated by Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV,” he said.The cuts aligned federal policy with the administration’s agenda, which included strict immigration enforcement, mass deportations of immigrants who are in the country illegally, and less foreign aid support.Catholic Charities USA was previously receiving more than $100 million annually for migrant services, and the Trump administration cut off those funds. In response, the organization scaled back its services.Since Trump took office, the administration said it has deported more than 600,000 people.Karen Sullivan, director of advocacy for the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), which provides legal services to migrants, said she is “very concerned about the way that immigration enforcement has been carried out,” adding her organization is “very concerned that human dignity of all persons [needs to] be respected.”Sullivan said the administration is “enabling their officers to use excessive force as they are taking people into custody” and “denying access to oversight at their detention centers.” She also expressed concern about the administration increasing fees for asylum applications and giving agents more leeway to conduct immigration enforcement at sensitive locations, such as churches, schools, and hospitals.She said the large number of deportations and the increase in expedited removals has “been a strain” on organizations that seek to provide legal help to migrants.CLINIC receives inquiries from people who are facing deportation and also those who fear they may be deported. She said: “The worry and the fear among those people [who may face deportation] makes them seek out assistance and advice even more often.”“The pace of the changes that have been happening in the past year have been very difficult to manage,” she said. “We are having to respond very quickly to changes."Executive actions on genderSusan Hanssen, a history professor at the University of Dallas (a Catholic institution), viewed the first year of Trump’s second term in mostly successful terms.“As Catholics we know that the law educates, and during Trump’s first year in office we witnessed an actual shift in public opinion on the LGBT/transgender ideology due to his asserting the scientific and natural common sense that there are only male and female,” Hanssen said.Trump took executive action to prohibit what he called the “chemical and surgical mutilation” of children, such as hormone therapy and surgical transition. He signed a policy restricting participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports. He legally recognized only two genders, determined by biology: male and female.“His strong executive action on this essential point — domestically in making the executive branch remove its trans-affirming language, the executive department of education stop subverting parental rights over their children, and women’s rights in sports, and (importantly) putting an end to USAID’s [U.S. Agency for International Development] pushing this gender agenda on the countries who need our economic assistance,” she said.“This has led to a genuine public shift, with fewer independent corporations choosing to enforce June as LGBT Pride month on their customer base, fewer DEI programs pushing the gender agenda on hiring, and a shift (especially among young men) towards disapproval of gender transitioning children and even towards disapproval of the legalization of so-called same sex ‘marriage,’” she added. “We will need to see how these executive branch victories will affect judicial and legislative action moving forward.”Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, senior ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, had a similar view of some of the social changes.“The current administration has focused significant energy on the important task of ‘putting folks on notice,’ so it’s hard to deny, for example, that the misguided medico-pharmaceutical industry that has profited handsomely from exploiting vulnerable youth and other gender dysphoric individuals can no longer miss the loud indicators that these practices will not be able to continue unabated,” he said.Death penaltyTrump signaled a renewed and more aggressive federal capital-punishment policy in 2025, in opposition to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which teaches that the death penalty is “inadmissible.”Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office directing the Justice Department to actively pursue the federal death penalty for serious crimes. He also directed federal prosecutors to seek death sentences in Washington, D.C., homicide cases. His administration lifted a moratorium on executions, reversing a pause in federal executions and following President Joe Biden’s commutations of federal death sentences.Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, then-president of the USCCB, in a Jan. 22, 2025, statement called Trump’s support for expanding the federal death penalty “deeply troubling.” Newly elected USCCB president Archbishop Paul Coakley likewise called for the abolition of the death penalty.

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With Speaker of the House Mike Johnson by his side, President Donald Trump speaks to the press following a House Republican meeting at the U.S. Capitol on May 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. | Credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Jan 20, 2026 / 12:21 pm (CNA).

Catholics are offering mixed reactions to the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, which included domestic policy actions that align with U.S. bishops on gender-related issues, and also tensions over immigration, expansion of the death penalty, and reduced funding for organizations that provide food and basic support to people in need.

Trump secured his electoral victory in 2024 with the help of Catholics, who supported him by a double-digit margin, according to exit polls. A Pew Research Center report found that nearly a quarter of Trump’s voters in 2024 were Catholic.

Throughout his first year, Trump — who calls himself a nondenominational Christian — has invoked Christianity and created a White House Faith Office. He created a Religious Liberty Commission by executive order in May 2025 and became the first president to issue a proclamation honoring the Catholic feast of the Immaculate Conception in December.

Last year, the president also launched the “America Prays” initiative, which encouraged people to dedicate one hour of prayer for the United States and its people in preparation for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026.

Immigration, poverty, and NGOs

John White, professor of politics at The Catholic University of America, said the first year of Trump’s second term “challenged Catholics on many levels.”

“The brutality of ICE has caused the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to issue an extraordinary statement at the prompting of Pope Leo XIV,” White said, referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a special message in November opposing indiscriminate mass deportations, calling for humane treatment, urging meaningful reform, and affirming the compatibility of national security with human dignity.

The Trump administration, with JD Vance, the second Catholic vice president in U.S. history, cut billions of dollars in funding to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which financially damaged several Catholic nonprofits that had received funding. Trump also signed into law historic cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

“The cuts to NGO funding, SNAP, and Medicaid benefits, alongside the huge increases in health care costs, have hurt the poor and middle class at home and around the world,” he said. “Instead of being the good Samaritan, Trump has challenged our Catholic values and narrowed our vision of who we are and what we believe. JD Vance’s interpretation of ‘Ordo Amoris’ of a hierarchy to those whom we love rather than a universal love is a case in point and has been repudiated by Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV,” he said.

The cuts aligned federal policy with the administration’s agenda, which included strict immigration enforcement, mass deportations of immigrants who are in the country illegally, and less foreign aid support.

Catholic Charities USA was previously receiving more than $100 million annually for migrant services, and the Trump administration cut off those funds. In response, the organization scaled back its services.

Since Trump took office, the administration said it has deported more than 600,000 people.

Karen Sullivan, director of advocacy for the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), which provides legal services to migrants, said she is “very concerned about the way that immigration enforcement has been carried out,” adding her organization is “very concerned that human dignity of all persons [needs to] be respected.”

Sullivan said the administration is “enabling their officers to use excessive force as they are taking people into custody” and “denying access to oversight at their detention centers.” She also expressed concern about the administration increasing fees for asylum applications and giving agents more leeway to conduct immigration enforcement at sensitive locations, such as churches, schools, and hospitals.

She said the large number of deportations and the increase in expedited removals has “been a strain” on organizations that seek to provide legal help to migrants.

CLINIC receives inquiries from people who are facing deportation and also those who fear they may be deported. She said: “The worry and the fear among those people [who may face deportation] makes them seek out assistance and advice even more often.”

“The pace of the changes that have been happening in the past year have been very difficult to manage,” she said. “We are having to respond very quickly to changes."

Executive actions on gender

Susan Hanssen, a history professor at the University of Dallas (a Catholic institution), viewed the first year of Trump’s second term in mostly successful terms.

“As Catholics we know that the law educates, and during Trump’s first year in office we witnessed an actual shift in public opinion on the LGBT/transgender ideology due to his asserting the scientific and natural common sense that there are only male and female,” Hanssen said.

Trump took executive action to prohibit what he called the “chemical and surgical mutilation” of children, such as hormone therapy and surgical transition. He signed a policy restricting participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports. He legally recognized only two genders, determined by biology: male and female.

“His strong executive action on this essential point — domestically in making the executive branch remove its trans-affirming language, the executive department of education stop subverting parental rights over their children, and women’s rights in sports, and (importantly) putting an end to USAID’s [U.S. Agency for International Development] pushing this gender agenda on the countries who need our economic assistance,” she said.

“This has led to a genuine public shift, with fewer independent corporations choosing to enforce June as LGBT Pride month on their customer base, fewer DEI programs pushing the gender agenda on hiring, and a shift (especially among young men) towards disapproval of gender transitioning children and even towards disapproval of the legalization of so-called same sex ‘marriage,’” she added. “We will need to see how these executive branch victories will affect judicial and legislative action moving forward.”

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, senior ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, had a similar view of some of the social changes.

“The current administration has focused significant energy on the important task of ‘putting folks on notice,’ so it’s hard to deny, for example, that the misguided medico-pharmaceutical industry that has profited handsomely from exploiting vulnerable youth and other gender dysphoric individuals can no longer miss the loud indicators that these practices will not be able to continue unabated,” he said.

Death penalty

Trump signaled a renewed and more aggressive federal capital-punishment policy in 2025, in opposition to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which teaches that the death penalty is “inadmissible.”

Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office directing the Justice Department to actively pursue the federal death penalty for serious crimes. He also directed federal prosecutors to seek death sentences in Washington, D.C., homicide cases. His administration lifted a moratorium on executions, reversing a pause in federal executions and following President Joe Biden’s commutations of federal death sentences.

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, then-president of the USCCB, in a Jan. 22, 2025, statement called Trump’s support for expanding the federal death penalty “deeply troubling.” Newly elected USCCB president Archbishop Paul Coakley likewise called for the abolition of the death penalty.

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At annual meeting, Catholic historians assess impact of first American pope #Catholic University of Notre Dame professor Kathleen Sprows Cummings. Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/CNA Jan 10, 2026 / 10:12 am (CNA). Assessing the impact of the Catholic Church's first American pope was front and center at the 106th annual meeting of the American Catholic Historical Association (ACHA), which met in Pope Leo XIV's hometown of Chicago from Jan. 8-11.During a panel on the subject, Catholic scholars noted some of the historic caricatures of what an American papacy would be like and compared that to the first eight months of Leo's actual papacy.American Catholic History Association panelists (from left to right) Brian Flanagan, Colleen Dulle, Miguel Diaz and Kathleen Sprows Cummings. Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/CNAAt the outset of the panel, University of Notre Dame history professor Kathleen Sprows Cummings referenced the 1894 Puck magazine cartoon titled “ The American Pope,” which depicts the first apostolic delegate to the United States, Cardinal Francesco Satolli, sitting atop a church labeled the “American headquarters” and casting a shadow of then Pope Leo XIII over the entire country.Sprows Cummings noted the cartoon illustrates “fears about papal intervention in the United States” at a time when the country was receiving waves of Catholic immigrants from countries such as Ireland and Italy.As Catholics became more settled in American society in the subsequent decades, she said some of those prejudices began to lessen and pointed to the 1918 election of Catholic Democrat Al Smith as New York’s governor. By this point, Catholics had become “much more confident about their place in American culture.” During the same early 20th century period, the United States also began to rise as a superpower. Sprows Cummings noted that predominant concerns about an American pope shifted to Vatican concerns over the “Americanization of the Catholic Church.”America magazine's Vatican correspondent, Colleen Dulle, said some of those concerns were evidently mitigated in the person of then Cardinal Robert Prevost, whose service to the Church included many years as a missionary and bishop in Peru as well as in Rome as the head of a global religious order, the Augustinians.Sprows Cummings said the College of Cardinals clearly saw in Cardinal Prevost the "pastoral presence, administrative savvy and global vision" that the Church needed at this time and that he was “not elected in some flex of American power.”Miguel Diaz, the John Courtney Murray, S.J. Chair in Public Service at Loyola University Chicago, noted that some of Leo’s actions have actually amounted to the opposite of flexing American power, such as his focus on the dignity of migrants, which he contrasted to the policies of the Trump administration.Former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Miguel Diaz. Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/CNADiaz, who served as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See under former President Barack Obama, said Leo is “a different symbol, from America first to America cares.”He emphasized that having an American pope is significant amid the country’s political debates because “he can say things and he will be listened to.”The panelists also discussed what Leo’s papacy may look like moving forward, with Dulle noting that only this year are there clear signs of him charting his own programmatic course, as the events and itinerary of the 2025 Jubilee were primarily developed for Pope Francis. Up until now, she said, he has been mostly “continuing the Francis initiatives in a different style.”She noted Pope Leo's management of this week's consistory — a meeting between the pope and the College of Cardinals — where the pontiff gave them four topics to choose from, which were all in line with Francis’s priorities: synodality, evangelization, reform of the curia, and the liturgy. The cardinals chose synodality and evangelization.Dulle said Leo is seen as "a consensus builder” who aims to build consensus around the Church's priorities. She noted Pope Leo's announcement this week of a regular schedule of consistories, with the next one set for this June. This approach is emerging as a "hallmark of how he governs the Church" Dulle said.Brian Flanagan, the John Cardinal Cody Chair of Catholic Theology at Loyola University Chicago, also emphasized Leo’s strong appeal to the cardinals and bishops in efforts to reach consensus, in keeping with the Pope's role as a preserver of unity.Flanagan said he sees Leo exercising the papacy as not so much "at the top of the pyramid, but as at the center of conversation.” He said this is likely influenced by Leo's past as leader of a religious order — the Order of Saint Augustine — rather than a diocese because the orders are “global, diverse, and somewhat fractious.”“You can’t govern a global religious community without getting people on board,” he said.
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At annual meeting, Catholic historians assess impact of first American pope #Catholic University of Notre Dame professor Kathleen Sprows Cummings. Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/CNA Jan 10, 2026 / 10:12 am (CNA). Assessing the impact of the Catholic Church's first American pope was front and center at the 106th annual meeting of the American Catholic Historical Association (ACHA), which met in Pope Leo XIV's hometown of Chicago from Jan. 8-11.During a panel on the subject, Catholic scholars noted some of the historic caricatures of what an American papacy would be like and compared that to the first eight months of Leo's actual papacy.American Catholic History Association panelists (from left to right) Brian Flanagan, Colleen Dulle, Miguel Diaz and Kathleen Sprows Cummings. Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/CNAAt the outset of the panel, University of Notre Dame history professor Kathleen Sprows Cummings referenced the 1894 Puck magazine cartoon titled “ The American Pope,” which depicts the first apostolic delegate to the United States, Cardinal Francesco Satolli, sitting atop a church labeled the “American headquarters” and casting a shadow of then Pope Leo XIII over the entire country.Sprows Cummings noted the cartoon illustrates “fears about papal intervention in the United States” at a time when the country was receiving waves of Catholic immigrants from countries such as Ireland and Italy.As Catholics became more settled in American society in the subsequent decades, she said some of those prejudices began to lessen and pointed to the 1918 election of Catholic Democrat Al Smith as New York’s governor. By this point, Catholics had become “much more confident about their place in American culture.” During the same early 20th century period, the United States also began to rise as a superpower. Sprows Cummings noted that predominant concerns about an American pope shifted to Vatican concerns over the “Americanization of the Catholic Church.”America magazine's Vatican correspondent, Colleen Dulle, said some of those concerns were evidently mitigated in the person of then Cardinal Robert Prevost, whose service to the Church included many years as a missionary and bishop in Peru as well as in Rome as the head of a global religious order, the Augustinians.Sprows Cummings said the College of Cardinals clearly saw in Cardinal Prevost the "pastoral presence, administrative savvy and global vision" that the Church needed at this time and that he was “not elected in some flex of American power.”Miguel Diaz, the John Courtney Murray, S.J. Chair in Public Service at Loyola University Chicago, noted that some of Leo’s actions have actually amounted to the opposite of flexing American power, such as his focus on the dignity of migrants, which he contrasted to the policies of the Trump administration.Former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Miguel Diaz. Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/CNADiaz, who served as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See under former President Barack Obama, said Leo is “a different symbol, from America first to America cares.”He emphasized that having an American pope is significant amid the country’s political debates because “he can say things and he will be listened to.”The panelists also discussed what Leo’s papacy may look like moving forward, with Dulle noting that only this year are there clear signs of him charting his own programmatic course, as the events and itinerary of the 2025 Jubilee were primarily developed for Pope Francis. Up until now, she said, he has been mostly “continuing the Francis initiatives in a different style.”She noted Pope Leo's management of this week's consistory — a meeting between the pope and the College of Cardinals — where the pontiff gave them four topics to choose from, which were all in line with Francis’s priorities: synodality, evangelization, reform of the curia, and the liturgy. The cardinals chose synodality and evangelization.Dulle said Leo is seen as "a consensus builder” who aims to build consensus around the Church's priorities. She noted Pope Leo's announcement this week of a regular schedule of consistories, with the next one set for this June. This approach is emerging as a "hallmark of how he governs the Church" Dulle said.Brian Flanagan, the John Cardinal Cody Chair of Catholic Theology at Loyola University Chicago, also emphasized Leo’s strong appeal to the cardinals and bishops in efforts to reach consensus, in keeping with the Pope's role as a preserver of unity.Flanagan said he sees Leo exercising the papacy as not so much "at the top of the pyramid, but as at the center of conversation.” He said this is likely influenced by Leo's past as leader of a religious order — the Order of Saint Augustine — rather than a diocese because the orders are “global, diverse, and somewhat fractious.”“You can’t govern a global religious community without getting people on board,” he said.

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University of Notre Dame professor Kathleen Sprows Cummings. Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/CNA

Jan 10, 2026 / 10:12 am (CNA).

Assessing the impact of the Catholic Church's first American pope was front and center at the 106th annual meeting of the American Catholic Historical Association (ACHA), which met in Pope Leo XIV's hometown of Chicago from Jan. 8-11.

During a panel on the subject, Catholic scholars noted some of the historic caricatures of what an American papacy would be like and compared that to the first eight months of Leo's actual papacy.

American Catholic History Association panelists (from left to right) Brian Flanagan, Colleen Dulle, Miguel Diaz and Kathleen Sprows Cummings. Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/CNA
American Catholic History Association panelists (from left to right) Brian Flanagan, Colleen Dulle, Miguel Diaz and Kathleen Sprows Cummings. Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/CNA

At the outset of the panel, University of Notre Dame history professor Kathleen Sprows Cummings referenced the 1894 Puck magazine cartoon titled “ The American Pope,” which depicts the first apostolic delegate to the United States, Cardinal Francesco Satolli, sitting atop a church labeled the “American headquarters” and casting a shadow of then Pope Leo XIII over the entire country.

Sprows Cummings noted the cartoon illustrates “fears about papal intervention in the United States” at a time when the country was receiving waves of Catholic immigrants from countries such as Ireland and Italy.

As Catholics became more settled in American society in the subsequent decades, she said some of those prejudices began to lessen and pointed to the 1918 election of Catholic Democrat Al Smith as New York’s governor. By this point, Catholics had become “much more confident about their place in American culture.”

During the same early 20th century period, the United States also began to rise as a superpower. Sprows Cummings noted that predominant concerns about an American pope shifted to Vatican concerns over the “Americanization of the Catholic Church.”

America magazine's Vatican correspondent, Colleen Dulle, said some of those concerns were evidently mitigated in the person of then Cardinal Robert Prevost, whose service to the Church included many years as a missionary and bishop in Peru as well as in Rome as the head of a global religious order, the Augustinians.

Sprows Cummings said the College of Cardinals clearly saw in Cardinal Prevost the "pastoral presence, administrative savvy and global vision" that the Church needed at this time and that he was “not elected in some flex of American power.”

Miguel Diaz, the John Courtney Murray, S.J. Chair in Public Service at Loyola University Chicago, noted that some of Leo’s actions have actually amounted to the opposite of flexing American power, such as his focus on the dignity of migrants, which he contrasted to the policies of the Trump administration.

Former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Miguel Diaz. Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/CNA
Former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Miguel Diaz. Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/CNA

Diaz, who served as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See under former President Barack Obama, said Leo is “a different symbol, from America first to America cares.”

He emphasized that having an American pope is significant amid the country’s political debates because “he can say things and he will be listened to.”

The panelists also discussed what Leo’s papacy may look like moving forward, with Dulle noting that only this year are there clear signs of him charting his own programmatic course, as the events and itinerary of the 2025 Jubilee were primarily developed for Pope Francis.

Up until now, she said, he has been mostly “continuing the Francis initiatives in a different style.”

She noted Pope Leo's management of this week's consistory — a meeting between the pope and the College of Cardinals — where the pontiff gave them four topics to choose from, which were all in line with Francis’s priorities: synodality, evangelization, reform of the curia, and the liturgy. The cardinals chose synodality and evangelization.

Dulle said Leo is seen as "a consensus builder” who aims to build consensus around the Church's priorities. She noted Pope Leo's announcement this week of a regular schedule of consistories, with the next one set for this June. This approach is emerging as a "hallmark of how he governs the Church" Dulle said.

Brian Flanagan, the John Cardinal Cody Chair of Catholic Theology at Loyola University Chicago, also emphasized Leo’s strong appeal to the cardinals and bishops in efforts to reach consensus, in keeping with the Pope's role as a preserver of unity.

Flanagan said he sees Leo exercising the papacy as not so much "at the top of the pyramid, but as at the center of conversation.” He said this is likely influenced by Leo's past as leader of a religious order — the Order of Saint Augustine — rather than a diocese because the orders are “global, diverse, and somewhat fractious.”

“You can’t govern a global religious community without getting people on board,” he said.

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NASA’s Quesst Mission Marks X-59’s Historic First Flight – NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft lifts off for its first flight Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, from U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The aircraft’s first flight marks the start of flight testing for NASA’s Quesst mission, the result of years of design, integration, and ground testing and begins a new chapter in NASA’s aeronautics research legacy.
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NASA’s Quesst Mission Marks X-59’s Historic First Flight – NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft lifts off for its first flight Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, from U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The aircraft’s first flight marks the start of flight testing for NASA’s Quesst mission, the result of years of design, integration, and ground testing and begins a new chapter in NASA’s aeronautics research legacy.

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NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft lifts off for its first flight Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, from U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The aircraft’s first flight marks the start of flight testing for NASA’s Quesst mission, the result of years of design, integration, and ground testing and begins a new chapter in NASA’s aeronautics research legacy.

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Picture of the day Feskekôrka (meaning “fish church”) is a historic building in Gothenburg, Sweden that formerly housed an indoor fish market. Its name is based on the building’s resemblance to a neo-Gothic church. #ImageOfTheDay
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Picture of the day Feskekôrka (meaning “fish church”) is a historic building in Gothenburg, Sweden that formerly housed an indoor fish market. Its name is based on the building’s resemblance to a neo-Gothic church. #ImageOfTheDay

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Picture of the day
Feskekôrka (meaning “fish church”) is a historic building in Gothenburg, Sweden that formerly housed an indoor fish market. Its name is based on the building’s resemblance to a neo-Gothic church.
Read More