At the age of 97, Cardinal Ernest Simoni, returned to the former prison camp in Albania where he used to offer Mass in secret during his 18 years of sentenced forced labor, offering a public Mass July 31 in the memory of those who suffered and died at the labor camp. The camp at Spaç,…
Pope Leo XIV said the conscience of just one person can “be worth the entire world” when it comes to preventing a nuclear catastrophe, in a new book foreword that also quotes an unpublished Bob Dylan song about the atomic bomb. The pope made the remarks in a foreword published July 21 for a forthcoming book, “Disarmed and Disarming:…
This is the last of a series of columns by the author on Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas.” This piece focuses on the Conclusion. For earlier columns, see Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4 and Chapter 5. (RNS) — In the conclusion to his first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas,” Pope Leo XIV proposes what he calls…
It is a rare thing—rare almost to the point of unheard-of—for the Holy See’s own news service to issue a public correction aimed, however obliquely, at the ambassador of a friendly power. Yet that is what happened on Monday, when Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication, published a reflection under the deceptively gentle…
Jul 14, 2026, 09:00 AM ET After a long, accomplished ride, Justin Verlander’s career is finally coming to a close. Editor’s Picks 1 Related Last Wednesday, Verlander announced that this current season, his 21st in the major leagues, would be his final campaign. The three-time Cy Young winner and 2011 American League MVP will play…
When the 8:21 a.m. train left Rome’s Termini Station to Castel Gandolfo July 12, people packed like sardines into the regional cars. While two or three passengers got off at stations along the way, most disembarked at Castel Gandolfo and headed up the hill to see Pope Leo XIV during the Sunday Angelus prayer —…
What was the purpose of the Founding Fathers in uniting 13 North Atlantic colonies into an independent nation in 1776? What is the purpose of the United States of America today? Over the July Fourth weekend, Pope Leo XIV modeled a two-pronged approach to these questions. His approach issues a challenge: Can we make the…
After spending the morning praying for migrants on the island of Lampedusa, Italy, Pope Leo XIV celebrated the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence with the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See and his family. “I am deeply honored to celebrate this special day with a fellow American and the Bishop of…
What do Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu have in common? Answer: a chronic inability to tell right from wrong. The three leaders currently causing the most harm in the world share a predilection for violence, a chilling lack of compassion, and extraordinary self-regard mixed with paranoia. Yet the characteristic linking them most closely…
Published on 04/07/2026 – 6:00 GMT+2 The Society of Saint Pius X has responded to Pope Leo XIV after the excommunication which followed the ordination of four bishops without the Vatican’s approval. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The superior general, Father Davide Pagliarani, as he had already done in response to the Pope’s appeal on the eve of…
