Friday, May 8, 2026
Three Bits of Advice from the Pope for Newly Ordained Priests
This Is the Catholic Church’s Podcast in the USA on the Occasion of the 250th Anniversary of Independence
Rafael Manuel Tovar
The podcast aired its first episode, «Catholics and the Foundation,» on April 14. The episode, a conversation between host Mara Moser and historian Michael Breidenbach, Ph.D., author of “Our Dear Bought Liberty: Catholics and Religious Toleration in Early America,” is Associate Professor of History at Ave Maria University, and co-editor of “The Cambridge Companion to the First Amendment and Religious Liberty.”
Here’s how Pope Leo XIV’s surprise video call to Lebanese priests in a war zone went
ZENIT Staff
The encounter lasted only a few minutes, yet those present described it as deeply moving. For clergy ministering among bombed streets, damaged homes, and communities exhausted by months of violence, the brief conversation carried a significance far greater than its duration.
A Catholic priest goes to the doctor and is prescribed euthanasia twice: here’s how that unpleasant experience unfolded
ZENIT Staff
For the priest, sharing his story is not merely an act of denunciation but also a warning
She was baptized at age 98, with her 77-year-old son serving as her godfather: the touching story of a long-awaited baptism
ZENIT Staff
For those who witnessed her baptism during the Easter Vigil, the moment was not merely remarkable because she was 98 years old. It was remarkable because, after nearly a century of life, she still believed there was one more important step left to take
Twenty days before his ordination as bishop, he says no. The reason? “Personal shortcomings,” claims the honest priest
ZENIT Staff
The announcement reverberated across the Philippines, where such refusals are highly unusual in public view. Although priests sometimes decline episcopal appointments privately before they are officially announced, it is exceedingly rare for a bishop-elect to step away after preparations for ordination have already advanced so visibly
The Vatican’s London Trial Nears a Breaking Point as Legal Setbacks Threaten Financial and Institutional Disaster
ZENIT Staff
Yet after six years of investigations, arrests, trials, leaked documents, and relentless international scrutiny, the possibility now exists that none of the ten defendants originally prosecuted may ever face enforceable criminal consequences through the Vatican judicial system
A cigarette in the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary: the controversial act of an Israeli soldier in Lebanon
ZENIT Staff
For many Christians in the region, the cumulative effect of these incidents is generating growing anxiety about their already precarious future in the Middle East
What does it mean that the Church is a “sacrament of salvation”? Pope Leo XIV answers
ZENIT Staff
The Pope’s General Audience, May 6, 2026, on the eschatological dimension of the Church
In Praise of Books and Reading: Three Brief Reflections by Louis XIV on Printed Works
ZENIT Staff
The Pope’s Address to the Staff of the Editorial Offices of the Vatican Publishing House
Three Bits of Advice from the Pope for Newly Ordained Priests: Leo XIV’s Words to a Group of Legionaries of Christ
ZENIT Staff
After the catechesis imparted at the General Audience, the Holy Father approached the group of newly ordained priests from the Legionaries of Christ to take a group photo. Responding to their request for advice, the Pontiff said the following
US: 5th Circuit temporarily halts Biden-era abortion-by-mail scheme
ZENIT Staff
When the Biden administration removed the safeguard of in-person dispensing for the abortion drug mifepristone, it intentionally opened the door for out-of-state pro-abortion activists and doctors to mail streams of high-risk abortion drugs into pro-life states. Louisiana, which has chosen to protect the lives of unborn babies, and Rosalie Markezich, a Louisiana woman coerced into taking abortion drugs that her boyfriend obtained via mail from a doctor in California, are suing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for unlawfully approving this reckless mail-order abortion-drug scheme.
USA: Oregon slaps nearly $90K fine on Christian counselor for saying he could not bless same-sex relationships
ZENIT Staff
The Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists fined licensed counselor Frank Canepa $89,636 for answering a client’s repeated demand to personally affirm same-sex relationships. Although Canepa had seen this client for over two and a half years and had never mentioned his personal views on same-sex relationships in at least 44 other sessions in which this topic came up, the client insisted for 20 minutes in one session that Canepa personally bless her same-sex relationship. Canepa eventually told her he could not personally affirm these relationships because of his Catholic faith.
Venues of Pope Leo XIV‘s Apostolic Visit to Spain Will Include the Real Madrid Stadium, the Sanctuary of Montserrat, Parliament and Time with The Spanish Sovereigns
ZENIT Staff
Among the five dioceses that make up the itinerary, Leo XIV will travel approximately 2,500 kilometers during the six days of the trip, from Madrid to Barcelona and from Barcelona to Gran Canary Island and Tenerife. All the stages share three axes: charity, expressed in meetings with social assistance and reception organizations; the Eucharist, which will be the focus of each stage of the itinerary; and encounters with young people, civil society, and local Churches.
The Right Pope at the Right Time
Monsignor Arthur Holquin, S.T.L., is a retired Catholic priest of the Diocese of Orange and retired rector of Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano.
Born in 1948, I have now lived through eight pontificates: Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, Francis — and now Leo. Each name carries its own theological tonality, its own historical signature, its own particular gift to the Church and to the world. And each, I have always believed and church history bears out, was given to us not by sociological inevitability but by the providence of the Holy Spirit, who has a way of giving the Church the right Pope at the right time for the times in which we are living.
U.S. bishops recount year since Pope Leo XIV’s election
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Trump's national prayer event largely features Christian leaders
After the Los Angeles wildfires, clergy crossed denominational lines and forged new bonds
AP: Faith leaders in
communities devastated by the fires that tore across Southern California
have relied on interfaith and community partnerships to rally
congregants who are picking up the pieces 16 months later.
Trump's national prayer event largely features Christian leaders
USA Today: A national
prayer event meant to unite the country will largely reflect just one
faith. Some religious leaders have called it "intentionally exclusive."
Local bank clerk hangs up on Pope Leo thinking it was a prank call
ABC7: Even the leader of the Catholic Church sometimes has to ask for a supervisor.
Two years after schism, a United Methodist scholar pens a road map for growth
Religion News
Service: If the United Methodist Church wants to reach younger, more
ethnically diverse people, it must focus on densely populated urban
areas, suggests researcher Lovett Weems Jr.
Joni Lamb, Daystar TV ministry co-founder, dies at 65
Religion News
Service: Lamb and her first husband, Marcus, founded Daystar in the
1990s and grew it into one of the largest Christian networks in the
country.
No Christ, no Church; know Christ, know the Church
#Blessed
By Amy Welborn on May 07, 2026 09:19 pmThere has been much talk recently about blessings, and of course, the Blessing Problem Child, Fiducia Supplicans. (If you would like an overview of the document and subsequent…discussion, the Wikipedia article is useful.) I was a [...]
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Unity has been the master theme of Pope Leo XIV’s first year
By Matthew Becklo on May 07, 2026 05:50 pmIn the weeks leading up to the conclave that would elect Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Prevost, the New York Times published an article with the headline: “As Cardinals Prepare to Elect a Pope, One Motto Is ‘Unity.’ [...]
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Documentary on ecumenism and unity has good intentions, but lacks execution
By Nick Olszyk on May 07, 2026 12:26 amDistribution Service: Fathom Entertainment FCC Rating: G Reel Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity originated as the “Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity,” which was founded by Pope John XXIII [...]
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Homosexuality and Authentic Freedom
By Dr. Mark Lowery on May 06, 2026 09:20 pmThe tragic impasse that exists in our culture on the issue of homosexuality stems from two errors. [...]
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Polish researchers clarify, defend Cardinal Karol Wojtyła’s record on clerical abuse
By Filip Mazurczak on May 06, 2026 03:42 pmOver the years, recurring accusations have been made in the media in Poland and elsewhere that Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, the future Pope John Paul II, had covered up cases of clerical sexual abuse and had [...]
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Centesimus Annus at 35
By George Weigel on May 06, 2026 05:00 amThirty-five years ago, Pope John Paul II issued his most developed social encyclical, Centesimus Annus; its title signaled the author’s intention to honor the centenary of Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical, Rerum Novarum, which launched the modern papal [...]
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Extra, extra! News and views for Wednesday, May 6, 2026
By CWR Staff on May 06, 2026 03:00 amThe “New Mass” of 1964: Conclusion: “This multi-part study seeks to explore how the laity experienced and reacted to the very first post-conciliar liturgical changes.” I’m a Middle Eastern Immigrant – Zohran Mamdani Is Dangerous [...]
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Opinion: Speaking the truth about the Pope and politics
By John Clark on May 05, 2026 03:59 pmIn 1938, Monsignor Fulton Sheen wrote, “There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the [...]
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Former political prisoner shares what life is like in Iran
By Walter Sánchez Silva on May 05, 2026 11:00 amThe expert estimates that a majority of the country's population opposes the current regime. He says 10-15% support the government, while another 30% are "politically neutral." [...]
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Catholic Education Needs Civic Formation
By Thomas P. Harmon on May 05, 2026 12:21 amThere is a movement afoot in American education to restore the teaching of civics in a way that presents America as lovable and worthy of its citizens’ service. The most prominent places to see this [...]
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The transmission theory of authority
By Dr. Edward Feser on May 04, 2026 06:55 pmScholastic thinkers like Cardinal Cajetan, St. Robert Bellarmine, and Francisco Suárez developed what is sometimes called a “transmission theory” of governmental authority. It holds that such authority ultimately comes from God, but is directly vested [...]
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Ethics and Public Policy Center at 50: A part of America’s ‘secret sauce’
By EWTN News on May 04, 2026 10:20 amWASHINGTON — As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) is also celebrating an auspicious anniversary this year: its 50th. Several hundred supporters of this uniquely ecumenical think tank, which explicitly [...]
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“As people of faith, we know a better world is possible,”: Groups plea for end of Sudanese crisis
By Ngala Killian Chimtom on May 03, 2026 02:10 pm(CWR, Yaoundé) As the conflict in Sudan enters its fourth year, major faith-based organizations are uniting to demand immediate international action to protect civilians. In an April 15th statement, groups including ACT Alliance, Caritas Internationalis, [...]
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Blue Miles: A Monastic Novel introduces the monastic life to 21st-century readers
By Paul Senz on May 03, 2026 10:55 amOur culture has a strange fascination with monks. Perhaps there is something about a man being willing to reject the world and enter religious life, or the mysterious, almost secrecy of the cloister, or the [...]
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The Story of Everything explores ultimate meaning in light of faith, science
By Susan Ciancio on May 02, 2026 11:36 pmNearly everyone, at some point, has questions about the origin of the universe, the meaning of life, or how humankind began. These are not always indicative of doubts about faith or science, but of a [...]
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No Christ, no Church; know Christ, know the Church
By Carl E. Olson on May 02, 2026 10:00 amReadings: • Acts 6:1-7 • Psa 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19 • 1 Pet 2:4-9 • Jn 14:1-12 Perhaps you, like me, know people who express a belief in Jesus but have little or no interest in [...]
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Former federal prosecutor: ‘I’d like to prosecute any nun who still wears the head habit’
By Tyler Arnold on May 02, 2026 10:00 amThe Senate Judiciary Committee released the texts by ex-prosecutors who were dismissed shortly after Donald Trump returned to the presidency. [...]
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Israel arrests man suspected of assault against French nun in Jerusalem
By Madalaine Elhabbal on May 02, 2026 09:00 amIsrael arrests religious sister’s alleged attacker, Polish influencer honors JPII while raising money for charity, Indonesian cathedral turns 125, and more in this week’s world news roundup. [...]
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Athanasius contra mundum: A Saint for a time of confusion
By Peter M.J. Stravinskas on May 02, 2026 05:00 amOur saint of the day, Athanasius of Alexandria, was probably born in that city between 296 and 298 A.D., a hub of the Greco-Roman world at that time, culturally, politically, intellectually, and morally. It was [...]
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The mysteries of The Imitation of Christ
By Dawn Beutner on May 01, 2026 08:55 pmApart from the Bible, The Imitation of Christ is considered the most widely read devotional book in the world. It has remained remarkably popular since it was first published in the Netherlands five centuries ago, and [...]
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