David C. Schroth

When simulation becomes the norm, it weakens the human capacity for discernment. As a result, our social bonds close in upon themselves, forming self-referential circuits that no longer expose us to reality. We thus come to live within bubbles, impermeable to one another. Feeling threatened by anyone who is different, we grow unaccustomed to encounter and dialogue. In this way, polarization, conflict, fear and violence spread. What is at stake is not merely the risk of error, but a transformation in our very relationship with truth.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has released a response to JD Vance's comments about Pope Leo XIV: 'For over a thousand years, the Catholic Church has taught just war theory and it is that long tradition the Holy Father carefully references in his comments on war. A constant tenet of that thousand-year tradition is a nation can only legitimately take up the sword ‘in self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed’ That is, to be a just war it must be a defense against another who actively wages war, which is what the Holy Father actually said: ‘He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war. When Pope Leo XIV speaks as supreme pastor of the universal Church, he is not merely offering opinions on theology, he is preaching the Gospel and exercising his ministry as the Vicar of Christ. The consistent teaching of the Church is insistent that all people of good will must pray and work toward lasting peace while avoiding the evils and injustices that accompany all wars'

Frohe Ostern!

After Pope Leo XIV declined to join President Trump’s Gaza “Peace” Board, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt — a Catholic — criticized the pope as “partisan, political, and controversial.” Meanwhile, Pope Leo’s top Middle East envoy dismissed the proposed board as a pay-to-play “colonialist operation.”

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin said today the Holy See “will not participate in the Board of Peace because of its particular nature, which is evidently not that of other States.” Added “at the international level it should above all be the UN that manages these crisis situations. This is one of the points on which we have insisted.”

The Vatican’s Secretary of State, Pietro Cardinal Parolin confirms that "The Vatican will not participate in [Donald Trump’s] Board of Peace for Gaza"