Mary Lovera

@mmpadellan It’s probably why he went. He usually doesn’t go to these things anymore.

A lot of people are saying they think the WHCD shooting was staged, as a way to change the narrative from his abysmal approval ratings and his bumbling of the Iran War. What do YOU think? Staged or not staged?

For the first time, three of America's most influential cardinals and archbishops agreed to a joint interview. Tonight on 60 Minutes.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Archbishop of Newark, NJ, says the Pope is “the pastor of the world. He's not a pundit. So the distinction is he's not gonna pronounce on everything. But he's gonna pronounce on what's important.” cbsn.ws/4coZndG

In a rare joint interview, three of America’s most influential cardinals, who actively serve archdioceses, share what they’re hearing in their pews.

“I am praying for peace. I hope that [a] ceasefire would be the most effective way to work together to find peace for all parties, to respect all parties, and to come to a solution,” Pope Leo XIV told 60 Minutes in March. cbsn.ws/4mtw5PF

“In the Catholic teaching, this is not a just war,” Cardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop of Washington, D.C., says of the war in Iran. cbsn.ws/47SJKd8

“To splice together movie cuts with actual bombing and targeting of people for the purposes of entertainment is sickening. This is not who we are,” says Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, criticizing what he calls the White House’s “gamification” of the war on social media. cbsn.ws/4tO90K5

“Our mass count within the Spanish masses in our archdiocese went down 30% from the year before. 30%. That's a lot. And it's all fear,” says Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, D.C. cbsn.ws/4teT97u

Should priests talk politics from the pulpit? Top U.S. cardinals speak out. cbsn.ws/3Q0AvS1

For 400 years, this was the pope’s exclusive summer home. Now, it’s open to the public as a training center for migrants and locals in need. cbsn.ws/4dEsM5O

Pope Leo will spend July 4 in Lampedusa, an Italian island in the Mediterranean, where tens of thousands of migrants land on their way to Europe every year. It also marks America's 250th birthday. U.S. cardinals say the visit sends a message. cbsn.ws/4taRe3E

He is Risen! Alleluia! Wishing you and your loved ones a most blessed Easter.

Pope Leo: “Enough with the idolatry of self and money! Enough with the display of power! Enough with war! True strength is manifested in serving life.”

In 1943, the Nicholas Brothers performed their iconic “Jumpin’ Jive” routine, a performance still widely considered one of the greatest ever captured on film.

VATICAN CITY — Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin warned that the “logic of the strongest” risks prevailing on the international stage and called on Christians to become “voices of peace” who do not leave Pope Leo XIV standing alone in his opposition to war. In an interview with Dialoghi, a cultural magazine linked to Italian Catholic Action, Parolin said the voice of the pope is “prophetic” but risks becoming “a voice crying in the wilderness if it is not supported and helped concretely.” His remarks also offer a key to understanding the peace prayer vigil Leo XIV has called for April 11 in St. Peter’s Basilica. Parolin recalled the 2003 Iraq war, when St. John Paul II pleaded for the conflict to be avoided but “was left alone.” He therefore stressed the need to support the current pontiff’s appeal for a peace that is “unarmed and disarming” and to reject “the false propaganda of rearmament.” “There is a need for more voices of peace, more voices against the madness of the rush toward rearmament, more voices raised in favor of our poorest brothers and sisters, more voices and more proposals — I am thinking, for example, of the world of Catholic universities — for new economic models inspired by justice and care for the weakest instead of the idolatry of money,” Parolin said. The cardinal described an alarming international climate in which military action appears to impose itself too easily. “I am struck by how much determination — I was about to say ease — with which the military option is presented as decisive, almost inevitable,” he said. According to the Vatican secretary of state, this trend has left diplomacy practically “mute,” unable to activate alternative tools, while awareness of the tragedy of war and the value of shared rules is being lost. Parolin said the root of the problem is a “multi-polarism inspired by the primacy of power,” in which states place greater trust in force than in international law. That, he said, has produced “double standards,” visible in the differing reactions to attacks on civilians in Ukraine and the destruction in Gaza. “Many governments,” Parolin said, “have expressed indignation over attacks against Ukrainian civilians by Russian missiles and drones, imposing sanctions on the aggressors.” “I do not think the same has happened with the tragedy of the destruction of Gaza,” he added. For the cardinal, this is a case of “double standards” tied to the “primacy of power” — the dominance of one’s own country over others — with international law invoked “only when convenient” and ignored in many other cases. “It seems there has been a lack of awareness of the value of peace, awareness of the tragic reality of war, awareness of the importance of shared rules and of respecting them,” he said. Parolin also lamented the weakening of the global diplomatic architecture and said it is “utopian” to think peace can be guaranteed “by weapons and by balances imposed by the strongest rather than by international agreements.” “We cannot surrender to the logic of the strongest,” the cardinal insisted, because that logic “bends international law to its own interests” and weakens multilateral institutions. In that context, he also expressed regret that Europe has been unable to speak with one voice. He said it is necessary “to rekindle in peoples the sense of European belonging and, in leadership, the awareness of the need for common actions without ever failing the principles that are at the foundation of the European Union itself.” Regarding the United Nations, Parolin said the Holy See “continues to believe in its importance,” considering international organizations essential for restraining the logic of the strongest. At the same time, he acknowledged that the use of the veto has limited the U.N.’s ability to act. “We cannot move from the force of law to the law of force,” he warned. Parolin also highlighted the role believers can play, including defending life and human dignity, protecting religious freedom, promoting reforms to the economic and financial system in line with the Church’s social doctrine, and caring for creation. Finally, the cardinal addressed the cultural impact of new technologies, saying hyper-connectivity and the spread of fake news help fuel fear and build new walls. “As Christians, we must oppose this drift with our daily lives,” he concluded. ewtnnews.com/vatican/vatica…

I doubt Pope Leo XIV will lose any sleep over this, before he begins his pilgrimage to Africa tomorrow. But the rest of us should. Because it is unhinged, uncharitable and unchristian. Is there no bottom to this moral squalor?

3 ways we knew Mein Trumpf did not plan this. 1. There's a woman 2. There's a person of color 3. There's a Canadian

It is not always easy to believe. It was not easy for Thomas, and it is not easy for us either. Faith needs to be nourished and sustained. For this reason, on the “eighth day” — that is, every Sunday — the Church invites us to do as the first disciples did: gather together and celebrate the Eucharist. #GospelOfToday (Jn 20:19–31)