REV. BLACK (who was shot in the head with a pepper ball): “If this is what they’re doing to pastors, journalists, teachers, mothers, and the elderly gathered to sing and pray outside ICE facilities… what might they be doing to our neighbors who are behind those walls?”

The richest man on earth owns X. The second richest man on earth is about to acquire TikTok and his family could soon own both Paramount and Warner Bros. The third richest man owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The fourth richest man owns The Washington Post. See the problem here?

The nice folks at @npr.org gave me a minute of their air to talk about Dilexi Te. Listen to: Pope Leo XIV is drawing the world's attention to poverty - one.npr.org/i/nx-s1-5563...

Very early this morning in Rome (3:00 a.m. CST) will be the Mass of canonization of two saints -- one is #CarloAcutis, who was born in 1991 and died at the age of fifteen. His life story is very inspiring, especially for teenagers. You can watch the Mass in Rome as it happens on CatholicTV.org

The inner strength of this man...

It seems that dark days will follow Labor Day here in Chicago and, surely, elsewhere. This weekend is a good time to remember who we really are, fortify ourselves against the perversions of faith and patriotism all around us. religionnews.com/2025/08/28/l...

Today, remembering these words about #prayer from St. Teresa of Kolkata: "Prayer doesn't change things. Prayer changes people, people change things." #MinneapolisTragedy

"There was gunpowder on my neck." A 10 yo who said the bullets went right past him. MEDIA- PAY ATTENTION. YOU DO NOT PUT A CHILD WHO HAS "Gunpowder on his neck." On TV to win a rating. NO. NO. NO. SHAME ON YOU. There is no excuse for putting a traumatized CHILD on TV.

Labor Day is for workers, not an occupation. religionnews.com/2025/08/28/l...

Today, remembering these words about #prayer from St. Teresa of Kolkata: "Prayer doesn't change things. Prayer changes people, people change things." #MinneapolisTragedy

Putting a 10 year old on tv to talk about his friend being shot at school is a different level of diabolical.

Pope Leo: “We believe that the unity Christ wills for his Church must be visible, and that such unity grows through theological dialogue, common worship where possible, and shared witness in the face of humanity’s suffering.” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

Immigration authorities denied reentry into the United States to a Venezuelan-born priest from Miami-Dade County, despite his valid religious visa. The Archdiocese of Miami intervened and succeeded in overturning the decision. www.miamiherald.com/news/local/a...

Bishop Menjivar-Ayala: "We should not accept that anti-immigrant rhetoric. Why don’t we pre­sent a different kind of rhetoric?" uscatholic.org/articles/202...

The clearest picture of corporate greed in this country is CEO-to-worker pay ratios. At the 100 lowest-paying major US companies, CEO pay averaged $17.2M in 2024. Median worker pay at these companies was just $35,570. That’s a ratio of 632 to 1. How can anyone defend this?

Illinois tells Bondi that its sanctuary status stands firm.

Father Gustavo Santos, a priest of the Archdiocese of Miami in good standing and with a valid R-1 religious worker visa through November 2025, was unexpectedly and wrongfully denied admission into the United States upon his return from an overseas trip…” www.miamiarch.org/CatholicDioc...

Remember: There is nothing natural or inevitable about extreme inequality; it’s the result of an economic system that values wealth and power over human dignity and justice. It doesn't have to be this way.

I didn’t know until now that in the original Rosie the Riveter painting, she is crushing a copy of Mein Kampf under her foot. Happy feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, remembering all the women who crush the serpents of Satan under their heel.

EX AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA MCFAUL: “Putin doesn't look at all of this stuff as a sign of strength. He looks at it as a sign of weakness. He had to do absolutely nothing to get this meeting. Putin has gained everything and given nothing in return.”

The White House’s official X account has a long thread in which they’ve posted pictures of people arrested during the feds’ occupation of the city. Every single person in the thread is a person of color.

SCOTUS's religious freedom jurisprudence is bad, but its logical corollary is that religious leaders and religious organizations can be doing more to rally their people and oppose ICE. Abp Wenski proved it can work. It's time to press forward. religionnews.com/2025/08/07/a...

The truth here is so ever relevant, is so simple and profound. I think I might pop it into my next book. Sharing yet again:

Pope Leo in message for World Day of Migrants: “In a world darkened by war and injustice, even when all seems lost, migrants and refugees stand as messengers of hope. Their courage and tenacity bear heroic testimony to a faith that sees beyond what our eyes can see…” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

Holy Family Church, the only Catholic church in Gaza, was struck by an Israeli shell on Thursday morning, resulting in several injuries, including the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli. Pope Francis would call the parish daily at 7pm local. www.vaticannews.va/en/church/ne...

The Senate Judiciary Committee appears poised to approve Emil Bove as a federal appellate court judge and Jeanine Pirro as U.S. Attorney for DC, with vital support from Sen. Thom Tillis, despite a vow to quash nominees who excused Jan. 6.

❗️UK Prime Minister Starmer and German Chancellor Merz signed a friendship treaty between the United Kingdom & Germany The treaty between the countries includes a commitment for the two nations to assist each other in case of armed attack.This is a reaction both to an increasingly aggressive Russia

Mexico sent more than thoughts and prayers.

Inviting Rep Nancy Mace to join me remembering the author of this bill of indictment on the 199th anniversary of his death. The charges are worth reflecting on. 🇺🇸

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

This is oligarchy. This is obscene. While 60% live paycheck to paycheck & kids go hungry, Jeff Bezos, worth $230 billion, goes to Venice on his $500 million yacht for a $20 million wedding & spends $5 million on a ring while his real tax rate is just 1.1%. End this oligarchy.

"Diversity, equity and inclusion are not anathema to Christian life and discipleship, they are found in the very heart of what it means to be a Christian." #DEI #LiveTheGospel #PrayForAmerica www.ncronline.org/opinion/what...

Permit me a moment of insufferable pride, but two CTU students in our Bernardin Scholars program were published in @americamag.bsky.social today. Their contributions are different, our program has as much breadth as Card Bernardin's ministry. Both are important, timely public theology. 👏👏👏👏👏

Reading “Simplicity, Spirituality & Service: The Timeless Wisdom of Francis, Clare, and Bonaventure” by Bruce G. Epperly… this paragraph really spoke to me. 🥹

Pope Leo: “Ten years ago, Pope Francis signed the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’, devoted to care for our common home. It has had an extraordinary impact, inspiring countless initiatives and teaching everyone to listen to the twofold cry of the Earth and of the poor.”

Much of my day has been spent relaxing, reading, and pondering… on my heart today is something from St. Bonaventure “God is the One whose center is everywhere and circumference is nowhere.” It’s little morsels like this that inspire me. A complete theology in miniature.

BREAKING: Pope Leo XIV calls for peace in Ukraine, a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza in his first Sunday noon appeal.

Pope Leo at Regina Coeli: “In today's dramatic scenario of a third world war being fought piecemeal, as Pope Francis has repeatedly stated, I too turn to the world's leaders, repeating the ever-timely appeal: never again war!"

The Vatican has released Pope Leo XIV’s coat of arms: “That we might all be one in Him.”

“As can be seen from my episcopal motto, unity and communion are truly part of the charism of the Order of Saint Augustine, and also of my way of acting and thinking...As an Augustinian, for me promoting unity and communion is fundamental.” #PopeLeoXIV

Pope Leo tells cardinals they must continue 'precious legacy' of Pope Francis reut.rs/4meMUxm

Thrilled that #PopeLeo got his degree from the same theologate I did! Same degree, same school, many of the same professors. Take time to read this article about CTU on whose board I serve. uscatholic.org/articles/202...

Via @catholicnewssvc.bsky.social: Cardinal McElroy speaking about the conclave at his titular parish this evening: "I can give you no insights into who is ahead. Not because I cannot do so because of my promise, although I can't, but because I have no guess."

While Rome prepares to elect a new pope, Bp Barron celebrates in the Rose Garden - blessing a president who mocks the papacy in AI regalia. Pope Francis rests in humble marble. Trump posts in gold. Bp Barron must decide: the Church of Christ or the Church of Trump. www.ncronline.org/opinion/ncr-...

Not too long ago certain prominent Catholic "apologists" would have been apoplectic over this. But now...

"What I don't like at all, in general, is that we look at the so-called 'sin of the flesh' with a magnifying glass...If you exploited workers, if you lied or cheated, it didn't matter, but instead relevant were the sins below the waist (2023)." #PopeFrancis