Letters from Leo — the American Pope & US Politics

Letters from Leo — the American Pope & US Politics

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Pope Leo XIV Sees What America Won’t Admit
Cardinal Parolin warns of a world “set ablaze.” Cardinal Cupich questions the war’s legitimacy. Pope Leo prays for disarmament. And the New York Times…
 • Christopher Hale
Smuggled Phones, Double Votes, and a Battle for the Church: Inside the Conclave That Elected Pope Leo XIV
A new book reveals the minute-by-minute drama of the conclave — from a cardinal's contraband cell phone to a botched vote count — and how the reformers…
 • Christopher Hale
Vance Says He Never Apologized to Cardinal Dolan. Dolan Says He Did
Dolan told EWTN that Vance admitted his attacks on bishops were “out of line” and “not true.” Vance tells the Washington Post he said something very…
 • Christopher Hale
Obama Wants to Meet Pope Leo XIV — And He May Get There Before Trump
The former president's Catholic roots run deeper than most people know. His career began in Chicago parishes funded by the bishops — the same city that…
 • Christopher Hale
Pope Leo XIV Criticizes Trump’s Iran War for the Third Time in Three Days
From St. Peter's Square to Castel Gandolfo, the first American pope has made peace the unmistakable mandate of his pontificate — and Operation Epic Fury…
 • Christopher Hale
Pope Leo is challenging MAGA authoritarianism. Get the story no one else is telling — free in your inbox.

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Pope Leo XIV Called for Peace. MAGA Called Him a Marxist.
After Leo's plea for diplomacy amid Iran strikes, the MAGA Catholic meltdown entered its most revealing chapter yet.
 • Christopher Hale
“Violence Is Never the Right Choice” — Pope Leo XIV Laments “War Again” In Middle East
He told the world to stop a war. Then he sat with mothers of addicted children in the Quarticciolo.
 • Christopher Hale
‘Stop the Spiral of Violence’ — Pope Leo XIV Demands End to Trump’s Iran War
The first American pope used his Angelus to deliver a forceful moral plea to end Operation Epic Fury — the latest in a pattern of prophetic opposition…
 • Christopher Hale
“Illegal and Immoral” — Pope Leo Expected to Condemn Trump’s Iran Strike and Appeal for Peace at Sunday Angelus
A source close to the pontiff tells me that the first American pope will use tomorrow’s address to deliver a forceful moral rebuke of the U.S.-Israeli…
 • Christopher Hale
U.S. Bishops Take On Trump At the Supreme Court: “Protect God-Given Human Dignity”
The U.S. bishops have filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court calling Trump’s birthright citizenship order “immoral” and unconstitutional — a…
 • Christopher Hale
My Fellow Catholics, It Is Time to Choose
Trump and Vance have made unmistakably clear who they are. History is now waiting to see who we are.
 • Christopher Hale
Trump’s Border Czar Says He’ll “Educate” Pope Leo XIV on Catholic Teaching
Homan argues Leo XIV is wrong on deportations — and says his Catholic grade school education in the 1960s qualifies him to explain the faith’s “always…
 • Christopher Hale
You Cannot Call God “Our Father” While Rejecting His Children
The Our Father is the ultimate subversive text. It dethrones every rival loyalty by insisting that no nation, party, or strongman stands above the…
 • Christopher Hale

Pope Leo's Life & Formation

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Villanova Days: How College Shaped Pope Leo XIV
Before he was the pope railing against a “throwaway culture,” he was Bob Prevost, a quiet and nerdy math major at Villanova University with a passion…
 • Christopher Hale
The Pope’s Closest Aide Is a Millennial from Peru
The charismatic young priest’s close bond with Leo — from the villages of Peru to the halls of the Vatican — has already won him a following among the…
 • Christopher Hale
How Peru Made Pope Leo XIV
New revelations from Pope Leo XIV’s years in South America show why his gentle style hides a radical vision for the Church and the world.
How Pope Leo Faced Corrupt Politicians and Economic Collapse in Peru — and Built Hope Instead
Long before he was Pope Leo XIV, Fr. Roberto Prevost learned what real power in the fact looks like: presence, patience, and courage.
Pope Leo's Hidden Years in Trujillo: The Theology of Friendship in the Making the First American Pope
In this two part series, we'll explore a new book that gives us the deepest insight ever to the young Fr. Robert Prevost's time as a missionary priest…
 • Christopher Hale
“He Corrects Me When I'm Wrong” — Pope Leo’s MAGA Brother Breaks Silence
It’s the first interview Pope Leo’s outspoken brother has given since a flurry of media appearances right after Leo’s election. Louis Prevost, a proud…
 • Christopher Hale
The Pope of “New Things”: Leo XIII’s Legacy in Pope Leo XIV’s Vision
From Rerum Novarum to the age of artificial intelligence: Pope Leo XIV says he chose his name to carry forward Leo XIII’s mission of confronting the…
 • Christopher Hale
Pope Leo vs. the Empire of Lies: The Long Game to Defeat Trumpism
He’s already rebuked immigration crackdowns and blasted the “logic of exclusion” fueling rising nationalism. Now, as the youngest pope in 35 years, Leo…
 • Christopher Hale

Letters from Leo — the American Pope & US Politics

Letters from Leo is a chronicle of how Pope Leo XIV’s papacy intersects with American politics, faith, and the digital age during the presidency of Donald Trump.
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