New pope calls for Christian witness in world that finds faith ‘absurd’ May 9, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News Where Christians are “mocked, opposed, despised or at best tolerated and pitied” is where the Catholic Church’s “missionary outreach is most desperately needed,” Pope Leo XIV said in his first homily as leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
Pope Leo XIV: Peacemaker and openness in an historic name May 8, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: 2025 Conclave, News, Vatican, World News Even before he stepped out on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and spoke May 8, Pope Leo XIV’s choice of a name was a powerful statement.
Conclave: First ballot fails to elect pope May 7, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: 2025 Conclave, Feature, News, Uncategorized, Vatican, World News As expected, the 133 cardinals who entered the Sistine Chapel May 7 failed to elect the next pope on their first ballot.
European cardinal with global ties balances unity and diversity May 6, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: 2025 Conclave, News, Vatican, World News The 72-year-old Salesian missionary has spent more than three decades of his priestly ministry in the developing world and now leads a tiny Catholic minority in a Muslim-majority country.
In final pre-conclave meetings, cardinals discuss war, dialogue May 5, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: 2025 Conclave, Feature, News, Vatican, World News With less than 48 hours until the beginning of the conclave, the cardinals who will enter the Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope discussed war, the need for dialogue and the role of the pope in fostering it.
Mexican cardinal, close papal ally, could be second Latin American pope May 5, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: 2025 Conclave, News, Vatican, World News Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes of Mexico City is admired as a pastor and biblical scholar and was a key ally of Pope Francis in implementing the Synod of Bishops on synodality — a central component of his pontificate — all of which place the Mexican cardinal high on the list of potential successors to the first Latin American pope.
Catalan cardinal known for dialogue could be papal contender May 5, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: 2025 Conclave, News, Vatican, World News As a 79-year-old member of Pope Francis’ team of cardinal advisers, a European with missionary experience in Africa and archbishop of a city with more than 2 million baptized Catholics, Cardinal Juan José Omella Omella is well-positioned to draw votes from the pope’s allies in the coming conclave.
Cardinal Bo has special influence among Asian cardinals May 4, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: 2025 Conclave, News, Vatican, World News Pope Francis issued regular appeals for prayers for Myanmar — a nation embroiled in a political and humanitarian crisis since a military coup plunged the crisis into civil war in February 2021 — and the cardinal leading the country’s approximately 700,000 Catholics often is mentioned as a possible successor to the pope.
Before conclave, cardinal warns of cruelty hidden behind ‘elegant speeches’ May 1, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: 2025 Conclave, News, Vatican, World News As the Catholic Church’s cardinals prepare to elect a new pope, they must be wary of “elegant speeches” that hide a subtle cruelty toward the poor and vulnerable, said the Vatican’s former doctrinal chief.
The Portuguese poet who could become pope April 30, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: 2025 Conclave, News, Vatican, World News The face of the Catholic Church’s push to reestablish its relationship with the world of culture, a 59-year-old Portuguese poet and theologian, is among the youngest of the cardinals mentioned as a contender to become the successor of St. Peter.
Cardinals approve electors for conclave, formally ask for prayers April 30, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: 2025 Conclave, Feature, News, Vatican, World News The College of Cardinals confirmed that 135 members are eligible to participate in the conclave, the Vatican announced, and they asked the faithful to accompany them in prayer as they prepare to elect the next pope.
True faith is found in compassion, not just creed, cardinal says April 29, 2025By Justin McLellan Catholic News Service Filed Under: 2025 Conclave, Feature, News, Remembering Pope Francis, Vatican, World News True discipleship is not measured by the creeds Christians recite or the theology they know, but by how deeply they love, a cardinal said at a memorial Mass for Pope Francis.