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EXPLAINED: Catholicism | Rare Historical Photos

JD Vance, once an ‘angry atheist’, is America’s most powerful Catholic. How will he wield his faith?

In his new memoir, the vice-president covers his conversion and politics – at a time when hardline Catholicism is ascendant in the US

The Guardian - US

Maggie O'Farrell flattens 19th century Ireland into a theme-pub cliché in her new novel

Maggie O’Farrell’s tenth novel Land is a sprawling family saga. It traverses the landmarks of 19th century Irish history, including the Great Famine – with its corollary, incarceration in the workhouse – and the mapping of Ireland via the Ordnance Survey.

The Conversation

Cincinnati, where Vance converted, gives a glimpse of Catholicism’s history in America’s heartland

Ten years after “Hillbilly Elegy” catapulted its author into public view, JD Vance is publishing a new memoir, “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith.” The vice president explains the book as a sort of self-help guide for the spiritually lost: “… by sharing my journey I might be helpful…

The Conversation

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Young Spaniards eagerly await Pope Leo’s visit as they embrace Catholicism

The Catholic church is seeing a surge in adult baptisms as young people show new interest in faith

The Independent UK

Christianity in decline? Study reveals one in three Britons raised Christian no longer follow the faith

Nearly a third of people in Britain who were raised as Christians no longer identify with the religion in adulthood, according to a major international study, highlighting a steady decline in traditional faith adherence across the country.

The Times of India

As a Catholic, I’ve struggled with the church – but I applaud the pope’s call for peace

These days, I’m feeling more aligned with Catholicism than I have since my first communion. I’m not alone in that

The Guardian - US

Trump-loyalist Vance sees no problem in telling the Pope to ‘stick to matters of morality’ while he continues to promote his own book on Catholicism

Vice President J.D. Vance just drew a hard line between the Vatican and the White House, telling Pope Leo XIV to “stick to matters of morality” and leave American public policy to the president. The clash comes after the first American pope publicly criticized the administration’s stance on Iran and…

The Mary Sue

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Why 'Jesus' Trump pulled a TACO against Pope Leo XIV

If anything, this moment feels like a rare theological pullback, a reminder that the Church, for all its history of intrigue and compromise, still retains its oldest function: to define the boundaries of right and wrong when politics refuses to.

The Times of India

Pope Leo’s visit to Africa: theology scholar outlines 3 realities the Catholic church must face

Pope Leo’s decision to make Africa one of the early destinations of his young papacy signals the continent’s importance in global Catholicism. His April 2026 visit reflects both his personal ties to Africa and the rapid rise of Christianity across the continent.

The Conversation

The Pope and Catholic priests keep giving terrifying warnings about AI. What exactly are they scared of?

Artificial intelligence could bring people back to the church – or replace it entirely, writes Maja Anushka

The Independent UK

The 17th-century Pueblo leader who fought for independence from colonial rule – long before the American Revolution

The U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall Collection contains 100 sculptures: two luminaries from each state. They include many familiar figures, such as Helen Keller, Johnny Cash, Ronald Reagan and Amelia Earhart. There are a few from the Colonial era, including founders such as Samuel Adams and George Washington.

The Conversation

‘Catholicism is reinventing itself’: Brazilians waking at 4am to stream prayers

Habit of rising early for live streams growing rapidly, suggesting Brazil is testing ground for religious influencers

The Guardian - US

From public confession to private penance: How Catholic confession has evolved over centuries

The 1953 Alfred Hitchcock film “I Confess,” based on an earlier play, features a priest suspected of murder. He’s innocent, and has even heard the murderer’s confession – but cannot clear his own name.

The Conversation

How the Elite Changed Its Mind on Christianity

Bush-era New Atheism couldn't last forever.

Reason

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The Independent UK

The rare version of Christianity heading toward extinction

Hidden Christians are dying out, and there is growing certainty that their unique version of Christianity will die with them

Salon

The VP is the worst cafeteria Catholic

JD Vance rationalizes his anti-Catholic positions — he should negotiate them instead

Al Jazeera

‘Leone!’ Vatican crowds hail Leo XIV as new pope of the Catholic Church

Experts say Pope Leo is likely to carry forward the legacy of his predecessor Francis, while forging his own path.

Euronews

Why local assemblies of bishops could revolutionise the conclave

The synod-based transformation of the church that will influence the conclave could become a test of the integrity of 21st century Catholicism.

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The Conversation

No matter who the next pope is, US Catholics stand ‘at a crossroads’ − a sociologist explains

More than 130 cardinals entered the Sistine Chapel on May 7, 2025. With the announcement “Extra omnes” – “all out” – the doors have been closed and the cardinals sequestered to elect the next leader of the Catholic Church. They will vote, confer, pray and vote again until a candidate…

The Conversation

Popes have been European for hundreds of years. Is it time for one from Africa or Asia?

Catholicism did not begin as a “white” faith. Born on the eastern rim of the Mediterranean, it spread through the trading routes and legions of the Roman Empire into Africa, Asia and, only later, what we now call Europe.

The Conversation

Reform or retreat? The Catholic church in Africa after Pope Francis

The Catholic church faces a fundamental question as it prepares to elect a new pope. That is, whether to go back to a monarchical papacy with its pomp and pageantry, or to build on the momentum begun by Pope Francis. He focused on the poor and proffered a humble lifestyle…

The Guardian - UK

As Pope Francis is laid to rest, is his legacy of a more compassionate Catholicism at risk?

Some, especially within the US, see the conclave as an opportunity to establish a more conservative leader, says Guardian associate editor Julian Coman

The Guardian - AU

In a bastion of Catholicism, Filipinos mourn Pope Francis and wonder who comes next

The nation remembers pontiff’s trip to the Philippines, where he met Typhoon Haiyan survivors in a show of sympathy and humility

The Guardian - UK

Pope Francis obituary

Leader of the Catholic church who pushed for social and economic justice, and an urgent response to the climate crisis

The Conversation

Pope Francis dies: an unconventional pontiff who sought to modernise Catholicism

From the moment of his election in 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the man who became Pope Francis, proved himself to be unconventional.

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