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Habemus Papam! As I’m sure you’re all aware, we have a new pope: Leo XIV, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, O.S.A. Although somewhat of a dark horse candidate, before the conclave he was seen as a potential “compromise” choice. However, his election on only the 4th ballot makes it hard to see that … Read moreAn American in Rome

There was much silliness leading up to this week’s conclave. For example… Did you see that Cardinal Chomali of Santiago washed his own white shirt in order to “arrive at the conclave spotless!” There is even a picture of his hands washing the shirt! Yeah, amazing! Did you hear that Cardinal Oscar Rodriquez Maradiaga left … Read moreThe Silly Season in Rome

Yesterday, in the heart of the Catholic Church, a sacred drama reached its summit. The conclave has ended. White smoke has risen. A new pope has been chosen — a moment that reaches back through centuries, a moment when the Church stands poised, not merely looking to the future, but standing at the crossroads of … Read moreOur Church at the Crossroads of Eternity

It is so much easier to destroy than to build. It takes barely a second and hardly any effort to tear something down; it requires no imagination, dedication, or moral perseverance. Watch a young child carefully build a crenellated castle out of blocks, an all-day labor of love, then proudly display his work to his … Read moreMake Straight the Way

Much has been said about the mercy of the late Pope Francis, as compared with the supposed rigidity of his two immediate predecessors. I will not draw comparisons here, nor will I pretend to judge these men on their merits. I wish to use the occasion to specify what work a moral teacher must do … Read moreThe Field Hospital Needs Doctors

What does it take to master fear, stress, and anxiety in a world that constantly challenges men’s confidence? Today, John Heinen welcomes Joe Hart, the transformational CEO of Dale Carnegie and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of ‘Take Command.’ As a converted lawyer leading a 100-year-old global organization while raising six children, Hart shares powerful … Read moreJoe Hart CEO: This is How to Take Command

Not long ago, Cardinal Gerhard Müller made some comments during an interview in The Times of London which caught my attention. They echo sentiments he has repeated before but which now, with the conclave to elect a new pope upon us, struck me. “‘No Catholic is obliged to obey doctrine that is wrong,’ he said, … Read moreThe Papacy and the “Sacrifice of the Intellect”

A few days ago, Catholic and political social media started buzzing. As many Catholics picked up their beads, revisited novenas, and committed to extra prayers for the papal conclave, the White House and President Donald Trump’s official accounts shared an AI image of him dressed as pope. And of course, chaos ensued. The image seemed … Read moreThe Pope and Donald Trump: Addressing the Blurred Lines Between the Sacred and Profane

As one who has struggled intensely with scrupulosity, I can attest to the fact that it is a dreadful experience.  Any seriously scrupulous person, I think, would admit that preoccupation with fear of sin, questioning whether this or that act was a sin, feeling at practically every moment a need for confession, etc., so engrosses him as … Read moreScrupulous? Be Obedient

Many who have written on the needed characteristics of the next pope have said such things as “The next pope needs to call the bishops to proclaim the faith boldly; to restore respect for the sacraments; to unify the polarized elements of the Church.” Few pundits note that purging the Church of the Lavender Mafia, … Read moreThe New Pope Must Purge the Church of the Lavender Mafia

It is jarring to read the recent letters Palestinian Christian leaders have sent directly to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) pleading with them to stand in solidarity with the suffering Church in Gaza and the West Bank. “Homes, churches, and hospitals have been destroyed,” they wrote in a letter just this month. … Read moreThe Terrible Duty of US Bishops to Condemn Anti-Arab Prejudice

Now that the papacy of Jorge Mario Bergoglio is behind us, it is worth not only assessing his papacy but also the papacy itself. While conservative Catholics criticized Francis’ doctrinal ambiguity, his watered-down moral teaching, and his support for compromised prelates, it is only fair to ask ourselves what his motivations were. I think they … Read moreThe Real Legacy of Pope Francis

The Catholic Church stands once again at the cusp of a pivotal historical moment: a conclave looms; and the Chair of St. Peter, the most enduring office of spiritual and sociopolitical authority in the world and in history, awaits its next successor. This isn’t just another election. It is, rather, a watershed moment in salvation … Read moreOn Our Knees in Hope: The Conclave, the Papacy, and the Call to Prayerful Reverence

In the previous essay in this series, we honored Blessed Otto Neururer, the first priest to be executed by the Nazis. We also acknowledged those better-known victims of the Third Reich’s anti-Christian pogrom, St. Maximilian Kolbe and St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein). It is also fitting, however, that we should commemorate some … Read moreA Lamb and a Shepherd Among Wolves

Christian apologetics arose during a time of persecution in the 200s . . . and not much has changed between then and the 2000s.   What Rome started then, the secular culture continues now, but often in even more vile and vicious ways. Whereas a person living in the second century was utterly convinced that … Read moreA Religion of the Heart

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I really hate modernity. I know, I know, not everything was better in the past. For one, I am very grateful for things like indoor plumbing and refrigeration, and I am well aware that men have been sinners from the get-go, and therefore every age has its drama … Read morePeace of Soul and the Conclave

Of all the correspondence compiled by St. Paul documenting salvation through the Event of Jesus Christ—who alone set about redeeming us all because in Adam’s fall we sinned all—the Epistle to the Romans is clearly the lengthiest of them all. It is also the most impressive, easily eclipsing everything else he wrote. “An alpine peak … Read moreThe Meaning of Mercy

There was cause for celebration for Catholics in France at this year’s Easter Vigil. Figures released by the Bishops’ Conference of France announced that 10,384 adults would receive the sacrament of baptism at the 2025 Easter Vigil. This is an increase of 45 percent over the 7,135 adults who were baptized in 2024 and a … Read moreCelebrating a Catholic Renaissance in France

Call it a midlife crisis, call it a dark night of the soul, or call it whatever you like; the last few years have not been kind to me. Failures and regrets have abounded. Severe health crises, several lost pregnancies mid-term, job insecurities, bad investments, and familial stresses have all taken their toll to severely … Read moreEncomium Anglicanae

Does anybody in the hierarchy still believe that not all dogs and people go to Heaven…at least immediately? Following the announcement of John Paul II’s death, apparently all Holy Fathers now go directly by courtesy line to “the home of the Father.” And there have already been murmurings of “santo subito” about Francis. In his … Read moreSanto? Not So Subito!

Following the passing of Pope Francis, I have been disturbed not by the ensuing commentary but by some of the callousness and cruelty that emerged from certain ideological camps. After I made a simple and respectful post on social media about his passing, I encountered a series of unhinged, dehumanizing responses. Some came from self-proclaimed … Read moreOn the Death of Pope Francis and the Dignity We Owe Every Human Life

I was nearly ten years old when Pope St. John Paul II died. I remember watching his funeral on the tiny television in the corner of our kitchen. Being so young, I had no significant grasp of who the Polish pope was—and never could have imagined that, some years later, my Polish wife and I … Read moreBenedict and Francis: A Tale of Two Fathers

By the time I was nearing high school graduation in the 1970s, my friend Jimmy Patridge, a young Marine, had already returned from Vietnam—missing both of his legs. The sexual revolution of the 1960s was in full swing, abortion had been legalized, and the Church seemed as confused as I was. At the same time, … Read moreYoung Men, Against All Odds, Are Awakening to the Sacred

I was at a Barnes & Noble bookstore and a man came up to me to say, “Sorry for the loss of the blessed father.” I presume that he was not Catholic but felt because I was in a priest’s uniform that it was an appropriate gesture. I thanked him for his thoughtfulness, even though … Read moreGrieving for the Holy Father 

The Gospels do not tell us precisely where the apostles went after the crucifixion, but there is some evidence that they retired to the upper room where the Last Supper had taken place. Perhaps, as we are told they did later, they locked the doors out of fear. I have been trying to do a … Read moreWe Are in the Upper Room

May the Lord in His infinite mercy look upon the prayers, tears and sacrifices of all true Catholics who love our Mother Church, who in these days humbly and confidently implore the infinite Mercy of God to grant us a new Pope, who burning with the zeal for the glory of Christ and the salvation … Read moreAppeal for a Worldwide Crusade of Prayers for the Upcoming Conclave

I am looking at a couple of random lines lifted from a bleak little poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J., written at a sad time near the end of a short and, by his own reckoning, unfulfilled life. He was quite mistaken about that, by the way. His last words, whispered aloud about how happy … Read moreIs Christian Culture Possible? 

It was August 18, 2021. I was at a coffee shop in Paso Robles, California. I had kids in college who feared that their institutions might kick them out if they didn’t get one of the experimental mRNA-based Covid “vaccines.” They didn’t need the shots for many reasons, from their healthy age and lack of … Read moreNever Forget: Pope Francis on Covid

The way God set up the Church is one Pope, a lot more Bishops, and exponentially more laymen. This should tell us something about our role in the Church. Clearly, the “institutional” Church is not our role, either to be in it or be overly concerned with it. A few years ago, I wrote a … Read morePay No Attention to the Conclave

As the cardinals gather in conclave, one of the questions on our minds is how the global Church can grow in unity. Francis’ pontificate aggravated deep differences between tradition and progress, between the developing world and the global south, and between continuity and innovation. In addition to the turmoil in the Church, the complexities of … Read moreWhy We Need a Pope From Africa

The Roman Catholic Church is still waiting for a genuinely third-millennium pope. All three of the last popes—John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis—were men very much shaped by the 20th rather than the 21st century. When Benedict XVI died, I reflected that both JPII and Benedict were members of what we in America … Read morePope Francis and Conclave 2025: Still waiting for a Third-Millennium Pope

What happens when more boys have smartphones than fathers in their homes? A groundbreaking UK research study called ‘Lost Boys’ has revealed alarming trends about young men today. John Heinen and Devin Schadt welcome back three-time guest Jim O’Day to respond to and unpack this landmark research and its implications. Together, they examine how the … Read moreThe No.1 Reason Boys Don’t Grow Up: We are Making Dangerous, Depressed, and Lonely Men!

I am initially writing these words on February 19, 2025, and the Holy Father, Pope Francis, has pneumonia in both lungs. He is of advanced age and has not been in good health. He likely is dying, and now, in early April, we know this was his final illness. The near approach of death is … Read moreThe Death of a Father

Many words could describe the Francis pontificate; to me, the best is ironic. Coming from Argentina, Jorge Bergoglio was considered the ultimate outsider who would bring another wave of aggiornamento to the Church; but instead, he appeared closed inside the stale ideas of liberalism. He criticized those he saw as “wanting to go back,” yet … Read moreThe Pope of Ironies 

This is an excerpt from an article that was previously published in Sword & Spade magazine. Although mothers come with their own forms of disorder, in Scripture it seems to belong to fathers to cause explicit pain and wounds. Sirach tells men to not go around their house “like lions” hurting people (Sir. 4:30). St. … Read moreThe Pains Of The Father

Not even months into his new pontificate, Pope Francis declared, to a group of young people in Paraguay, “Go out and make a mess.” A puzzling remark from the Successor of St. Peter. As the years of his papacy went on, we witnessed what he meant. Year after year, he kept his promise. And the … Read moreMay Pope Francis Rest in Peace. And May Peace Return to Mother Church.