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An Unarmed and Disarming Peace: Pope Leo XIV, the Algerian Martyrs, and Our Holiness

“Peace be with you!” These were the first words that Pope Leo XIV spoke as he emerged from the balcony of St. Peter’s on May 8, 2025. He would use the word “peace” nine more times in his short address. Peace, it was clear, would take priority in his pontificate. As Pope Leo made that priority clear, one phrase… continue reading

Our New Holy Father Pope Leo XIV

I was reading a commentary on the Gospel according to St. Luke at the time when an event that surprised the world took place. It was unexpected that a missionary to the poor of Latin America, a priest, then bishop, then cardinal, who had reached out to the marginalized, to refugees for years, could become… continue reading

Sacrifice, Creativity, Availability in Bulgakov, Mounier, Dorothy Day, and Fr. John Hugo

“Good and evil are not, after all, two equal and opposing forces” (Sergei Bulgakov) Someone recently asked us if we were going to write about politicians, oligarchs, and technology czars, about their speeches and policies that hurt many. Hundreds of people, however, are already writing about that. We are trying to look more deeply at… continue reading

The Legacy of Pope Francis

UPDATE: We mourn the passing of Pope Francis. Praying to the Holy Spirit for the selection of a good man at the  conclave.   As we write, Pope Francis is very ill in the hospital with double pneumonia. The world is praying for him. We recall that on March 13, 2013, when the white smoke… continue reading

Thy Will be Done On Earth As It Is In Heaven: Eschatology and Our World Today

When I became a Catholic many years ago, somehow I got the idea that earthly concerns were not very important in the light of eternity. My instruction in the faith did not teach that, but the very idea of the transcendent reality of God and life someday in the beatific vision led my mind to… continue reading

Gustavo Gutierrez. R.I.P.

When I arrived at the University of Notre Dame to begin my Ph.D. in Theology, the very first course I took was with the Peruvian father of liberation theology Gustavo Gutiérrez. I knew him by reputation since I had read his groundbreaking first book, A Theology of Liberation, and I was very excited to meet… continue reading

Christmas Letter

Dear Friends of Casa Juan Diego, The joy of Christmas comes as a great gift, breaking into the despair, sadness, and fear of violence that surrounds us and others in many parts of the world. All the hype about Christmas shopping (since July 4) simply cannot drown out the Good News of this Silent Night:… continue reading

The Incarnation: Receiving the Lord in the poor, the stranger, the broken-hearted

It seems that sometimes we Catholics neglect to mention that the Lord Jesus explicitly told us why he was sent by the Spirit of the Lord, as he quoted the Old Testament prophecy. Recent experiences reminded us. We received a call from a hospital asking if we could accept an 18-year old mother of tiny… continue reading

Can We Survive the Storms Around Us? Insights from Henri de Lubac, SJ

Sometimes we ask ourselves how we can keep going in the midst of the storm around us, the people with all their needs, their anxieties, the traumas they carry with them, their health problem. We have to ask the Lord to be with us each day as he calmed the sea for the disciples during… continue reading

Reconstructing the Social Order Through the Works of Mercy in an Age of Migration: Reflections from the Houston Catholic Worker

“You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name,” Exodus 20:7. To “misuse” God’s name is to appropriate his name to justify self-interest, violence, murder….. (La Civiltá Cattolica)  The fabric of our social order is being harmed and even destroyed… continue reading