In June, the annual report on cases of antisemitism in Germany in 2025 was published (compiled by the Association of Research and Information Centers on Antisemitism). In addition to an overall increase in cases, politically motivated incidents involving the German far right increased by 60%, rising from 502 in 2025 to 807 in 2026. The […]
Pope Leo in the Footsteps of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin
In his messages to the United States on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Pope Leo XIII builds upon Cardinal J. Bernardin’s discourse on a consistent ethics of life in order to define the position of the Catholic Church in the face of major moral and social challenges. It was […]
U.S. Catholicism in the Vise of the Lefebvrian Schism
American conservative Catholics could help steer the presidency away from the losing battle of the “culture wars” and toward a pragmatic and substantial Trump’s political revolution. Following the episcopal ordinations performed by the Lefebvrian Society of St. Pius X, the Holy issued a decree of excommunication formalizing the schism. Excommunicated are all bishops, priests, and […]
Pope Leo: Human Dignity in the Digital Age (Part Two)
Artificial intelligence and the digital systems on which it is based represent a total environment — the world, plain and simple — in which machines produce culture rather than human beings. The humanistic challenge lies in shaping a way of inhabiting this (digital) world, begetting culture through practices of love that enable each individual to […]
Pope Leo: Human Dignity in the Digital Age (Part One)
Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical offers theological and humanistic insights into the potential and risks of artificial intelligence for human dignity. It is also a declaration of the “dream of a new modernity,” in which the Catholic Church, nations, peoples, and international institutions collaborate to create ways of inhabiting the world that are worthy of […]
Religious Freedom in Estonia: Muscovite Poison
The Estonian Supreme Court rejected the petition filed by President Alar Karis challenging the constitutionality of the Churches Act. In its June 8 ruling, the Court acknowledged the petition’s merit but stated that, when interpreted strictly, the law is not unconstitutional (by a vote of 11 to 6). The bill was approved by Parliament on […]
Trump, Bishops, and Sacred Heart
Donald Trump launched his campaign to “re-Americanize” America with two moves that immediately put him on a collision course with even the Catholic bishops most aligned with his policies. These moves were a crackdown on undocumented immigrants and a restrictive interpretation and of ius soli regarding the right to U.S. citizenship. In his second term […]



