Being around other people, as opposed to the isolation inherent in AI encounters, seems to be appealing given the upheaval in the world. Leo's message seems to be reaching Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
When white smoke billowed out of the Sistine Chapel last May, NCR's former Vatican correspondent Christopher White was there. White thought it would be Robert Prevost: "His election may have been a surprise, but he isn't."
Growing up in Chicago and then attending seminary in Michigan as a young teenager, Robert Prevost would have been aware of change taking place in both his hometown and the church.
Worldwide, the landscape of religion is not serene. Many denominations have been racked by divisions. In some regions, believers are targeted with violence. Countless faith leaders have betrayed their flocks via corruption or sexual abuse. Against this backdrop, there has been a long-running discussion about the role that religion can play in enhancing personal well-being and lowering the risk of mental health problems.
Catholics had become conditioned to believe the conventional wisdom that an American would never be elected pope, writes Michael J. O'Loughlin. Nearly a year after his election, what does it mean to have a pope from the U.S.?
The scriptural passage that President Donald Trump read in a livestreamed Bible-reading marathon dates back to the depiction of an ancient event — but it's one that carries a highly charged significance in the current religious and political climate.
Vatican journalist Salvatore Cernuzio's new book, Padre: An Untold Portrait of Pope Francis, is a narrative built from proximity, trust and the unusual, intimate relationship between its author and the late pope.
Since his election last May, Pope Leo XIV has hammered home the theme of unity. But nowhere has that message taken on sharper contours than in Angola, where the long shadow of civil war and stark inequality continues to fracture the nation.
