The Conversation

Vice President JD Vance and several bishops of the U.S. Roman Catholic Church are having a war of words over the Trump administration's flurry of executive orders and highly publicized immigration raids. This debate reflects long-standing tensions among Catholic — and other Christian — thinkers and practitioners about moral obligations to people with whom we have closer versus more distant relationships.

Pope Francis has proclaimed a Jubilee year in the Catholic Church, which began on Dec. 24, 2024, and will continue through Jan. 6, 2026. But what is a Jubilee, and what is this year’s about?

It was important in Cold War America to prove that it was a Christian nation, so a new story was added to the American creation myth: Through the nation's history, all presidents invoked God as part of their oath.

Among the traditional religious activities that can earn one an indulgence — such as pilgrimage to holy sites, acts of charity and saying special prayers — Pope Francis introduced a new option: a call to fast from the internet and social media.

In the future, a program like AI Jesus could be used to hear confessions around the clock. But with no experience of having a human body, it cannot engage or absolve human sins, writes Joanne M. Pierce. 

In the U.S. today, evangelical, charismatic and conservative Christians continue to tap into the martyrdom mythology.

As a Catholic philosopher and avid student of Aquinas, I am always fielding questions about whether this medieval saint is "still worth" reading today, nearly 800 years after his birth.

Even with substantial consensus on many issues, the perception of polarization often drives public discourse. This misalignment can be exacerbated by partisans with something to gain.

Why are cardinals sequestered during papal elections? Because it took centuries for the church to develop an electoral system free from manipulations and violence — which should resonate with contemporary politics.

"In 1869, when Pope Pius IX convened the First Vatican Council, no one dreamed of inviting women, but they were nonetheless there," writes Carol E. Harrison, a Professor of History at the University of South Carolina. 

"While debates over the Christian virtues of the candidates may be important for Christian communities, religious freedom is important for American democracy," writes religious freedom scholar Corey D. B. Walker. "The response to Christianity and politics is not more Christianity but more democracy. And religious freedom is key."

"Only a gradual rebuilding of civil society, I believe, may save Nicaragua from that fate," Richard Wood, Director of the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at the University of Southern California writes. "The tragedy is what Nicaragua could have been: a thriving democratic society, with a commitment to empowering the poor."

Autonomous AI is still designed by people. So who or what is really responsible for its actions? For centuries, theologians have posed similar questions about mankind and God.

The shroud remains an object of faith, intrigue and controversy that reappears periodically in the public sphere, as it has in recent weeks. As a scholar of early Christianity, I have long been interested in why people are motivated to create objects like the shroud and also why people are drawn to revere them as authentic.

Italian priest Padre Pio was one of the most prayed-to saints in recent times. As Pio's generation ages, the church is turning to Italian teen Carlo Acutis, set to be canonized, to appeal to a new demographic.

"Many revered works of art come from spiritually flawed creators. From my perspective, condemning art, rather than debating how the Catholic Church may have allowed someone accused of abuse to avoid censure for so long, is a diversion at best," writes Virginia Raguin, a Distinguished Professor of Humanities Emerita at College of the Holy Cross.

By strategically using both radical forms of civil disobedience and more mainstream public actions, such as lobbying and state-sanctioned demonstrations, activists can grab the public’s attention while making less aggressive tactics seem much more acceptable.

Religiously affiliated organizations can clash with politicians on humanitarian aid to migrants, raising issues around religious freedom and hospitality to newcomers.

The use of sport as an evangelical tool is not new for the Catholic Church. Pope Pius X welcomed athletes in 1905 for the first international gymnastics competition in the Vatican gardens.

"Strange as it may seem, early germ theorists could tell us a lot about today’s attitudes toward climate change," Rob Barrett writes.