Leo XIV’s speech last week to participants in the plenary session of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith was highly anticipated. After Leo XIV agreed to finalize the documents left on the table by Pope Francis, it was unclear whether the Pope would maintain the dicastery’s stance or introduce a change.

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Ahead of the conclave that elected Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost OSA to succeed Pope Francis in the See of Peter, legendary Vatican beat journalist John L. Allen Jr. – who died last week at the age of 61 – described the man we now know by the name of Pope Leo XIV as [...]

Pope Leo XIV’s decision to return the celebration of the Missa in coena Domini – the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper — to his cathedral basilica of St. John Lateran is another step in the new pope’s deliberate work to re-establish traditional papal customs.

By restoring this and other practices, Leo XIV [...]

No concrete results came from Leo XIV’s first extraordinary consistory, which took place over two days, Jan. 7-8. None were expected.

Nearly two hundred cardinals participated in the talks, which focused – per the cardinals’ own choice – on evangelization and synodality, two of the four themes Leo proposed for their consideration.

The liturgical [...]

Through the first eight months of his reign, Pope Leo XIV has conducted himself as a transitional leader. The challenges he faced and the decisions he made were all somehow shaped by Pope Francis, who initiated the Holy Year and remained its principal point of reference until its end.

This period has been a [...]

The Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica featured a series of symbols, all showing how Pope Leo XIV is somehow moving in great stride toward a definitive transition, one set to begin in earnest as soon as the Jubilee closes.

In particular, there are three small signs to consider.

The first: Leo XIV [...]

With the appointment of the new Archbishop of New York, there is some reason to think we have seen the last of the Francis era, at least insofar as episcopal nominations are concerned.

Archbishop Ronald Hicks, chosen to succeed Cardinal Timothy Dolan as Archbishop of New York, has a profile that many consider typically [...]

Among the most interesting things about Leo XIV’s still very young pontificate, is the central place Europe – the idea of Europe and the sociopolitical realities of Europe in what is now the middle of the 21st century – has taken through the new pope’s words, declarations, and actions.

Leo is refocusing the Church’s [...]

The conclusions of the Francis-appointed commission on the female diaconate – basically a hard “No” softly delivered, one that surprised pretty much no one – were published last week, on the same day as another decision by Leo XIV to repeal one of Pope Francis’s financial reforms.

The two events were unrelated, but [...]

The week Leo XIV left for his first international trip was also when the Pope made several decisions and really began to give his pontificate some direction.

The decisions he made revealed something of Leo XIV’s characteristics: he is capable of overturning Pope Francis’s decisions, especially in administrative matters; in doctrinal matters, he will [...]