That point about the apparatus premised on association with the papacy is a really interesting one. Certainly what made Francis so disorienting. Whether and how Leo complicates that remains to be seen, I think.
Yes. Pope Leo came of age amidst those unfolding events. Literally. Like, he was a 10-11 y/o Chicago Catholic kid as mobs of white Catholics were attacking civil rights protesters outside of Marquette Park. (Which... is why it's so wild to have an American pope. Lol.)
Yeah, I was already noting the similarities between white Catholic anti-integration talk and what Tom Homan was saying back when Pope Francis was criticizing the administration's anti-immigrant policies. The parallels (even, again, the almost word-for-word and logic-by-logic echoes) are uncanny.
Gonna re-up this one while I'm at it. Was recently asked if Pope v Trump was a sign that "ideology/politics was overtaking religion for some Catholics." The problem is the question itself. There is no pure, uncut religion floating free of politics and ideology. We're talking about humans, after all.
Anyway, this is a great podcast that cuts to the core of the political ramifications (or, possibly, lack thereof) of #Popegate better than most anything I've read on the subject over the last week or so.
...Meanwhile, in the year of our Lord 2026: "The pope is basically 'Oh, we have to keep all the immigrants here.' Why not open up the Vatican walls, then, and let them live with you if you think it's such a great idea. We're not being Catholic anymore."
Like, when white Catholics fought against integration in the 60s and 70s, they told priests/nuns to stick to spirituality and keep out of politics. They told bishops that if they wanted integration that bad, they should let Black families move in with them (instead of desegregating schools)....
The question of the day re: Pope Leo v. Trump: wHaT WiLL tHiS mEaN foR MAGA CaTHoLICs?!
This *great* pod confirmed my gut feeling: NOT MUCH.
And I'd add: There's history here. MAGA Catholics aren't outliers. They're saying the same stuff many white Catholics did 50 years ago, almost verbatim.
Five. Five out of 267...ish. Lol.
exhausted historian of christianity screaming into the void, once again: christianity has never been apolitical. to wit: jesus was executed by the roman state.
🎯🎯🎯
OMG SARAH 🤣🤣🤣🤣😭
It's so funny to me that right-wingers love to pretend to love the Middle Ages and the Crusades and all that and then complain that the Pope shouldn't get involved in politics.
It’s profoundly ignorant to suggest that the Pope should be fighting crime on behalf of the Catholic Church. Anyone who was remotely familiar with Roman Catholicism would know that that’s what Daredevil is for
The prayer heard round the world…
“…nor an anesthetic to numb the pain provoked by so much injustice. Rather, it is the most selfless, universal and transformative response to death: we are a people who are already risen!”
“My dearest friends, all it takes is a little faith, a mere “crumb” of faith, in order to face this dramatic hour in history together — as humanity and alongside humanity. Prayer is not a refuge in which to hide from our responsibilities…
www.vatican.va/content/leo-...
Amazing role for the Romero Project for an archivist interested in recent Catholic history
@mjcressler.bsky.social maybe you could RT?
bc.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
everything we are seeing now is the consequence of having a political environment in which indifference to the deaths and suffering of other people - even by the state whose supposed responsibility is to safeguard their welfare - is a superpower rather than a political liability
In light of the Hegseth's seemingly anti-Catholic move today, and the budding rift between the Church and the Doug Wilson-verse, it's worth listening to @sarahposner.bsky.social break down some of these issues with @mjcressler.bsky.social:
redcircle.com/shows/fbed71...
It me.
Never related to a meme harder than I do with this one right now
I know I'm a broken record but you *cannot* understand the MAGA rift over Iran war (and other stuff) without understanding that the antisemitic MAGA-ites are going after Christian Zionists (see: Owens' reference to "Bibi's red heifer war") *with antisemitism,* not just opposition to Israel policy.
Pope Leo asked me to meet him in a private audience at the Vatican today
I presented him with documents and evidence detailing decades of abuse inside Opus Dei and urged him to launch a full independent investigation into the group
A THREAD 🧵
I dug deep into all of this with @mjcressler.bsky.social, this episode is so important to understand what is going on inside MAGA, how they are trying to horseshoe with the left on Israel/Palestine, that's why it's so important to understand their blatant antisemitism.
redcircle.com/shows/fbed71...
You saw it in Carlson's interview of Huckabee. You saw it in Owens surrogate Carrie Prejean Boller's attack on Trump's own Religious Liberty Commission. Didn't hear about that? Listen to my conversation with @mjcressler.bsky.social about all of this:
redcircle.com/shows/fbed71...
The beauty and joy and the HUMANITY that Coogler and Jordan and Durald Arkapaw have brought to this awards show. My god.
I can’t laugh or meme these people because they made USAID cuts that are currently killing dozens of people - almost a hundred - every single day. Every single day. And I despair of and despise the self-centredness that continues to create this cruelty.
The @jewishcurrents.bsky.social convo gets into the long history of Catholic anti-Judaism, antisemitism, and how it all connects to (anti)Zionism. If you want more on the subject, me and @sarahposner.bsky.social spoke at length about the MAGA of it all for Reign of Error. bsky.app/profile/mjcr...
Appreciated the opportunity to join Arielle and Julie in conversation on Catholicism, antisemitism, and (anti)Zionism. The times may be weird but, as always, there’s a history that helps us make sense of it all.