Voicing Sharp Religious Opposition to the War in Iran: A Case Study from the Roman Catholic Community

Thomas Massaro, S.J., is McGinley Endowed Professor of Religion and Society at Fordham University

As this essay is being written, it has been more than a month since the February 28 outbreak of hostilities between Israel and the U.S. (on one hand) and Iran (on the other hand). Public criticism of the war has been widespread. Political opponents (and even some normally supportive voices) have complained about the evident lack of planning, unclear objectives, and seeming disregard for the consequences of launching this “war of choice.” The shifting justifications for launching the war (including incoherent gestures toward the urgency of regime change and terminating Iran’s looming nuclear capability) have proven broadly unconvincing. The April 1 White House address of President Trump, broadcast in prime TV time, added little clarity.

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Deaton, Deenen, and Integrity and Role of Catholic Social Teaching

Ingeborg G. Gabriel is a professor emerita at the University of Vienna.

The debate in the United States and beyond on liberalism has taken a rather disconcerting turn, in which concepts from Catholic Social Teaching (CST) are invoked. The following post is an attempt to sketch this phenomenon drawing on ideas of economist Angus Deaton and philosopher Patrick Deneen. Can CST, which is also high on the agenda of the present pontiff Leo XIV, cut a trail through the jungle of these ideas?

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Pope Leo XIV’s Pontificate: More Continuity Than Change. Interview with Thomas Massaro

Thomas Massaro, S.J. comments in detail on recently elected Pope Leo XIV—his personality, American background, and relations with his predecessor, Pope Francis. Massaro explains major internal and external challenges that Pope Leo will face during his pontificate and posits the expansion of the famous Vatican bon mot “John Paul II listened, Benedict taught, Francis touched the heart” to include the new Pope.

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