Each year at this time, near the Fourth of July, we contemplate freedom. But maybe we are also being called to do an extended examination of our own fears.

Is it possible to embrace the idea of a special, evenly divinely ordained mission for America without violating Christian ethical principles?

Pope Leo XIV arrived in the papal summer retreat of Castel Gandolfo on Sunday to start a six-week vacation, giving the hilltop town back its most illustrious resident after Pope Francis stayed away during his 12-year pontificate.

A Reflection for Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Michael Simone, S.J.

Pope Leo XIV named the French archbishop Thibault Verny as the new president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. He succeeds Cardinal Seán O’Malley, 81, the emeritus archbishop of Boston.

“Deep cuts” to SNAP and Medicaid will “inflict real suffering on these families…. SNAP and Medicaid are not luxuries, they are lifelines for millions of children across our country.”

It was one of the first times Leo has spoken unscripted at length in public, responding to questions posed to him by the children.

A Reflection for Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Kevin Christopher Robles

A Reflection for Friday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Molly Cahill

The Vatican has named the judges that will preside over the trial of disgraced Father Marko Rupnik.