Solène Tadié is the Europe Correspondent for the National Catholic Register. She is French-Swiss and grew up in Paris. After graduating from Roma III University with a degree in journalism, she began reporting on Rome and the Vatican for Aleteia. She joined L’Osservatore Romano in 2015, where she successively worked for the French section and the Cultural pages of the Italian daily newspaper. She has also collaborated with several French-speaking Catholic media organizations. Solène has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, and recently translated in French (for Editions Salvator) Defending the Free Market: The …
Category: Current Issues
Is Pope Leo XIV Leaving Us Clues About Where He’s Headed?
Father Raymond J. de Souza is the founding editor of Convivium magazine. COMMENTARY: In his first days as Pope, Leo XIV has signaled continuity over rupture, rooted his vision in patristic tradition, and issued a bold call to young people: ‘Do not be afraid.’ Pope Leo XIV’s first few days have been met with widespread enthusiasm and excitement, not least because the Holy Father himself is confident, at ease, and seems to enjoy being pope. He told the cardinals they had asked him “to carry that cross and to be blessed with that mission.” At least for now, the blessing is more apparent than …
How Food, Faith and John Paul II Shaped a Catholic Communicator
Alexandra Greeley A convert to Catholicism, Alexandra Greeley is a food writer, restaurant critic, and cookbook author, who is passionate about every aspect of the food world — from interviewing chefs to supporting local farmers and making the connection between food and faith. With deep roots in faith and family, the founder of NovaMedia brings Catholic stories to life — and still makes time for huevos rancheros. Food has always been a big deal for Patrick Novecosky, a Virginia-based author, speaker, publicist, and lifelong Catholic. Patrick is the second of nine children raised on a farm in Saskatchewan, Canada. He vividly …
The Three Commands of Fatima: Love Her Heart, Save Souls, Pray for Peace
Thomas Griffin is the chair of the religion department at a Catholic high school on Long Island, where he lives with his wife and sons. He is the author of Let Us Begin: Saint Francis’s Way of Becoming Like Christ and Renewing the World (OSV, September 2024). In 1917, three children heard Mary’s urgent plea: embrace her heart, offer sacrifices for souls, and pray the Rosary every day. In 2025, that call is more needed than ever. Our Lady of Fatima is an apparition of Mary that took place between May and October of 1917. Mary appeared to three young children — …
Hopes for a New Pontificate
George Weigel George Weigel is the distinguished senior fellow and William E. Simon Chair in Catholic Studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington. Within a few hours of the election of Pope Leo XIV and his masterful presentation of himself to the Church and the world from the central loggia of the Vatican basilica, I received an email from an old friend, a member of a prominent Catholic family in Nicaragua: Dear George: Praise God for Pope Leo XIV, Papa León! He [visited us several years ago.] There is a sense of renewed hope. May God bless him …
Worthy to Suffer Dishonor For the Sake of the Name
M.C. Holbrook is a homeschooling mother of ten and author of the series, The Safe Haven: Scriptural Reflections for the Heart and Home. Originally from New York City, Holbrook received a Bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies from Cornell University and a Master’s degree in School Counseling from New York University. Holbrook enjoys meals with her family, prayer with her friends, and a hot cup of coffee each morning with the Word of God. Jealousy is one of the most insidious of vices because, much like envy, there is absolutely no satisfaction in it. Each moment is spent in …
St. Catherine of Siena and leaving the Church
Thomas McDermott, OP, is a Dominican of the Province of St. Albert the Great and pastor of the Catholic Center at Purdue University. He is the author of several books on spirituality and Catherine of Siena, including Catherine of Siena: Spiritual Development in Her Life and Teaching (Paulist, 2008). In the wake of so many clerical sex abuse scandals, to many people the Catholic Church appears hypocritical and bankrupt morally and spiritually. In the midst of such trying times, how can Catholics justify remaining in the Church? The words and deeds of St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), who lived during an earlier crisis, …
An Open Letter to Archbishop Bruno Forte
Reverend Peter M.J. Stravinskas founded The Catholic Answer in 1987 and The Catholic Response in 2004, as well as the Priestly Society of Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman, a clerical association of the faithful, committed to Catholic education, liturgical renewal, and the new evangelization. Father Stravinskas is also the President of the Catholic Education Foundation, an organization that serves as a resource for heightening the Catholic identity of Catholic schools. “I was stunned to read of your recent attack on those who receive Holy Communion on the tongue. Even more so because you used an Easter homily to launch that assault…” Your Grace, I was …
‘The courage to be candid’ – Chaput on Francis, and what’s next
Archbishop Charles Chaput, OFM Cap., is the emeritus archbishop of Philadelphia, a long-time leader among American bishops, and an influential voice among American Catholics for decades. The archbishop spoke with The Pillar this week about the Francis papacy and what he thinks the Church needs now. You met Pope Francis almost 30 years ago —1997 — when you were both diocesan bishops, and you’ve said you were impressed by him then, and continued to regard him warmly. What attributes of Francis can the Church learn from? He had a naturally generous instinct toward the people he met, and he understood the nature …
Lenten lessons from Saint Peter
John M. Grondelski (Ph.D., Fordham) was a former associate dean of the School of Theology, Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey. He publishes regularly in the National Catholic Register and in theological journals. All views expressed herein are exclusively his own. Jesus doesn’t deny Peter, though Peter denied Jesus. And Peter eventually learned the eternal value of contrition. This week’s Lenten focus on conversion and the old Confiteor takes us to “the holy Apostles, Peter and Paul.” I always liked the description an Australian priest friend once applied to them: they were “two guys with histories.” And, in some ways, not particularly nice guys. …