Weekly Summary: 3/21/26
The week in review, from the perspective of a veteran Catholic journalist
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Articles
Pope Leo could make a strong argument against the war in Iran, invoking the principles of just-war theory. I wish he would— if nothing else, to kick off a serious argument about those principles. But (as I argued last week as well) his pleas for peace aren’t likely to convince people who have concluded that a just war is preferable to an unjust peace.
Looking back on the reign of Pope Francis, I see three mysteries which, if they were solved, might help us to understand this complex character.
Pope Leo has called a summit meeting to discuss the family. That sounds like a good idea. But if the meeting is centered on Amoris Laetitia, it could do more harm than good.
Notes
Good news coming in from all around the world: in one place after another, unprecedented numbers of people are entering the Catholic Church this year. There’s no simple explanation— other than a movement of the Holy Spirit.
When the New York Times reported the death of Paul Ehrlich, the headline conceded that “his predictions proved premature.” Premature?! The author of The Population Bomb was flat-out wrong in all of his prophecies of doom. Still those predictions, long disproven, remain popular with the Left.
President Trump assures the world that Israel would “never” use a nuclear weapon. Which underlines the paradox involved with nuclear weaponry: If you’re never going to use them, why have them?
Senator Schumer says that the SAVE Act is a “voter-suppression bill.” By his logic I guess I can conclude that the local hardware store is trying to suppress sales of tools.
Iran’s naval power have been destroyed, Iran’s planes are grounded. (The ability to launch missiles unfortunately remains.) So why don’t the mullahs surrender? Because Trump’s demand for “unconditional surrender” gives them no reason not to keep fighting.
I know nothing about Joe Kent. But when he resigned, saying that there was no imminent threat from Iran, was that evidence of anti-Semitism? If he was a terrible anti-Semite before he made that statement, why was he working for the Trump team?
A Vatican study group fell into the common error of suggesting that women had no public role until the 20th century. Historian Bronwen McShea set the record straight. Women have always had enormous influence in the Church; being ordained is not a requirement for relevance.
Cardinal Hollerich tumbled into the same error, saying that Catholic women “suffer” because they can’t be priests. So then being a member of the laity means suffering? (Actually sometimes that’s true, thanks to Cardinal Hollerich and his ilk.) Talk about clericalism!
Remember how the FBI was investigating TLM communities, suspecting they might be breeding grounds for extremism? It turns out the CIA was playing a similar game, worrying about white a supremacist group that— brace yourself— “has lauded motherhood and homemaking as women’s most important responsibility.”
And while we’re all worried about the war in Iran, and secondarily about the price of oil, don’t forget to pray for the embattled Christians of the Middle East: “Today we are talking about survival.”
