De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

The capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces has sent shockwaves through international politics. World leaders are divided, international bodies are alarmed, and even within the United States the debate is fierce. Was this a long-overdue act of justice against a brutal tyrant, or a dangerous breach of international law? In the middle of that storm stands Pope Leo XIV. Some Catholics are frustrated by his response. Others see it as prudent. Many are unsure what to make of it at all. In a new long-form article on Catholic Unscripted, I take a careful, unsentimental look at what Pope Leo actually said, what he deliberately did not say, and how his words compare with the reactions of governments, the United Nations, and major global powers. The piece also examines a largely overlooked tension in the American debate: how can leaders now claim Maduro’s capture was unlawful when previous U.S. administrations publicly offered tens of millions of dollars for information leading to his arrest...

  Twelve years of an abusive papacy have ended and the relief among faithful Catholics is palpable. The world's media response is to wax lyrical about his humility and mercy, demonstrating both that they were not paying attention and that the Argentinian's efforts to disguise the Catholic Church's moral and social teaching was well received and successful amongst the secular mainstream. “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you." (John 15:18 f ). The world LOVED Pope Francis. They loved that he was, at best, ambivalent, at worst, dead set against, Catholic teaching and morality and particularly sexual morality, which it felt like he never shut up about, constantly talking about LGBTQ, transgenderism, etc etc and not in a good way, in a way that hinted that the Church...