In Case You Missed It – Friday, May 2, 2025

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Progressive Cardinals sweating bullets. Ready for a conservative Pope? It could happen…

With the passing of Pope Francis, the Catholic Church is entering a defining moment. The two sides, one rooted in tradition and the other pushing for so-called progress, are battling for control of the Church’s future. On one side, the progressive cardinals are scattered and unsure because their messaging has failed. On the other hand, the conservative cardinals have rallied with a focus on unity. A message that’s gaining a lot of traction and reshaping the conversation. ...

Read more at Revolver

Front-runner Cardinal seen as the successor to Pope Francis suffers sudden illness

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s former Secretary of State who considered by many Vatican experts as the front-runner to succeed Pope Francis, was stricken with a sudden illness that may hinder his chances in his race for the papacy.

Read more at Catholics for Catholics

Could the next pope be African? NY Times highlights continent’s rising Catholic influence

As Catholicism continues to thrive across Africa, The New York Times is spotlighting the continent’s growing role in shaping the global Church and raising the question: Could the next pope come from Africa?

More than half of the 13 million people who joined the Church in 2022 lived in Africa, according to the Times. Today, one in five Catholics is African, and Africa produces more seminarians than any other region of the world.

Read more at CatholicVote

Essay: Is Cardinal Sarah the man to save the Church as the next pope?

Cardinal Robert Sarah from Guinea in West Africa is being favoured by many, in part because he satisfies some of the more justified criteria of progressive liberal values with a commitment to being a Catholic priest and bishop as it has always and everywhere been understood.

Read more at the Catholic Herald

Analysis: Cardinal Zuppi could be pope: who is he?

The leader of the Italian bishops’ conference, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, is in the papabile limelight as conclave speculation increases, but who exactly is he?

The cardinal’s record on morality, liturgy, and doctrine contains a number of red flags for those seeking to remain closely aligned with Catholic teaching, but he has also ensured to play to both sides of the divide in order to garner support.

Read more at Lifesite

Commentary: China’s puzzling influence on the conclave

Why did the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) choose this week, during the papal interregnum, to announce the “election” of new Catholic bishops without papal approval, in apparent violation of their secret agreement with the Vatican?

Read more at Catholic Culture

The Next Pope Needs a Better China Policy

Reforming the Vatican’s policy on China should be a priority of the next papacy. The current approach is defined by the Vatican’s controversial 2018 agreement with China to share power with Beijing in the appointment of Catholic bishops. It severely compromises the Catholic Church in China and erodes papal religious and moral authority.

Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Cardinal Parolin is the architect of the China deal and its chief enthusiast. ...

Read more at First Things

Getting ready: Vatican Firefighters Erect Chimney on Sistine Chapel for Papal Election

Preparations for the conclave to find a new pope accelerated Friday with the installation of the chimney out of the Sistine Chapel that will signal the election of a successor to Pope Francis.

Vatican firefighters were seen on the roof of the Sistine Chapel installing the chimney, a key moment in the preparation for the May 7 conclave.

Read more at Breitbart

JD Vance explains why meeting Pope Francis hours before his death was 'a sign from God'

Vice President JD Vance reflected on his meeting with Pope Francis, just hours before the Holy Father passed away, telling Fox News Digital it was a "great honor" and a "sign from God" to cherish life. 

Read/view more at Fox News

Two Catholic Bishops to serve on Trump’s new religious liberty commission

Two members of the Catholic hierarchy in the United States — Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Bishop Robert Barron — have been tapped to serve on a new presidential commission on religious liberty created by President Donald Trump on Thursday, May 1.

Read more at the Catholic News Agency

China says it’s evaluating the possibility of trade talks with the U.S.

China said it is evaluating U.S. overtures to initiate trade negotiations, potentially paving the way for the world’s two largest economies to start talks to resolve a trade war that has rumbled financial markets and cast a pall on global economic activity.

Read more at CNBC

Essay: US, Ukraine minerals deal: A tactical win, not a turning point

The agreement won't end the war, but it ensures continued US commitment — and sends a signal to Moscow

Read more at Responsible Statecraft

Rubio: Europe Must Show “Political Will” To End Ukraine War

U.S Secretary of State Marco Rubio has urged European Union member states and their allies to work towards a “lasting peace” and end the war in Ukraine. This means Europe must both commit tangible resources to the goal and show clear political resolve.

This renewed pressure from the Trump administration came in a meeting between Rubio and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Thursday, May 1st. According to Rubio, President Donald Trump remains committed to ending the “senseless bloodshed.”

Read more at The European Conservative

Trump orders end to federal funding for NPR and PBS

Yesterday President Trump signed an executive order “ending taxpayer subsidization of biased media.” In so doing he instructed the CPB Board of Directors and all executive departments and agencies to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS.

Read more at whitehouse.gov

Trump Says He’s Ending Harvard’s Tax-Exempt Status

Trump’s comments come amid a funding fight with the university as his administration has frozen more than $2 billion in federal funds to Harvard over its pushback on his administration’s efforts to target diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and handling of anti-Israel protests. Last week, Trump called Harvard a “far left institution” and “a threat to Democracy.”

Read more at The Daily Wire

Alberta Insider: Fanning the flames of separatism

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was quick to congratulate Prime Minister Mark Carney after his federal election win on Monday.

But it didn’t take long for the Alberta vs Ottawa sentiment to quickly creep back to the top of the agenda – now with a dash of separatism.

Read more at The Globe and Mail

‘Multi-parent’ families, like throuples, to be granted legal rights in Quebec

A recent court ruling in Quebec has granted multi-parental families in the province the same legal rights as any other unit.

A Quebec Superior Court judge ruled on Friday that limiting the legal affiliation of children to one or two parents is unconstitutional.

Read more at CTV News

Cardinal Raymond Burke continues to urge novena prayer for the election of the successor to St. Peter

"I ask you to continue praying the Novena Prayer, until the new Successor of Saint Peter is elected. If you have not yet begun to pray the Novena Prayer, I urge you to begin praying it immediately."

Cardinal Burke's prayer is available here

Editor's note:

HOW SOULS AND LIBERTY WILL MOVE FORWARD THE NEXT FOUR YEARS

There can be no doubt we have witnessed an extraordinary moment in the history of the United States and the world. The election of Donald Trump to a second Presidential term is a great victory for Christian patriots, but it is not a complete or final victory. Rather, it is a reprieve from the ceaseless assaults on life, liberty and faith we have had to endure for four years.

Donald Trump is president once again, and his decisions, Cabinet selections, and force of personality are shaping the United States and the world in ways we could only dream of.

We have a Heaven-sent opportunity to step up and ensure this victory is not merely a one-off, but the first of many and the foundation of a lasting legacy of patriotic, Christian, pro-family policies.

Souls and Liberty will be part of that effort, but we cannot do it without you. It will require reporting and activism that YOU can be a part of.

Can you step up and support us? Just once – a one-time donation is very valuable. Or, better yet, support us every month with a recurring donation. Thank you, and may God bless you.

Stephen Wynne

Editor-in-Chief, Souls and Liberty