Papal citizenship, Catholic social teaching, and the politics of conscience By Rod Benson The confirmation that Pope Leo XIV voted in the November 2026 United States midterm elections raises a question that is at once historical, canonical, theological and diplomatic. The Holy See Press Office stated that the pope believes participation in democratic processes to …
Is the Pope the Vicar of Christ?
Growing up in the same fundamental religious denomination as novelist Ken Follett and poet Patricia Beer, I was taught from earliest days that nothing good could come from the Catholic Church. My paternal grandmother, for example, a superb mimic, would occasionally regale us at the Christmas dinner table at Wahroonga with humorous anti-papist rhetoric. On one occasion, in …
