Outside the Beltway

The 88-year-old Bishop of Rome has died.

Calendars, How Do They Work?

The “courage of the white flag” is a horrible idea.

A bizarre statement by the head of the Roman Catholic church.

He’s turned Russia from a G-8 member to an international pariah.

The Pope is siding with evil.

The Pope Emeritus has died at 95.

The attack at the Pelosi house should surprise no one.

$1.75 trillion ain’t $3.5 trillion but it’s something.

Despite a rising groundswell of support, the obvious solution to our crisis has not been implemented.

Only the best people.

The effort to bring Catholic Church officials to justice for their decades of criminal conspiracy and child abuse continues to move forward.

In the latest development in the child sex abuse investigations in the Catholic Church in the United States, five former Priests in Michigan have been arrested on sex abuse charges.

Cardinal George Pell, the top Catholic Cleric in Australia, has been convicted of sexually abusing boys in the 1990s.

Pope Francis defrocked former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick after decades of allegations of abuse of young boys and seminarians.

Two new reports identify hundreds of Catholic Priests who have been credibly accused of abusing children over the past decades.

In a move that is likely to have political and international consequences, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has officially severed ties with Moscow.

With Democrats set to take control of Congress today, a resolution to the shutdown doesn’t appear to be any closer.

A preliminary report from Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan found at least 500 Catholic Priests whose abuse of children had been covered up by Church officials.

A particularly appalling case of press censorship from Australia.

In what seems like another effort at a cover-up, the Vatican vetoed a plan by American Bishops to address the Catholic Church’s abuse scandal.

The vise is tightening on the Catholic Church.

The dispute over Ukraine between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Patriarch is widening and nearing the point of a complete break.

The Catholic Church’s problems may have just gotten a lot more serious.

Pope Francis accepted the resignation of the Archbishop of Washington, D.C this week, but his letter reveals that he still has a blind spot when it comes to the Catholic abuse scandal.

Several states are opening new investigations of the Catholic Church abuse scandal. It’s about time.

A top Vatican official is alleging that Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI were both aware of previously unknown allegations of sexual abuse and chose to allow them to be covered up rather than bringing them to light.

Pope Francis took the rare step of sending a letter addressed to all of the world’s Catholics on the sexual abuse scandal. Words are fine, but they need action to back them up.

A Pennsylvania Grand Jury report reveals decades of abuse by some 300 Catholic Priests impacting more than 1,000 children and 26 of the state’s Roman Catholic Diocese.

In what amounts to a significant, albeit not surprising, change in Catholic doctrine, Pope Francis has declared that the death penalty is unacceptable in all circumstances.

One of the most prominent members of the American Catholic hierarchy has been removed from office in the face of mounting allegations of sexual abuse that stretch back decades.

The Vatican has stopped short of calling the reports “Fake news.”

Descriptions of Robby Jackson as “Trump’s personal physician” mischaracterize his qualifications for the job.

Donald Trump’s first overseas trip went about as badly as you’d expect it would.

President Trump’s speech on Islam was a change of tone. However, as critics noted, it was short on substance and is unlikely to accomplish anything.

The Russia investigation seems to be getting closer to the Oval Office.

For some reason, Joe Lieberman is apparently the front-runner to replace James Comey at the F.B.I.

Donald Trump has been President for nearly four months, but has yet to name Ambassadorial picks for many slots including several important posts.

The Nothing Up My Sleave Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

Associate Justice Antonin Scalia has died at the age of 79.

Pope Francis’s new encyclical isn’t exactly being received positively by American conservatives, because they seem to be missing the point.

The head of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has resigned in the wake of criminal charges for covering up sexual abuse of children.

The Vatican has announced that it will recognize Palestinian statehood, but this is not going to resolve the underlying issues that prevent a Palestinian state from actually coming into existence.

Unlike most world leaders, Pope Francis is wiling to call a genocide a genocide.

Pope Francis says he expects to serve only a short period and plans to follow his predecessor’s example of retiring rather than waiting to die in office.

Pope Francis continues his world tour and has issued a paradox from his private jet.

The resumption of diplomatic relations between U.S. and Cuba, and expansion of some commercial trade ties, is historic but it’s only the first step toward the goal of ending an outdated embargo.

Vatican politics is older than American politics, and can be just as entertaining.