A week or so ago, President Trump and Pope Leo were in the news, engaged in the question of war. The news world erupted at the event, and the story dominated television newscasts, newspapers and online sources for days. 

I commented on it in this blog last week, but I have been waiting for more substantial coverage of  the story. I came upon this Youtube podcast from the London Review of Books and thought I would pass it on. 

The podcast is mostly about Pope Leo and the recent history of the Catholic Church. Our scripture readings these weeks of the Easter season, describing its early growth, emphasize the unexpected events, like the persecution of the Hellenists and the conversion of Paul, that bring changes to the church. 

The podcast participants see the pope and Catholic just war principle influenced by the Cold War threats of nuclear war in the 1960s and the Iran War today. As leaders of the church recent popes from John XXIII, to John Paul II, to Francis, to Leo respond to the the “signs of the time.”

Like shepherds, they respond to what the day brings.

The Spirit works that way.