The News You May Have Missed: May 2026

The Pope’s Old Pals

On the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Pope Leo XIV met with some of his eighth-grade classmates from St. Mary of the Assumption in Chicago (EWTN News, March 23). Of the 82 eighth-graders with whom he attended St. Mary’s, ten were present to greet him, exchanging laughs, gifts, and handshakes. They gave him a photograph of the class of 1969, which he held as he posed with the group for an updated shot over 50 years later. St. Mary of the Assumption in the 1960s was at the center of a vibrant Catholic community in the Riverdale neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. Now privately owned, the church building has been vacant since 2011; has a hole in the roof, broken windows, and water damage; and is listed on Preservation Chicago’s “7 Most Endangered List.” As the city considers a landmark designation, the group launched a petition to “Save the Pope’s Church!”

Priestly Plunderer

The dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Pittsburgh resigned after being arrested for stealing more than $1,000 worth of baseball cards (CBS News, March 16). Police caught the Very Rev. Aidan Smith, 42, with 27 packs of cards concealed under his clothing after responding to a call from Walmart security, who said Smith was in the store again after having stolen from it previously. In announcing Smith’s resignation, Bishop Ketlen Solak said the diocese was investigating whether the priest had sold cathedral-owned items on eBay. An unidentified buyer reported unwittingly purchasing several historical cathedral artifacts, including a program from a 1912 memorial service for victims of the Titanic, a letter from Union General George Meade, and a 1908 invitation from King Edward VII of England. Upon learning of the sales, diocesan officials went to Smith’s home and recovered several items. As for the baseball cards, Smith faces charges of retail theft and receiving stolen property and is free on $50,000 bail.

Reduction in the Rhineland

Over the past six years, the number of students enrolled in Catholic theology programs in Germany has nearly halved, raising questions about the future of priestly formation, parish life, pastoral leadership, and diocesan structures (Zenit News, Feb. 14). Total enrollment in full-time Catholic theology programs fell from 2,675 students to 1,412. Public universities, long considered the intellectual backbone of German Catholic theological scholarship, have borne the brunt of the downturn. At the University of Münster, Germany’s largest theological center, the number of students fell from 1,012 to 444. A few institutions, however, have experienced modest growth. The recently established Hochschule für Katholische Theologie in Cologne expanded from 46 to 82 students — nearly doubling its enrollment. But this limited gain comes amid otherwise pervasive decline. The degree at stake, the Magister Theologiae, is not merely an academic credential but represents the traditional and canonical pathway to priestly ordination and is required for various forms of pastoral ministry in the Church.