I speak about Pope Leo XIV on The Lead with Jake Tapper

I had the great joy this evening of appearing on CNN's The Lead with Jake Tapper to discuss Pope Leo XIV's election. Later on, I hope to write about the Holy Father's namesake on my Substack, Matters Twomey, which chronicles my work on a biography of the great labor priest (and friend of Martin Luther King) Father Louis J. Twomey, SJ.

I explain to CNN that Church law bars lobbying conclave cardinals

Today on the CNN website, Vatican Correspondent Christopher Lamb's article on an effort by outside organizations to influence cardinals voting in the papal conclave includes a quote from me on what canon law has to say about the matter. In addition to the quote Lamb used in the piece, I told him that Pope John Paul II's apostolic constitution governing conclaves, Universi Dominici Gregis, makes it quite clear that anyone who tries to exercise such influence is automatically excommunicated. To borrow a phrase used by the Canadian Prime Minister to the US President today, the Church is not for sale.

What does St. Joseph have to do with devotion to the Sacred Heart? Watch and find out!

A screenshot from my Sacred Heart talk at St. Joseph's on Capitol Hill

Tonight I had the joy of speaking on my new book The Sacred Heart: A Love for All Times at my home parish, St. Joseph's on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Here is a a link to a brief clip of me speaking about its patron Joseph's love for Jesus. The full-length video appears below. (Some sound problems come up about eleven minutes in, which are resolved after a short while).

I would love to speak about The Sacred Heart in your town! If you would like to bring me to speak, write me at dawneden @ gmail.com.

“Father, I think we have a pope!” Where Peter Is publishes my reflection on Pope Francis

That's me in the pink scarf, awaiting the announcement of the new pope alongside students and a professor at the Dominican House of Studies, Washington, DC, March 13, 2013. Photo by Genevieve Plaster.

At two in the afternoon of March 13, 2013, I popped into the office of a Dominican priest-professor at the Dominican House of Studies to make confession. From where I sat, facing Father’s desk, I could see the bell tower of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, just across Michigan Avenue. 

After Father absolved me, we chatted a bit. Suddenly, as the priest was speaking, the Basilica’s bells started pealing as though summoning the faithful for Mass. But I knew it wasn’t the time for Mass.

“Father!” I interrupted. “I think we have a pope!” 

I have never seen a Dominican run so fast as that priest dashed out the door, sputtering an excuse as he headed to watch the TV in the cloister, his white scapular aflutter. ...

Read the rest in "Francis Remembered: Bishop Richard Umbers and Dawn Eden Goldstein" at Where Peter Is.

Come hear me share the message of my new book on the Sacred Heart

I am excited to have a number of talks lined up to share the message of my new book The Sacred Heart: A Love for All Times, including events in Washington, DC; New Jersey; and West Virginia. Please visit my Upcoming Talks page for details. To bring me to speak in your town, write me at dawneden @ gmail.com.

Watch me remember Pope Francis on CNN International

Early this morning, I had the joy of honoring Pope Francis's memory on CNN International. I am grateful to the producers and to host John Vause for giving me this opportunity. Click here to watch my interview.

Grateful for the life of Pope Francis (updated with additional info)

I met Pope Francis in October 2019 and gave him copies of my books My Peace I Give You and Remembering God's Mercy in Italian and Spanish translations.

In 2023, Pope Francis thanked me for the copy I sent him of my biography of his fellow Jesuit Father Edward Dowling, SJ. He included prayer cards with novenas to St. Joseph and St. Thérèse of Lisieux.

I am grateful for the life of Pope Francis, for his papacy, his deep faith, his inspiration, and his great love for every human being. When I met him in 2019 and struggled to speak in broken Spanish, he grasped my hand, looked me in the eyes, and said warmly in English, "Pray for me, I pray for you!"

"Always!" I exclaimed.

On the day of Pope Francis's election, I wrote that he would be the "Pope of Divine Mercy." Later on, I wrote a book, Remembering God's Mercy, on his spirituality for healing from trauma. At the start of chapter 1, which you can read online, I describe how, when he was a seminarian, a near-death experience led him to a new understanding of how Jesus meets us in our pain.

More recently, I praised how Francis brought the world together to pray at the darkest hour of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please join me in praying for the guidance of the Holy Spirit for those participating in the papal conclave, so that the new pope too will radiate the light of Christ to the world as Francis did during the time he was with us.

Listening to the Sacred Heart

The Sacred Heart tops the Audible chart, April 11, 2025

Today I had the joy of finding that the Audible edition of my new book The Sacred Heart: A Love for All Times was at the top of the list of new releases in Christian Saints & Sainthood at Amazon.com.

Another way to hear the message of The Sacred Heart is through the webinar that I gave last week, which was hosted by my publisher, Loyola Press—see below. Please watch, listen, and share! Thank you and God bless you.

 

"If you’re a Catholic, you don’t just choose your own adventure"

I am grateful to Washington Post reporter Peter Jamison for quoting me in his new article on a Catholic politician who has antagonized the U.S. bishops. Jamison approached me for comment after I wrote an article for Where Peter Is on a related topic, "A Tale of Two Converts."