The Pour Over Today - Pope Francis Dies, Signalgate 2.0, & More | 4.23.25

Episode Date: April 23, 2025

Today, we’re talking about the death of Pope Francis and what’s to come for the Vatican, Defense Secretary Hegseth’s latest Signal chat scandal, and other top news for Wednesday, April 23rd. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over Today. Please support our TPO sponsors! Upside: https://links.thepourover.org/Upside Cru: give.cru.org/pour LMNT: https://links.thepourover.org/LMNT_Podcast Student Life Application Study Bible: https://links.thepourover.org/SLASB_Pod Stress Less: https://links.thepourover.org/StressLess Platforms to Pillars: https://links.thepourover.org/PlatformstoPillars Subsplash: subsplash.com/tpo CSB: https://links.thepourover.org/CSB_podcast Field of Greens: FieldofGreens.com

Hey, this is Joe at The Poor Over. And this is Zan at The Poor Over. Today, we're talking about the death of Pope Francis and what's to come for the Vatican, Defense Secretary Hegseth's latest Signal Chat scandal, and other top news for Wednesday, April 23rd. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Poor Over today. Here's your verse of the day. This is how we know what love is.

Jesus Christ laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 1 John 3.16 Let's get started with some espresso shots. Pope Francis, the 266th pope, died early Easter Monday after suffering a stroke and heart failure. The 88-year-old pontiff, who penned a global peace-focused Easter address that was delivered the day before, had been home about a month after his five-week hospitalization for double pneumonia.

Born Jorge Mario Begollo to Italian immigrants in Argentina, Pope Francis, who chose his name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, was the first pope from the Americas. He took over the papacy after Pope Benedict XVI resigned in 2013. Pope Francis' body was moved to St. Peter's Basilica today for public viewing. His days-long funeral will include a public mass, set to begin on Saturday at 10 a.m. local time, 4 a.m. Eastern. All of the 252 cardinals from around the world are expected to attend the funeral, along

with international leaders including President Trump, Ukrainian President Zelensky, and Francis Emmanuel Mejron. The Argentinian pontiff will then be buried at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, a 5th century church in Rome he frequented. Francis was known for his humility, favoring modesty over papal pomp. He championed justice for the poor and marginalized, took action against sexual abuse in the church, and spoke out on issues like refugee migration, war, and climate change.

Considered one of the church's most socially progressive popes, Pope Francis sometimes drew criticism from conservative Catholics. Next month, the around 135-ish voting eligible cardinals, who must be under 80 years old, will meet at the papal conclave. The secretive process involves cardinals being sealed inside the Sistine Chapel to deliberate and vote up to four times a day until two-thirds can agree on who the next pope will be. If no decision is made, they send up black smoke to indicate another day of voting. White smoke indicates a new head of the Catholic Church has been chosen.

Technically any male Catholic is eligible, but current papabale frontrunners include cardinals from Italy, Hungary, Guinea, and the Philippines. God our Rock, be a fortress to us in moments of fear and uncertainty. When unwelcome news shifts our footing and reminds us of our frailty, still our spinning souls and be with us. Psalm 86 verses 5-7 says, For you, Lord, are kind and ready to forgive, abounding in faithful love to all who call on you.

Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cries for mercy. I call on you in the day of my distress, for you will answer me. Same day, same strike plans, different group chat. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is under fire, again, for allegedly sharing U.S. strike plans on Yemen, including flight times and attack coordinates, in a private signal chat with his wife, brother, and personal lawyer. Hegseth already faced criticism for sharing details of the strike in a different Signal Chat, which mistakenly included the Atlantic's editor.

Hegseth denies sharing classified info over Signal and blamed recent reports on, quote, disgruntled former staffers who were fired amid ongoing leak investigations. On Monday, Representative Don Bacon became the first sitting Republican lawmaker to voice support for removing Hegseth. The White House is publicly backing the defense secretary, maintaining no classified info was shared via signal, and dismissing reports that President Trump has quietly begun searching to replace Hegseth as, quote, fake news. excess as, quote, fake news. Whether you're critical of your government or think it's unfairly criticized, the command

for Christians is to love neighbors and enemies alike. That requires speaking about others with dignity and respect, even when we feel like they haven't earned it. James 3 says, With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God's likeness. Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way. Who among you is wise and understanding?

By his good conduct, he should show that his works are done in the gentleness that comes from wisdom. Whether it's for Mother's Day, Father's Day, or Graduation Day, give your loved ones a gift they might actually use forever—a CSB Bible. The CSB is a translation that's both highly readable and true to the original text, making it a great option for all Bible readers. From beautiful note-taking Bibles and comprehensive study Bibles, to new and Old Testament guides and other giftable resources, CSB has a gift for everyone,

no matter your preference or your budget. Plus, with personalization options, you can gift mom, dad, or recent grad with a Bible that's uniquely theirs. Check out the link in the show notes to find the perfect one today. ["The Bible is the Way It Is"] In other brews, here's a rapid round of updates. Harvard's going to court. The university is suing the Trump admin

over a $2.2 billion funding freeze, saying it's unlawful and threatens cancer and Alzheimer's research. The suit targets top government officials, including HHS Secretary RFK Jr. and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, for withholding grants to pressure policy changes. The Trump admin says Harvard's quote,

gravy train of federal assistance, end quote, is ending. COVID is officially over for borrowers. Beginning next month, the Department of Education will resume collections on student loans in default, meaning they haven't been paid for about nine months, for the first time since the pandemic. More than five million borrowers can expect email notifications over the next two weeks, with mandatory collections expected later this summer.

The markets are moving. The S&P 500 dropped Monday after Trump called Fed Chair Powell a quote-unquote major loser, sparking investor fears that the Fed's independence is at risk, but recovered 2.5% yesterday on hopes the U.S.-China trade war may be cooling. Meanwhile, gold briefly topped $3,500 per ounce yesterday, a new all-time record, as investors flock

to the safe haven asset. Russia and Ukraine have both accused each other of breaking a 30-hour Easter truce. In a surprise announcement Saturday, Russia's Putin ordered, quote, all military actions to cease, end quote, from 6 p.m. Saturday to midnight Sunday, and Kyiv agreed. By Monday, Ukraine said Russia violated the truce nearly 3,000 times killing three people while Russia accused Ukraine of launching hundreds of drones and shells. Over 30,000 people with questionable tastes and hobbies, distance runners, laced up for the Boston Marathon Monday. Kenyans

dominated the big race with Johnreer winning the men's race at two hours, four minutes, 45 seconds, 13 years after his brother Wesley won, and Sharon Lichetti winning the women's race at two hours, 17 minutes, and 22 seconds, outrunning the women's 11-year-old course record by two and a half minutes. And that's all we have for today.

Thanks so much for listening, TPO fam. If you're listening on the Apple Podcast app, and a half minutes. And that's all we have for today. Thanks so much for listening, TPO fam. If you're listening on the Apple Podcasts app, give us a five star rating and drop a review. If you're listening on Spotify, give us a follow and hit the notification bell to never miss a new episode. We're grateful for your support and we hope you have a great day. Catch you on Friday.