Latest news with #SermonontheMound
Mint
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Mint
Baseball-White Sox or Cubs? Popes Chicago baseball allegiance debated
CHICAGO, May 8 (Reuters) - One question consuming Chicago baseball fans: What team does Pope Leo support? The Windy City is notoriously split between White Sox and Cubs supporters, a rivalry between the south and north sides. Father Gregory Sakowicz, rector of Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral, said he was in shock when Leo was named pope on Thursday. "He was not on my short, short list," he said. "I think he's going to be very strong on the immigrant, human rights and the care for the Earth." Sakowicz said one burning question was whether the pontiff was a fellow fan of the Chicago White Sox baseball team, as he grew up near the team's stadium on the city's south side, or of their crosstown rivals, the Chicago Cubs. "I heard he's a Cubs fan," he said. The Cubs themselves claimed Leo as one of their own, posting on their X account congratulations and a photo of the iconic Wrigley Field sign with the words: "Hey, Chicago. He's a Cubs fan!" "Not only would we welcome Pope Leo XIV to Wrigley Field, he could sing 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame,'" Cubs Executive Chairman Tom Ricketts said in a statement, referring to the song that fans belt out during the middle of the seventh inning. Ricketts also invited the pope to deliver a "Sermon on the Mound" at the ballpark. However, Chicago's local television station WGN9 interviewed the pope's brother John Prevost, on Thursday, who cleared up the matter: Pope Leo is a fan of the White Sox, he said. (Additional reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Michael Perry)
Chicago Tribune
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Is Pope Leo XIV a Chicago Cubs fan? He already has an invite to Wrigley Field from Tom Ricketts.
It didn't take long for Chicago Cubs fans to welcome the first American pope into their arms. When Pope Leo XIV's election was announced Thursday, ABC News reported Robert Prevost of Dolton was a Cubs fan. The jokes were flying on social media, many of them suggesting Pope Leo XIV was a perfect choice to heal the world's suffering, thanks to his allegiance to the Cubs. That begged the question: Would the Cubs ask the new pope to throw out a ceremonial first pitch at Wrigley Field? A message to the Cubs got a quick response. 'Not only would we welcome Pope Leo XIV to Wrigley Field, he could sing 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame,'' Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts said in a statement. 'Or, since three of his predecessors visited Yankee Stadium, including Pope Paul VI who delivered the 1965 'Sermon on the Mound,' we would invite the Pontiff to do the same at the Friendly Confines.' The Cubs have had many celebrities perform the stretch after Harry Caray's death in 1998 began the tradition of guest singers, from Mike Ditka to Hillary Clinton. But they've yet to have a pope in the booth singing and then imploring the Cubs to 'get some runs.' If his Northside fandom is confirmed, Pope Leo XIV would automatically become the world's most famous Cubs fan, eclipsing Bill Murray for the top spot. The Cubs have a team chaplain, Rev. Burke Masters, who celebrates mass at the ballpark on Sundays, with Wrigley Field employees, including players, team personnel and ushers. During the Cubs' playoff run in 2016, Rev. Masters was asked if praying was going to help the Cubs win the World Series. 'Ultimately, I don't think God cares who wins or loses,' Masters said. 'But it can't hurt.' The Cubs currently sit in first place in the National League Central and now might have a connection with the Big Guy in Pope Leo XIV. If he really is a diehard Cubs fan, Pope Leo XIV probably can let his followers know with a familiar Latin phrase that every fans knows: … 'Lets go Cubs.'
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Illinois Democrats vow to push back on Trump administration cuts to programs, staff
CHICAGO — Members of Illinois' Democratic delegation in Congress gathered Monday to rail against Trump administration cuts to the federal government at the direction of billionaire Elon Musk. The most recent cuts — hundreds of employees at the Federal Aviation Administration terminated — made headlines shortly before the delegation's press conference at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, an organization that receives 84% of its $41 million budget from federal funds. Since Donald Trump's inauguration, Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has fired thousands of federal workers and either slashed or halted funding for a number of programs. 'What is the plan? Why are they doing all this? If it's to create a fund to give tax breaks to the wealthiest people in the United States, say it. At least let us know what you're doing here,' said Sen. Dick Durbin. The lawmakers say cuts to social safety programs including Medicaid, housing assistance and food safety, are directly related to the $4.5 trillion the administration wants to give in the form of tax breaks to corporations at the expense of lower-income and middle class Americans. 'We are now sitting here today because the Republican Party is saying, 'I need to give a $4.5 trillion tax cut to the wealthiest among us, and because I've made that decision I need to figure out how to cut services to our seniors, to our veterans, cut our air traffic controllers, cut funding for research,' — do all these things that's like a Bizarro version of Sermon on the Mound,' said Rep. Sean Casten (D-Illinois). While challenges to funding cuts make their way through the courts, their impact is being felt in Chicago and across the country, from school districts to non-profits that provide health care and other services. 'These services are critical for every day citizens,' said Erica Bland with SEIU Healthcare. 'Illinois nursing homes are funded 70% with Medicaid. Illinois safety net hospitals, which provide care for the most vulnerable, are funded 50% by Medicaid. And 42% of births in the United States are funded by Medicaid.' Dan Montgomery, president and chief operating officer of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, said his mother's recent could could have been impacted by cuts. 'In her old age, she lived almost entirely on Social Security. She didn't have a lot of money when she died at home with dignity, in her house in her bed,' he said. 'It was with hospice paid for by Medicare. That situation is repeated by millions of people in this country. That's what's at risk.' Casten, among those who have pointed to the moves made so far as priorities of Project 2025, which was dismissed by Trump during his campaign, also claimed that the president would not have won election had he and Republicans 'been honest with the American people about what they wanted to do.' Casten said it's important for Democrats to continue to talk about the administration's 'unpopular ideas' and 'drive down Trump's popularity.' 'Let's get this done,' he said. 'We are in a constitutional crisis.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
