Joshua Chaffin

New York

Senior Special Writer at The Wall Street Journal

Senior Special Writer, Wall Street Journal, after 25 years at the FT in New York, London, Brussels, DC. Views entirely my own.

Articles

The Final Moments of Two Promising Lives Cut Short by a Gunman Fixated on Gaza

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Joshua Chaffin |Joel Schectman

It was Wednesday evening, around 9 p.m., and Ran Goldstein, a humanitarian aid worker for the Israeli charity IsraAID, had just finished a panel discussion at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. The theme: how organizations like his had managed to work in places like Gaza and Syria to alleviate suffering. “Every evening in Washington is like this,” Goldstein said, recalling the usual procession of cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and networking.
Essay | The Ideological Gurus Battling for the Soul of Trump World

4 weeks ago | wsj.com | Joshua Chaffin |Zusha Elinson

When President Trump announced last month that he would upend decades of American trade policy by imposing massive tariffs even on longtime allies, he aroused the competing spirits of his closest advisers. Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, was all too aware of the disruption tariffs would pose to his electric vehicle company, Tesla, with factories and suppliers around the world.
Ice Cream Prices Spike Across Greece Nearing €3 Per Scoop

4 weeks ago | tovima.com | Joshua Chaffin |Jeanne Whalen |Joe Barrett |John McCormick |John Mccormick

The rising cost of ice cream means that a simple indulgence for a couple—whether in the city or on an island—could now cost up to 12 euros. The wave of price hikes has not spared Greece’s favorite summer delight, as the cost of a single scoop of ice cream edges closer to 3 euros with the arrival of the warmer months. Confectioners report that the surge in raw material costs has been especially harsh on chocolate, which has seen its price skyrocket by 80%.
An American Pope Will Try to Unify a Divided Church

4 weeks ago | wsj.com | Joshua Chaffin |Jeanne Whalen |Joe Barrett |John McCormick |John Mccormick

In selecting Prevost, the Conclave appears to be betting that his mixed identity—a Pope both of America and the world—will serve him well as leader of a global church trying to navigate a time of turmoil and transition. Its center of gravity is increasingly spread across a distant periphery, including Latin America, where Prevost enjoys popularity and strong relationships.
Who is Pope Leo XIV? First American Pope Will Try to Unify a Divided Church

4 weeks ago | wsj.com | Joshua Chaffin |Jeanne Whalen |Joe Barrett |John McCormick |John Mccormick

In selecting Prevost, the conclave appears to be betting that his mixed identity—a pope both of America and the world—will serve him well as leader of a global church trying to navigate a time of turmoil and transition. Its center of gravity is increasingly spread across a distant periphery, including Latin America, where Prevost enjoys popularity and strong relationships.
An American Pope Will Try to Unify a Divided Church

4 weeks ago | tovima.com | Joshua Chaffin |Jeanne Whalen |Joe Barrett |John McCormick |John Mccormick

Onetime math major seen as more measured than Francis; ‘an olive branch to the more conservative wing’When Catholic cardinals broke with convention and elected the first American pope in the church’s nearly 2,000-year history, they settled on a Chicagoan who has spent much of his adult life abroad. Robert Prevost, the cardinal who emerged on the Vatican balcony on Thursday as Pope Leo XIV, lived and worked in Peru as a missionary and parish priest—so long he eventually obtained dual citizenship.
I cattolici conservatori alla conquista della chiesa

1 month ago | internazionale.it | Joshua Chaffin |Aaron Zitner

Il 20 aprile 2025, domenica di Pasqua, poche ore prima della sua morte e nonostante uno stato di salute precario, papa Francesco ha incontrato brevemente in Vaticano il vicepresidente degli Stati Uniti JD Vance. Per Francesco si è trattato dell’ultimo incontro con un rappresentante dell’ala conservatrice del cattolicesimo statunitense, sempre più forte e aggressiva.
As Catholic Church Enters New Era, Conservative U.S. Members Push It Right

1 month ago | tovima.com | Joshua Chaffin |Aaron Zitner

The conservative wing is reviving old practices and growing more assertive in the battle for the future of the Church—and the nationOn Easter Sunday, hours before his death, an ailing Pope Francis roused himself to share a brief meeting at the Vatican with U.S. Vice President JD Vance . For Francis, it was to be a final encounter with a conservative wing of American Catholicism that is flourishing and increasingly assertive at a time when the Church, more broadly, is struggling.
L'Eglise catholique entre dans une nouvelle ère, et les conservateurs américains la poussent vers la droite

1 month ago | lopinion.fr | Joshua Chaffin |Aaron Zitner

Dimanche de Pâques, quelques heures avant son décès, le pape François, très affaibli, a puisé dans ses dernières forces pour une brève entrevue avec le vice-président américain, J.D. Vance, au Vatican.
Conservative Catholicism Stages a Resurgence in the MAGA Era

1 month ago | wsj.com | Joshua Chaffin |Aaron Zitner

FLORISSANT, Mo.—The Catholic Church is struggling in St. Louis. Two years ago, the archdiocese closed or merged dozens of parishes due to declining attendance and a scarcity of priests. But just outside town, on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River, conservative Catholicism is flourishing.