It’s hard to believe but World Youth Day is celebrating its silver anniversary! Twenty-five years ago Venerable John Paul II launched the annual meeting for young people and Pope Benedict XVI reflected on this milestone in his annual World Youth Day message which was released on Monday. Apart from the international World Youth Day gatherings, ...read more

The Christian Churches in the Holy Land are often characterized as intractably, scandalously divided. The impression is not without reason, as evidenced by the embarrassing 2008 skirmishes between Greek Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox monks in Jerusalem’s Holy Sepulchre—the church recognized as the site of Calvary and Jesus’ empty tomb. It would be wrong, however, to ...read more

Posted below is a transcript of Cardinal William Joseph Levada’s address on Anglicanorum coetibus, delivered March 6th in Kingston, Ontario. The American Cardinal, who serves in the Vatican as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was introduced by the chaplain of the Queen’s University Newman Centre, Fr. Raymond de Souza. Note ...read more

Pope Benedict XVI offered prayers at his Sunday Angelus Address yesterday for Chile. A 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit the South American nation on Saturday.  At least 700 have been killed, half-a-million homes destroyed, and 1.5 million people affected. “My thought goes out to Chile and the populations affected by the earthquake, which caused numerous losses ...read more

I’m seeing more than a few Facebook statuses that indicate many of my friends and family members are still undecided on how they will enter into the spirit of the Lent. If you fall into this category, or even if you are looking to be inspired on how to bolster your existing Lenten regimen, tune ...read more

Our Catholic faith is rich with many signs and symbols. Of significance today is of course the ashes and cross that mark the beginning of the season of Lent.  As the sign of the cross is made on our forehead we are reminded that we are “dust and unto dust you shall return.”  Our humanity, ...read more

If you watched S+L’s presentation of the General Audience earlier today, you know already that this week’s papal event was a little peculiar. The location was typical–the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall–as was Pope Benedict’s catechesis on St. Dominic, which was in keeping with his running series on medieval theologians. The usual script was interrupted, however, ...read more

Pope Benedict is encouraging priests to embrace new media and thus “give a soul” to the internet. The priest’s place in the digital world was the focus of his message for the 44th World Day of Communications, which was released this morning on the eve of the feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint ...read more

The president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli presented Salt + Light Television CEO Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB, to Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday, October 29th. A consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Fr. Rosica was among those in attendance at the Apostolic Palace for an address by ...read more

John Allen Jr.’s recent National Catholic Reporter column discusses reaction to Father Thomas Rosica’s comments on the Kennedy Funeral. Incivility hurts the pro-life cause by John L Allen Jr Sep. 11, 2009 One bit of gallows humor in Catholic circles is that sometimes the worst enemies of the pro-life movement are pro-lifers themselves. The point ...read more