Pastors, educators and parents must be attentive to young people experiencing a crisis due to homosexual feelings. The Canadian bishops makes this recommendation in Pastoral Ministry to Young People with Same-Sex Attraction, authored by the Episcopal Commission for Doctrine. The bishops begin by stating that “only what is true can ultimately be pastoral.” As such, ...read more

The Vatican returned to the contentious issue of HIV/AIDS prevention at a conference sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers. One hundred invited experts ranged from theologians to doctors. Speakers included Michel Sidibe, the executive director of UNAIDS, and Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s Secretary of State. Another participant was Edward C. Green, ...read more

While Pope Benedict frequently invites Catholics to pray for particular causes, he has made a unique, official appeal for the Church in China. Speaking at the General Audience last Wednesday, he said that “all Catholics throughout the world have a duty to pray for the Church in China: those members of the faithful have a ...read more

The following is an unofficial English translation of the Rite of Beatification of John Paul II, pronounced moments ago in St. Peter’s Square. RITE OF BEATIFICATION 1. CARDINAL AGOSTINO VALLINI, VICAR GENERAL OF ROME: Beatissimo Padre, il Vicario Generale di Vostra Santità per la Diocesi di Roma domanda umilmente alla Santità Vostra di voler iscrivere ...read more

In an Easter Vigil liturgy that included six readings, Pope Benedict chose to focus on the first one. In explaining the selection of the reading from the first chapter of Genesis, the Pope asks, “Is it really important to speak also of creation during the Easter Vigil? Could we not begin with the events in ...read more

To mark the beginning of Holy Week, Benedict XVI preached on the Lord’s ascent to Jerusalem, which was commemorated liturgically with the blessing of palm branches and the procession with them before Mass. In his homily, the Holy Father said that man seeks to follow Jesus “along the high road that leads to the living ...read more

It’s becoming a common affliction across Canada: election fatigue. But as the country gets ready for its fourth federal election in seven years, the Church is reminding us just what is at stake. Hours after the government fell last week, the Canadian bishops released their 2011 Federal Election Guide. They want the faithful to evaluate ...read more

Ukrainian Catholics have a surprising new leader. In February, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, retired for health reasons. Its bishops convened a synod last week and, after a four-day ‘conclave’, elected Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk as their new leader. He becomes the Major-Archbishop of Kyiv-Halych, the archiepiscopal see where the Ukrainian ...read more

Pope Benedict released a flock of doves — a symbol of peace — as he consecrated the Roman parish of St. Corbinian this weekend. Likewise, he revealed that his prayers have been focused on a resolution to the escalating war in Libya. American and British forces launched airstrikes against Libya this weekend. The coalition mission, ...read more

World Youth Day pilgrims are internationally-renowned for being polite. So it must have been in hushed tones that some expressed their dissent. Not to Pope Benedict, who generated enthusiastic responses at the Cologne and Sydney events in ’05 and ’08, respectively. Nor to the selection of this year’s host city, sunny Madrid. But rather, displeasure ...read more