Vatican spokesperson Fr. Federico Lombardi is expected to announce that Pope Benedict XVI is meeting with a group of several victims of clergy sexual abuse. Sources have revealed this to Salt + Light journalist David Naglieri as he, along with a group of Vatican accredited journalists, awaits an imminent briefing by Fr. Lombardi at the ...read more

I’m sending this report from the NBC press box overlooking several hundred concelebrants in Washington’s Nationals Stadium. The NBC cameras will be filming a live interview with me for CBC Newsworld at 10:15am ET. Though leaving the press corps feels risky given last night’s bus debacle, secret service has been helpful. On the way upstairs, ...read more

“Can I help you?”, asked an angelic looking twenty-something. Her glossy ID tags suggested she might be of assistance, but I had been disappointed by many officials before her. I had found myself stranded at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. The police-escorted media bus that drove us here had to ...read more

That’s the traditional papal birthday greeting, which means “May you live many more years!” (Credit to the USCCB Papal Visit Blog–I don’t know latin.) No doubt, President George W. Bush will wish Pope Benedict XVI a happy 81st birthday as he arrives at the White House one hour from now. S+L CEO Fr. Thomas Rosica ...read more

From David Naglieri, on the ground at Andrews Air Force Base: “The plane has landed. Anticipation is at a fever pitch. As soon as the Alitalia plane landed at the Air Force base, the crowd erupted in applause. There are dozens of high school students and young Catholics from various parishes throughout the United States ...read more

While I’m here sipping coffee in the media centre—now humbly surrounded by some of America’s most celebrated religion journalists—my colleague David Naglieri has just arrived at Andrews Air Force Base. Though his hour long delay to board the media bus was long, this is nothing compared to the two and a half hour wait for ...read more

Last night was like the quiet before the storm, as the D.C. media centre was strangely silent apart from us and the delightful Timothy Drake, author of the National Catholic Register’s Pope2008.com blog. The centre is filling up this morning as more than 5000 reporters have sought accreditation. Until the events begin, CNN Headline News’ ...read more

To predict what Pope Benedict XVI will say to the UN General Assembly on April 18th, let’s consider what was said the last time a pontiff addressed the General Assembly on October 5th, 1995: “[We have] supported the ideals and goals of the United Nations Organization from the very beginning. … Fifty years after its ...read more

This is my tenth Palm Sunday. I remember having to squint as I walked to Church, ten years ago this morning, as the sun reflected off the remaining snow. Winter, like Lent, was nearly over and the air was filled with an organic odour that may have been repellant, were it not for the new ...read more

Could the Church’s new environmental emphasis be a myth? Some commentators tried to argue as much. It’s true that the Pope’s statements on the subject are given a disproportionate share of the headlines lately. That said, surely the Holy Father now knows that every green comment he makes will appear in the mainstream media. Yet ...read more