BLOG: Fr. Raphael Ma, CR
At 11:30 this morning in the Holy See Press Office, the Press Conference was held to present the Jubilee of Mercy that will formally begin on December 8, 2015 and conclude on November 20, 2016. The Conference was led by Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization ...read more
Cheridan Sanders speaks with Shannon Joseph, President of Trends about fashion and faith. Is it possible to be both fashionable and modest? For a few years there, I felt as if the only way I could dress modestly was to look as if I’d been locked up in an underground bunker for the last twenty years. ...read more
When I was a kid, growing up in Panama, quite often, our parents would take us to the Convent of the Visitation to visit with (no pun intended) the sisters. The Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary was founded by St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane Frances de Chantal in France in 1610 ...read more
Here’s what’s been happening across the country this week: In Ottawa, the mother of one of the 43 student teachers who disappeared in Mexico has asked the Canadian government to take Mexico off its list of safe countries. In Winnipeg, reflecting on euthanasia and and palliative care brought out this touching story of the kind ...read more
This week we learned that Pope Francis’ encyclical on human ecology should be released in June. Environmental groups welcomed the news warmly while skeptics told anyone who would listen that the pope is being taken for a ride by new-age tree huggers. Whatever one’s opinion on environmental issues, the encyclical has been written and is ...read more
The World Meeting of Families is the world’s largest Catholic gathering of families. Each meeting has a theme that enlivens the event and adds great depth to our understanding of contemporary family life. This year’s theme is “Love Is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive,” emphasizing that love of God and neighbor, taught and experiences ...read more
Join us in prayer for the intentions entrusted to us by Pope Francis. For May 2015, we join the Holy Father in praying for: Care for the suffering. That, rejecting the culture of indifference, we may care for our neighbors who suffer, especially the sick and the poor. Openness to mission. That Mary’s intercession may help ...read more
For some time now we have been anticipating the forthcoming encyclical by Pope Francis on the environment. Some would trace the anticipation as far back as that unforgettable audience with journalists a few days after the Pope’s election where he explained the reasons behind his choice of the name Francis, after the beloved Francis of ...read more
(Vatican Radio)  The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met with Pope Francis in the Vatican on Tuesday before going on to address a conference exploring the moral issues connected to climate change. The one day international symposium has been organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and will include a video message to participants ...read more
Today on Perspectives, Pope Francis appoints members to a new Vatican Commission for Communications, the Holy Father meets with the Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission and a special concert coming to the Vatican. ...read more