For most North American Vatican-watchers, this week was supposed to be about the first meeting between Pope Francis and President Barack Obama. Once again, Pope Francis diverted people’s attention and forced a substitution of headlines. The Diocese of Rome hosted a Penitential Service on Friday evening, during which Pope Francis was scheduled to hear confessions ...read more

Pope John Paul II appears from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica after his election Oct. 16, 1978. The pope, who died April 2, 2005, will be canonized at the Vatican April 27, 2014.(CNS file photo)  ...read more

Perhaps you saw the epic mini-series “The Bible” when it aired on the History Channel. After their success with the mini series, producers Roma Downey (Touched by and Angel) and Mark Burnett decided to go further and bring the life of Jesus to the big screen. Following in the footsteps of Franco Zefferelli’s “Jesus of ...read more

Mourners hold banners that read “sainthood now” during the funeral Mass for Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican April 9, 2005. (CNS photo/Reuters) Everyone in the office knows that I love Pope John Paul II. In fact, I have a huge image of him on my desk which I proudly ...read more

Tonight on  Perspectives The German Bishop investigated for over spending resigns and we take a look at today’s general audience ...read more

My husband and I watch a lot of historical dramas and one of our favourite games to play is “Catch the Catholic” where we look for Catholics working in the background doing this or that while the main drama unfolds in the foreground. Recently, while watching the HBO series John Adams, the story of the ...read more

St. Benedict opens his Rule with an invitation to, “Listen… with the ear of your heart.” (Prologue)  That’s what thousands of people around the world have done with the beautiful chant and hymns sung by the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles in the diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in Missouri, USA. The simple and ...read more

Statement released by the Holy See Press Office The Holy Father Francis has instituted the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which was announced on Dec. 5, 2013, and called to be a part of it: Dr. Catherine Bonnet (France) Mrs. Marie Collins (Ireland) Prof. the Baroness Sheila Hollins (United Kingdom) Card. Sean Patrick ...read more

  The Vatican, the Anglican Communion, the Al Azhar Mosque and the Walk Free Foundation have joined forces to eliminate slavery and human trafficking by the end of the decade. The four parties launched the Global Freedom Network this week at the Vatican. The network aims to get 162 governments commit to endorse it and ...read more

Get ready to be schooled. In Episode 3, The Ineffable Mystery of God, of Fr. Robert Barron’s Catholicism series, we learn all about the nature of God, or put more precisely: how little we can know of God.  I realize that sounds contradictory, but as Fr. Barron presents the classical Christian arguments for the existence of ...read more