The local Church or diocese established in Rome was founded by the two Apostles Peter and Paul and sanctified by the lives of many martyrs. As the spiritual leader of the worldwide Catholic Church, the Pope is also the Bishop of Rome in the footsteps of St. Peter the Apostle, the first Pope and Bishop ...read more

  By Sebastian Gomes It seems that no event or program of the Vatican or the Pope can occur without the question of continuity being raised.  With Tuesday’s release of the Preparatory Document for next October’s Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the Context of Evangelization, already there has ...read more

Well, there’s good news! We’ve made recent episodes of The Church Alive show available online so you can re-watch or catch-up on episodes that have already aired. Visit our website for the latest episode, peruse through the schedule to see what you can look forward to or play-back old episodes. In the meantime, watch our ...read more

At a press conference in Rome this morning, Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri formally presented the preparatory document for the upcoming Extraordinary Synod on Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the Context of Evangelization. Archbishop Baldisseri, the head of the Synod of Bishops, said the family is an area that the church will work on for the ...read more

This week’ Vatican Connections looks at the innovations of Pope Francis: using the Vatican’s media spokesperson to confirm the date of a consistory for new Cardinals, and celebrating All Saints day Mass at the Verano Cemetary for the first time in 20 years. Plus we bring you a look at the Vatican’s involvement in the ...read more

An Austrian farmer and father of four, Franz Jäggerstätter was faced with the choice to serve in Hitler’s army or to face execution. A devout Catholic and loving husband and father, Franz struggled with his responsibilities to his family and to state authority, but in the end felt he could not betray God and his ...read more

By Mary Rose Bacani Valenti We were riding on the subway with a friend of ours a few years ago.  He started to tell the story of Chiara Luce, an Italian teenager who was then recently beatified.  When he mentioned her name, Richard and I immediately looked at each other.  I knew we were both ...read more

This post comes to us from Leanna Cappiello, a former Salt + Light intern, turned blogger and storyteller. This post was first published online by The Catholic Register. You can read Leanna’s blog Curious Catholic, on The Catholic Register’s website. Before Vatican II, the laity served a passive role in the Church behind ordained religious ...read more

Tonight on  Perspectives the Catholic Organization for Life and Family releases a statement on euthanasiaAnd we take a look at today’s general audience ...read more

Two weeks ago there was a huge victory for opponents of euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada in a case that determined that doctors must obtain consent before removing life-support from a patient. The case was that of Hassan Rasouli who apparently was misdiagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state since October 2010. According ...read more