In recent months I’ve had many conversations about what it means to be a “religious” person. Not in the sense of a religious vocation or the priestly life, but as one of the majority of those who profess the Creed from the pews on Sunday – the laity. These conversations have come from across the ...read more

This Sunday was the World day of Prayer for those suffering from Leprosy, a new blessed was recognized in a ceremony in Vienna, and it was the Day of Prayer for Peace in the Holy Land.  It has become customary for the pope to have two children from Italy’s Catholic Action group join him at ...read more

It’s easy to take ecumenism for granted in Canada, even during this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Of course, the full expression of visible unity has not been achieved, and won’t likely occur within our lifetime. But we have grown so accustomed to respectful relations and cooperative efforts on social issues that our prayers ...read more

I was pleased on Tuesday morning to see the movie “The Tree of Life” nominated for an Oscar. It was probably one of the most beautiful movies I have ever watched. The beginning of the movie is a citation from the book of Job: “Where were you when I founded the earth…while the morning stars ...read more

Fr. James Phalan, CSC is the director of Family Rosary International, one of the many ministries of the Holy Cross order. His ministry takes him around the world visiting Catholic communities of all shapes, sizes, and demographics. This past week he was in the Philippines and wrote this piece for the Family Rosary blog “World ...read more

Benedict XVI celebrated Vespers on January 25 to mark both the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul and the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The liturgy, which was attended by representatives of various Christian denominations, took place at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls. The video of his homily is ...read more

Last Monday, hundreds of thousands of pro-lifers marched in Washington for the 39th March for Life.  Despite the January weather, this is consistently one of the largest annual protests in Washington. Even though the title of the protest is “for life” it is very clear that this event is specifically an anti-abortion event. The March ...read more

Tonight on Perspectives I talk to Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton about two recent trips he made: one to Haiti and one to the Holy Land as president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. ...read more

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity concludes Wednesday on the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle. Tomorrow we get to hear the Pope’s reflections on Christian unity as he presides over Vespers at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. He will be joined by representatives of other ...read more

On a recent episode of Perspectives Weekly, I participated in our year-in-review panel with my colleagues Alicia Ambrosio and Cheridan Eygelaar. One of the trends mentioned was the upturn in seminary enrollment. The news that some seminaries are full contradicts the conventional narrative: that vocations to the priesthood are on the decline and will keep ...read more