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

Below is Pope Benedict’s official message for this year’s World Day of Communications, which will be celebrated on May 20. The release of this message coincides with the feast day of St. Francis de Sales, who is the patron Saint for journalists and those who work in mass media and communications. This year, the theme ...read more

Last week I blogged about the importance of the Second Vatican Council in the life of the Church, and the responsibility of all Catholics to be proactive with the graces entrusted to them.  The fruits of that Council, namely the documents themselves and the broader shift in ecclesial mentality, are perhaps the greatest and most ...read more

Over Christmas we were stunned by images of bloody attacks on Christians in Nigeria. This past week more attacks were carried out in the North of Nigeria by a radical Islamist group. However, this time most of the victims were Muslims. Catholic News Service’s Carol Glatz filed this report. ...read more

Without a doubt we have all heard the news concerning Costa Concordia, a cruise ship that ran aground off the coast of Giglio, Italy on Jan. 13. At the latest count, 11 people have been confirmed dead and another 21 passengers, including an American Catholic couple en route to Rome, are still missing. Following the ...read more

Tonight on Perspectives: The Weekly Edition, Pedro speaks with Rev. Dr. Karen Hamilton, General Secretary of the Canadian Council of Churches, and Fr. Damian MacPherson, SA, director of the Office of Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs of the Archdiocese of Toronto, to discuss the sticking points and the intrinsic opportunities of ecumenical dialogue. ...read more

Today is very exciting day at Salt + Light: the Chinese language edition of Perspectives goes on air for the first time. The five minute show will air throughout the week at the start of the Chinese programming segment for the day. Like its English and French language siblings, the Chinese edition brings viewers stories ...read more

Back in September of 2010 when Pope Benedict XVI made his pastoral visit to England and Scotland to beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman, we introduced you to a unique group of youth Catholics known as “Catholic Voices”. The pope’s visit to Britain provokes not a little controversy, with many Britons insisting their tax dollars should ...read more

This week the church asks us to pray for Christian unity. What does that mean? Why do we pray for Christian unity? As Christ said to God Our Father “they may all be one, as we are one” (Jo 17, 21) we have to look not to the things that keep us separated as Christians, ...read more

When I was a kid, I’d ask my mom a million questions. Stuff like, how long is a centipede? Why does the sun rise in the morning, and why does Fr. Ballmeier wear a ‘scarf’ (chasuble) during mass? Everyone knows at least one child like me who is insatiably curious. And we’ve all been on ...read more