I would like to thank Fr. Thomas Rosica, C.S.B., for inviting me to write the first of several reflections of what it means to work as an agent of life on the front lines. When I was fourteen years old, I saw the documentary, “The Silent Scream” which depicted an abortion from the perspective of ...read more

Politics and religion may be walking a tight line together come Easter weekend this year. Elections Canada announced last week that advanced polling will take place on the Friday, Saturday and Monday of Easter weekend, which means a possible influx of parishioners and partisans at a parish hall near you. As is customary in elections, ...read more

Christ asks us to do it. In fact, He prays that we will. Ecumenism, how do we live it? This was the question we asked you, our viewers throughout the past week. John Stein writes via Facebook: “To see ecumenism as a pre-existing reality in the mind of God, accomplished by Christ Jesus. We must ...read more

At last Sunday’s Angelus, Pope Benedict expressed his concern for the safety of the civilian population in Libya. Catholic News Service’s Rome correspondent Carol Glatz and Rome Bureau Chief John Thavis report the Vatican is concerned about what is happening in that country on a number of levels. To download Flash Player please click here ...read more

It’s becoming a common affliction across Canada: election fatigue. But as the country gets ready for its fourth federal election in seven years, the Church is reminding us just what is at stake. Hours after the government fell last week, the Canadian bishops released their 2011 Federal Election Guide. They want the faithful to evaluate ...read more

VALENCIA, Spain — In medieval Valencia carpenters would mark the feast of St. Joseph by clearing their workshops of old projects, prototypes, pieces that didn’t work out, etc. On the eve of the feast of St. Joseph Valencian carpenters would set these pieces on fire. This fire was considered a purifying fire, eliminating the old ...read more

Protecting the family and John Paul II’s beatification headline news out of the Vatican today. Catholic News Service’s Rome Bureau Chief John Thavis reports. To download Flash Player please click here ...read more

When Benedict became Pope, he emphasized that the question of God is the first question of all and that this question necessarily involves all of us without distinction. Vatican spokesperson, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi recalled the Holy Father’s firm resolve to dialogue with the unbelieving world since the early dawn of his papacy. Pope Benedict ...read more

Ukrainian Catholics have a surprising new leader. In February, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, retired for health reasons. Its bishops convened a synod last week and, after a four-day ‘conclave’, elected Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk as their new leader. He becomes the Major-Archbishop of Kyiv-Halych, the archiepiscopal see where the Ukrainian ...read more

Focolare comes from the Italian word meaning “hearth” or “family fireside”. This is a concept whose absence has been sorely felt in our times. People don’t gather around warmth communally anymore. Since the time of the fireside gatherings we have scrambled and sought ways to replicate this unique-and necessary- source of fellowship and solidarity that ...read more