This year marks 50 years since the end of the Second Vatican Council and the promulgation of several key documents that shaped the church. There is one document, not part of the official canon of Vatican II documents, that shaped the church just as much yet has been almost forgotten. It is called the Catacombs ...read more

As part of my documentary about women in the Church, this week I followed Sr. Helen Prejean as she she worked to save the life of Richard Glossip, a man on death row in Oklahoma. The week began on a grim note. Richard’s execution was only a few days away and there seemed to be no ...read more

This Sunday, Salt + Light TV will broadcast a feature presentation of Media Apostle: The Father James Alberione Story. As a young man, James Alberione was kicked out of the seminary–in part because of his misuse of media–but he turned himself around and went on to found a worldwide Catholic media empire and the Pauline Family—10 ...read more

A household name for many, the Knights of Columbus have grown into the world’s largest lay Catholic organization. But, surprisingly, there’s still a lot of mystery that surrounds these noble men. In light of the upcoming Supreme Convention, we thought you might want to find out why the Knights remain the ‘Strong Arm of the Church’. ...read more

It often happens that Fr. Tom Rosica will pile us all into a van and take us on a ‘road trip’, of sorts. This time it was just a jaunt across the border into Buffalo for this year’s Catholic Press Association Convention. The Convention was an opportunity to refine and update our skills, and meet ...read more

Pope Paul VI and Cardinal Karol Wojtyla meet at the Vatican. Paul VI, who served in Poland during his early priesthood, held the future Pope John Paul II in high regard. (CNS file photo) No doubt you’ve seen those cheesy beer ads about ‘the most interesting man in the world’. For the record, Pope John ...read more

It is not unheard of for non-Catholics to visit Catholic churches and shrines. It is less common to have non-Catholics visit those sites, pray alongside the faithful and claim to have received graces through the experience. Sri Lanka’s Madhu Shrine is such a site, and it had a profound effect on Pope Francis. The shrine ...read more

Have you ever sat in mass and prayed really hard – “please God, please. Let this be over soon!” Somewhere between the grumpy greeter, the off-key cantor, the lackluster homily and your own unenthusiastic recitation of the Creed, you realize that there’s something terribly wrong with this picture. I don’t want to be here! Is ...read more

Pope Francis delivered his Christmas present to the Church a little late, but still well within the liturgical Christmas season. On January 4, while leading the Angelus, Pope Francis announced the names of the 15 men under 80 he wants to elevate to the rank of cardinal. Among them are Latin Americans, Africans, Asians, and ...read more

In the past week, I’ve been trying to imagine what our world would be like had Jesus never been born. (Check out part 1 and part 2) It’s easy to say that The Church would not exist or that we would have no Pope. There would be no priests, deacons, religious sisters or brothers, nor ...read more