It’s always a nice confirmation when the Pope says the same thing you’ve been trying to say. (Maybe he read my blog from last week?) Last Wednesday, Pope Francis’ General Audience Address was titled, God’s Justice is Mercy. You can listen to the Vatican Radio report here: In short, Pope Francis is eloquently making the ...read more

In the brief hush of ordinary time between the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of Lent, parishes and diocese focus their attention on the day to day and week to week aspects of faith life. Even in that, there are a few things for us to share this week as a sample ...read more

The Holy See maintains diplomatic relations with 180 states. Among those are countries that do not have diplomatic relations with each other. Iran is one of those cases. Both Canada and the US do not currently have formal diplomatic relations with Iran. The Holy See, however, has maintained diplomatic relations with all three of these ...read more

(Photo: CNS) Pope Francis says a lot of surprising and challenging things.  Often I read something he’s said or written and say to myself, “I can’t believe he said that.”  Still—as with anything else—we can become desensitized to his spontaneity and candour, and we risk glossing over some of his highly consequential statements. One recent statement ...read more

By Peter Schineller, S.J. The first Jesuit Pope! We have moved beyond the original surprise and shock. What does it mean? How is Pope Francis deeply Ignatian and deeply Jesuit? I see one key link between Francis and Ignatius, a link that Francis himself has pointed. It is found in a Latin phrase, not easily translated, ...read more

Pope Francis released his 2016 Lenten Message based on the verse ” I desire mercy, and not sacrifice” (Mt 9:13). Read the full text of his message, titled ‘The works of mercy on the road of the Jubilee,’ below: “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice” (Mt 9:13). The works of mercy on the road of ...read more

With Pope Francis’ changes to the Holy Thursday liturgy last week, I was reminded of a conversation I had with a young man during the Christmas holiday. He was visiting from Europe and was expressing concern about where Pope Francis seems to be taking the Church. He said that among his circle of friends and acquaintances ...read more

This week the Pope’s message for the World Day for Social Communication was released with some fanfare at the Vatican. The real fanfare, however, was going on inside the Apostolic Palace. Pope Francis met with Apple CEO Tim Cook. The meeting comes one week after the pope met with Eric Schmidt, the chairman of Alphabet, ...read more

In anticipation of the National March for Life to take place on Capitol Hill on Friday, January 22, 2016, despite the impending winter storm, the Knights of Columbus released a video highlighting various Marches for Life from all across the globe. See the video below for glimpses of the Pro-Life movement from the United States, ...read more

(US bishops listen to a speaker during their annual general assembly in November 2015. CNS photo/Bob Roller) It’s the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, a celebratory yet solemn week when Christians recall what unites them and reflect on the challenges still preventing full, sacramental unity. Over the past few years I’ve had the chance to meet a ...read more