It all began with a conversation in the car on our way to Montreal. My co-worker, Karen shared with me a terrifying discovery: robot music. She came across it, the same way I suppose we all do; following a bread-crumb trail of related youtube videos. The video’s tone seemed innocuous even positive, but its conclusion: ...read more

False promises of a better future is the way traffickers usually bait and enslave their victims. Most of the time their targets are the poor or marginalized; especially girls who lack access to education and basic services. But the Sisters of the Sacred Heart in Nigeria are doing everything they can to put an end ...read more

For an institution that still uses smoke signals to communicate the election of a new leader one wonders how the Church will respond to the challenges of the digital age? When I reflect on this topic, I can’t help but remember when the good old Pope Benedict launched News.va. That’s right, in case you’ve forgotten, ...read more

Growing up in Namibia or ‘South West’ as it was called back in the day meant we only had public television for a couple of hours in the evenings – even on weekends. So when I wasn’t spending time running around in the veld, or swimming in the freezing Atlantic off the Namibian coast, my ...read more

At 11:30 this morning in the Holy See Press Office, the Press Conference was held to present the Jubilee of Mercy that will formally begin on December 8, 2015 and conclude on November 20, 2016. The Conference was led by Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization ...read more

Cheridan Sanders speaks with Shannon Joseph, President of Trends about fashion and faith. Is it possible to be both fashionable and modest? For a few years there, I felt as if the only way I could dress modestly was to look as if I’d been locked up in an underground bunker for the last twenty years. ...read more

From the left: Sr Laura, Sr Greta share with me about Venerable Henriette Delille’s story and her continuing significance. During my time in New Orleans, I visited with Sr. Greta and Sr. Laura of the Sisters of the Holy Family to learn about the Cause for Venerable Henriette Delille, founder of The Sister’s of the ...read more

In an earlier post in which I wrote about Cafe Reconcile, a bustling, award-winning restaurant that helps at-risk youth develop employable skills, I mentioned that the founder of the program, Fr. Harry Tompson S.J. was the former pastor of Immaculate Conception parish (‘Jesuit Church’ to locals). It’s worth mentioning that Jesuit Church deserves its own ...read more

1. Gesù Cristo è il volto della misericordia del Padre. Il mistero della fede cristiana sembra trovare in questa parola la sua sintesi. Essa è divenuta viva, visibile e ha raggiunto il suo culmine in Gesù di Nazareth. Il Padre, «ricco di misericordia» (Ef 2,4), dopo aver rivelato il suo nome a Mosè come «Dio ...read more

Francis Bishop of Rome Servant of the Servants of God to all who read this letter Grace, Mercy and Peace, 1. Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy. These words might well sum up the mystery of the Christian faith. Mercy has become living and visible in Jesus of Nazareth, reaching its culmination ...read more