Last week we looked at the RCIA program: the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. We saw that this process is pretty standard throughout the universal Church. We also saw that (in previous posts, part 1 and part 2) how the program of receiving people (mainly adults) into the Church is ramped up during Lent. ...read more

This afternoon, Pope Francis received the 27 European Union heads of State and Government at a private audience in the Vatican’s Sala Regia. The encounter takes place on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaties of Rome. The Treaties are considered to be the foundation acts of the European Community. ...read more

(S+L Photo: Bishop Ricardo Ramírez, CSB, presents his book “Power from the Margins: the Emergence of the Latino in the Church and in Society” on the set of Subject Matters at Ben McNally Books in Toronto, ON) The timing of Bishop Ricardo Ramírez’s book “Power from the Margins” couldn’t be more appropriate. As debates rage about ...read more

A statement released from the Holy See Press Office after the meeting said Pope Francis asked God's forgiveness for the failures of the Catholic Church during the 1994 Rwanda genocide and for the hatred and violence perpetrated by some priests and religious. ...read more

A reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Lent It can be difficult to imagine what life would be like if we were born blind. How would we function? How would we perceive the world? But is physical blindness the only form of blindness? Is it the worst form of blindness? The Fourth Sunday of Lent ...read more

Pope Francis today released his 2017 Lenten Message for World Youth Day, in anticipation for World Youth Day Panama 2019. Below, find the full text of his address: ...read more

Last Monday, Pope Francis celebrated four years since his election as pontiff. During this week, the Holy Father received many messages and witnesses for this anniversary, words of profound admiration and encouragement to continue on this path, his ministry. Speaking to Vatican Radio, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said: “I believe that Amoris Laetitia has ...read more

If I were to sum up all the little fragments that I collected to form the image of Pope Francis in my mind, all that resonates with me, it could be summed up in this one sentence: “Your life is a prayer.” ...read more

A reflection for the Third Sunday of Lent We all have some part of us that we wish was different. Something in ourselves that we wish was otherwise. Often this part of us can be a source of shame, of fear, of regret, of embarrassment. It is something we wish would just go away, that ...read more

Deacon Pedro and Richard Valenti spent a little time sharing with Richard's children about Pope Francis and his anniversary. This poem came out of that conversation. ...read more