At the end of his weekly General Audience on December 11, Pope Francis had this message for the faithful of the American continent. Tomorrow is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patroness of the Americas. I would like to greet all my brothers and sisters on that continent, and I do so thinking ...read more

Pope Francis decided to create a Vatican commission for the protection of minors, a cardinal involved in Curial reform announced this week. Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston told reporters on Thursday that the eight member Council of Cardinals which advises the pope on curial reform, had proposed the creation of a commission for the protection ...read more

In his first Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis writes, “I am mission on this earth” [EG 273]. That phrase really stuck with me, partly because I was on my way down to Maracaibo, Venezuela for the 4th Missionary Congress of the Americas (Cam 4) and the 9th Latin American Missionary Congress (Comla 9). In ...read more

  The following is the thanks expressed by Sebastian Gomes to Cardinal Donald Wuerl on behalf of Salt + Light Television and Assumption University for his talk, which made up part of the Faith and Culture series presented by Assumption University. Thank you very much Your Eminence… By way of conclusion, I have the privilege ...read more

What does it mean to be a missionary? This is the question that participants are asking at the Missionary Congress of the Americas in Maracaibo, Venezuela. How would you answer this question? ...read more

Pope Francis knows what challenges are facing the church and he has a few ideas on how to overcome those challenges while admiting he doesn’t have all the answers. The pope made the statements in his Apostolic Exhortation, “Evangelii Gaudium” released November 26. During the first months of his pontificate Pope Francis has addressed all ...read more

Cardinal Fernando Filoni is the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the congregation of the curia responsible for the transmission and dissemination of the faith throughout the whole world, in particular the coordination and guidance the Church’s diverse missionary efforts and initiatives. Some may know it by its former title, the Sacred ...read more

We all know that we must keep holy the Sabbath Day, but at the same time, in this day and age, in our society, we take for granted that businesses are open on Sunday and people work. Maybe we don’t work ourselves, but we go shopping, or in our desire for leisure time with our ...read more

The fourth Missionary Congress of the Americas (CAM 4) and the Ninth Latin American Congress (Comla 9) began last night with an outdoor Mass on the plaza in front of the Basilica of Maracaibo. The Most Rev. Ubaldo Santana, Archbishop of Maracaibo greeted the 3000 present, “Missionary America, welcome to Maracaibo!” The Mass was presided ...read more

One of the first times that I heard the phrase “the new evangelization” was in John Paul II’s Apostolic letter Novo Millennio Ineunte (at the close of the Great Jubilee of 2000): Over the years, I have often repeated the summons to the new evangelization. I do so again now, especially in order to insist ...read more