Here’s what’s been happening across the country this week: In Ottawa, the mother of one of the 43 student teachers who disappeared in Mexico has asked the Canadian government to take Mexico off its list of safe countries. In Winnipeg, reflecting on euthanasia and and palliative care brought out this touching story of the kind ...read more

This week we learned that Pope Francis’ encyclical on human ecology should be released in June. Environmental groups welcomed the news warmly while skeptics told anyone who would listen that the pope is being taken for a ride by new-age tree huggers. Whatever one’s opinion on environmental issues, the encyclical has been written and is ...read more

The World Meeting of Families is the world’s largest Catholic gathering of families. Each meeting has a theme that enlivens the event and adds great depth to our understanding of contemporary family life. This year’s theme is “Love Is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive,” emphasizing that love of God and neighbor, taught and experiences ...read more

Join us in prayer for the intentions entrusted to us by Pope Francis. For May 2015, we join the Holy Father in praying for: Care for the suffering. That, rejecting the culture of indifference, we may care for our neighbors who suffer, especially the sick and the poor. Openness to mission. That Mary’s intercession may help ...read more

For some time now we have been anticipating the forthcoming encyclical by Pope Francis on the environment. Some would trace the anticipation as far back as that unforgettable audience with journalists a few days after the Pope’s election where he explained the reasons behind his choice of the name Francis, after the beloved Francis of ...read more

(Vatican Radio)  The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met with Pope Francis in the Vatican on Tuesday before going on to address a conference exploring the moral issues connected to climate change. The one day international symposium has been organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and will include a video message to participants ...read more

Today on Perspectives, Pope Francis appoints members to a new Vatican Commission for Communications, the Holy Father meets with the Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission and a special concert coming to the Vatican. ...read more

Point of View: Interpreting the Francis Effect is a S+L series that goes deeper into the questions surrounding the person and pontificate of Pope Francis.  The series consists of a selection of the full interviews from S+L’s original documentary The Francis Effect.  Find the full schedule for Season 2 of POV here. Tonight: Josephine Lombardi, PhD A commonly held view ...read more

A girl displaced as a result of Boko Haram attack in the northeast region of Nigeria rests her head on a desk at a camp for internally displaced people. CNS photo/Afolabi Sotunde, Reuters. One of the most interesting conversations I had during my stay in New Orleans was with Sr. Cecilia Dimaku of the Sisters of ...read more

In the Gospel of John, Chapter 10, Jesus tells the disciples that he is the Good Shepherd and he says that he leads the sheep and they hear his voice. He also says that He knows his sheep and his sheep know him. In Chapter 14: 23, the Gospel of John tells us that Jesus ...read more