Here is Pope Francis’ greeting conveyed to the 132nd Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus in Orlando, Florida on August 5, 2014: His Holiness Pope Francis was pleased to learn that from 5 to 7 August 2014 the 132nd Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus will be held in Orlando, Florida. He has ...read more

Sebastian Gomes, Salt + Light  writer/producer/director of The Francis Effect, gives us a glimpse into filming the documentary: David Gibson is a renowned journalist, author and Catholic commentator.  As someone who knows well the history of the modern papacy and how the Vatican functions, he was a “must have” for our documentary.  I suspect that you ...read more

Last summer Pope Francis was sending millions of young people into a frenzy at World Youth Day Rio. This summer he will be attending the Asian Youth Day in Daejon, Korea, It will be the first time a pope has attended this Asian youth event. In truth, Asian Youth Day will be one part of ...read more

Sebastian Gomes, Salt + Light  writer/producer/director gives us a glimpse into filming The Francis Effect, and particularly his interview with Diane Sawyer: A person of Diane Sawyer’s stature needs no introduction. She is simply one of the best and most distinguished journalists in the English-speaking world. When we asked if she would be willing to do ...read more

Several weeks ago Pope Francis, while giving a homily in Cassano allo Ionio, declared that members of the Mafia are not in communion with God, “they are excommunicated”. Outside of Italy the homily got attention because it was so unexpected and didn’t really make sense. For Italians in the south, the declaration was long overdue. ...read more

The  Church could play a significant role in tackling youth unemployment in Europe, according to a noted banker and economist. Mohammad Yunnus, known for establishing the micro-credit Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, made the suggestion at a conference hosted by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. The conference, called The Global Common Good: Towards a ...read more

Traditionally in Rome once the last wisps of fresh air are sucked out of the atmosphere by the July heat and humidity, the city vacates and the Vatican essentially shuts down. Not this summer. Bishops who cover abuse The second week of July delivered a plate full of news-worthy Vatican events. On July 6 the ...read more

When Pope Francis said he wanted to see space for women to have a more incisive and capillary role in the church, not many people understood what he meant. Reaction was split between the usual groups calling for the ordination of women on one side and the usual groups on the other side organizing all ...read more

Most priests are not adequately prepared to deal with difficult pastoral situations, according to Vatican officials studying the pastoral challenges to the family. This was one of the topics included in the Instrumentum Laboris, or working document, for the upcoming Synod on the family. The document was the result of a consultation process, which involved ...read more

Henrique Cymerman has made a career out of talking to people who technically, should be his enemies. That was exactly why Pope Francis enlisted his help to bring the Israeli and Palestinian presidents together to pray for peace. Cymerman is the middle east correspondent for several news outlets based on the Iberian peninsula, including Spain’s ...read more