As we enter into a particularly focused period of prayer with the beginning of the Easter Triduum today, let us keep our Holy Father’s intentions in our prayers this month. Pope Benedict’s general prayer intention for April is: That every tendency to fundamentalism and extremism may be countered by constant respect, by tolerance and by ...read more

The official newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, the Catholic San Francisco, has published a letter by Cardinal William J. Levada responding to New York Times’ articles on clergy sexual abuse and Pope Benedict XVI.  The Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith defends the Holy Father and chastises the paper ...read more

As Pope Benedict XVI comes under vicious criticism by the media regarding claims of clergy sexual  abuse, the president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has sent a letter to the Holy Father offering his prayers and support on behalf of the Bishops of Canada. Bishop Pierre Morissette writes: “We recognize with admiration and ...read more

[The following article was written by the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus Carl Anderson, and originally appeared in the Monday March 26th edition of Zenit.] Twenty-five years ago, Pope John Paul II inaugurated the celebration of World Youth Day — to be celebrated on Palm Sunday each year. He understood — as does ...read more

I met the Pope on Friday. The president of Guatemala was in Italy and, as per protocol, he also stopped by the Vatican to see Benedict XVI. Because I speak Spanish and Italian, I was included in the press pool that was allowed into the San Damaso Library for the visit. The pool of journalists ...read more

The last two weeks have been difficult ones for faithful Catholics as the clergy sexual abuse scandal has stained headlines and the Church worldwide. There is no denying that crimes of abuse are appalling and must be dealt with properly.  However, media outlets are now taking reports of abuse as an opportunity to abase our ...read more

Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Palm Sunday with thousands of faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday.  Palm Sunday is also the weekend that World Youth Day is celebrated at the diocesan level, and this year marked the 25th anniversary of the event established by Venerable John Paul II.  The anniversary was the focus on his ...read more

As many of our parish priests can attest to Holy Week marks one of the busiest times of the year — and of course this is no different for the Bishop of Rome. Tomorrow, March 25th, marks the beginning of a number of major events that Pope Benedict is participating in, including a meeting with ...read more

At 10am this morning, Rome time, media accredited to the Holy See received a copy of the Pope’s letter to Irish Catholics. Vatican spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ held a press briefing at 11am in the Holy See Press Hall. The letter was to be released to the public at 12:00 pm (Rome time). Journalists ...read more

[Signed at the Vatican on the feast of St. Joseph, March 19th, Pope Benedict’s letter to the Catholics of Ireland was released today, Saturday March 20th in Rome.  What follows is the official text of the document.  Visit the Vatican website for more resources.] PASTORAL LETTER OF THE HOLY FATHER POPE BENEDICT XVI TO THE ...read more