False promises of a better future is the way traffickers usually bait and enslave their victims. Most of the time their targets are the poor or marginalized; especially girls who lack access to education and basic services. But the Sisters of the Sacred Heart in Nigeria are doing everything they can to put an end ...read more

For an institution that still uses smoke signals to communicate the election of a new leader one wonders how the Church will respond to the challenges of the digital age? When I reflect on this topic, I can’t help but remember when the good old Pope Benedict launched News.va. That’s right, in case you’ve forgotten, ...read more

Growing up in Namibia or ‘South West’ as it was called back in the day meant we only had public television for a couple of hours in the evenings – even on weekends. So when I wasn’t spending time running around in the veld, or swimming in the freezing Atlantic off the Namibian coast, my ...read more

Cheridan Sanders speaks with Shannon Joseph, President of Trends about fashion and faith. Is it possible to be both fashionable and modest? For a few years there, I felt as if the only way I could dress modestly was to look as if I’d been locked up in an underground bunker for the last twenty years. ...read more

When I was a kid, growing up in Panama, quite often, our parents would take us to the Convent of the Visitation to visit with (no pun intended) the sisters. The Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary was founded by St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane Frances de Chantal in France in 1610 ...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

From the left: Sr Laura, Sr Greta share with me about Venerable Henriette Delille’s story and her continuing significance. During my time in New Orleans, I visited with Sr. Greta and Sr. Laura of the Sisters of the Holy Family to learn about the Cause for Venerable Henriette Delille, founder of The Sister’s of the ...read more

In an earlier post in which I wrote about Cafe Reconcile, a bustling, award-winning restaurant that helps at-risk youth develop employable skills, I mentioned that the founder of the program, Fr. Harry Tompson S.J. was the former pastor of Immaculate Conception parish (‘Jesuit Church’ to locals). It’s worth mentioning that Jesuit Church deserves its own ...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

Pope Paul VI and Cardinal Karol Wojtyla meet at the Vatican. Paul VI, who served in Poland during his early priesthood, held the future Pope John Paul II in high regard. (CNS file photo) No doubt you’ve seen those cheesy beer ads about ‘the most interesting man in the world’. For the record, Pope John ...read more