On the evening of June 3, 1963, as Mass was being celebrated in the plaza below his window, Pope John XXIII quietly passed away. He had been suffering from stomach cancer for some time, although his illness had only been revealed to the public in March of that same year. Still, he faced that final ...read more

When we talk about a development in church tradition or teaching, we are talking about a phenomenon that has taken place within Christianity from the very beginning. Even the varying articulations of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus that we find in the four Gospels represent a development as such: the written narratives were ...read more

Perhaps we should be used to the “element of surprise” in the pontificate of Pope Francis.  He was at it again last Friday, March 13 on the second anniversary of his election, when he unexpectedly announced a “Jubilee Year of Mercy” to take place in the Church and around the world from December 2015 to ...read more

Last week I looked at the question of personal freedom vis-à-vis authority in the Church and to what degree public opinion in the Church has been accepted and promoted since Vatican II by Pope John Paul II and now Pope Francis.  The question, as I wrote, is a perennial and penetrating one in the Church, ...read more

A perennial and penetrating question exists within the Catholic Church that goes to the very heart of its institutional being, namely the freedom of individual conscience vis-à-vis authority in the Church. In terms of expressing one’s conscience, the question might be put this way: what are the limits to public opinion within the Church considering ...read more

Salt + Light producer Cheridan Sanders recounts her experience working alongside producer Sebastian Gomes as they prepare to launch The Church Alive, a television series dedicated to #TheNewEvangelization. Read Cheridan’s experience  below:  When we sat down to write The Church Alive series, Sebastian Gomes and I considered the state of affairs inside and outside the ...read more

On the occasion of the beatification of Paul VI, Goya Productions launches a new documentary that rediscovers the figure of the pope unfairly criticized and forgotten. To him do we credit, among other things, the famous encyclical Humanae Vitae. This is a one of the themes being discussed on the Synod of the Family that ...read more

At Salt and Light, we make a concerted effort to keep alive the memory of the Second Vatican Council. It’s not, as some might think, because we appreciate history. It’s because we look to the future. Those Catholics who are familiar with the history and context of Vatican II and with the sixteen official documents ...read more

Protruding from the mountainside town of Assisi is the medieval Basilica of Saint Francis. From a distance the basilica looks almost as big as the town itself; a simultaneous testament to the Saint’s widespread influence and modest origins. Still, the basilica is what most moderns would expect from an important medieval church: majesty, stunning architecture ...read more

The following is an article taken from Vatican Radio, published on February 14. The original article can be found here (Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict XVI has met parish priests and clergy of the Diocese of Rome in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. Led by Cardinal Vicar Agostino Vallini and auxiliary bishops, they greeted Benedict XVI ...read more