*This post was originally published on the CCCB. (CCCB – Ottawa)… Young pilgrims from all over the world are expected in Krakow, Poland, July 25-31, 2016, to participate in the31st World Youth Day (WYD). Krakow is the city of Karol Wojtyla – Saint John Paul II – who in his early years as priest, university ...read more

The following is the transcript of the video message that Pope Francis has sent on the occasion of the campaign for peace in Syria promoted by Caritas Internationalis on the theme: “Syria, peace is possible”: Dear Brothers and Sisters, Today I want to speak to you about something that saddens my heart a lot: the ...read more

Join us in prayer for the intentions entrusted to us by Pope Francis. For February 2016, we join the Holy Father in praying for: Indigenous Peoples.   That indigenous peoples, whose identity and very existence are threatened, will be shown due respect. Latin America and the Caribbean.  That the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean, by means ...read more

(People gather in one of the catechesis tents at Taizé, France.  They begin each session by singing one of the widely popular chants of the community.) In a remote east-central region of France sit two distinct spiritual centers that tell the remarkable story of a church that is always situated in a particular moment history. ...read more

This blog post is part of a 6-part series on World Youth Day. Read them all: Deacon-structing WYD: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 Last week we learned that World Youth Days are a meeting of the hierarchical Church with the Lay Church and it happens under the Cross. ...read more

Cardinal Wuerl talks about the pressing task of our time: the New Evangelization. But what exactly is the New Evangelization? What is the message of the New Evangelization? Where and who is the intended audience? What do we seek to accomplish? What is needed for this work of the New Evangelization? To answer these and ...read more

By now you may have heard of Bill C-14. It is the bill that regulates medically assisted dying in Canada. This bill will affect all of us, but in a special way, it will affect our medical practitioners, many who argue the restrictions are not adequate. The issue is complicated further by the fact that ...read more

During mass for the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, at 9.30 am in the Vatican Basilica, the Holy Father Pope Francis blesses the Pallia, (plural of pallium) taken from the Confession of the Apostle Peter for new the Metropolitan Archbishops appointed during the past year. The Pallium will then be imposed on each Metropolitan ...read more

The recent approval of Bill C-14, which legalizes euthanasia and assisted suicide in our country, stands as an appalling landmark decision to the utter failure of government, and indeed all society, to care truly, authentically and humanely for the suffering and vulnerable in our midst. We live in a country where the vast majority of ...read more

The flush region of Caesarea Philipi is about an hour’s drive north of the Sea of Galilee.  It was given to Herod the Great by Caesar Augustus around 20 BCE, who in turn handed it down to his son Philip.  Philip named it Caesarea in honor of Caesar, and his own name eventually became associated ...read more