Home for the holiday. Doors flung open as family gathers from near and far. A moment to thank God for the blessings of the past year. Imagine the place you call home is Aleppo, Syria. Every family, including yours, has a member who has been raped, or martyred or broken by the psychological, material, and ...read more

Pope Paul VI is carried on the “sedia gestatoria,” a ceremonial throne, during the closing liturgy of the Second Vatican Council in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Dec. 8,1965. Pope Francis will beatify Pope Paul today on Oct. 19 during the closing Mass of the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family. The miracle ...read more

Here’s what’s been going on in the church in Canada this week: National events have been obscured by the Synod of Bishops in Rome. Archbishop Paul Andre Durocher of Gatineau is there representing the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. He has been posting to his blog “Sing and Walk” on a daily basis. Check it ...read more

The Salt + Light team in Rome spoke with lay couple Jeff and Alice Heinzen from the Office of Marriage and Family Life and Natural Family Planning in the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA. Jeff and Alice share their hope and vision for renewing family life. ...read more

The Salt + Light team in Rome spoke w/ Archbishop John Dew of Wellington, New Zealand. Archbishop Dew shares the message he brings to #synod14. ...read more

The Salt + Light team in Rome spoke with Bishop Warnakulasurya V. Mendis of Chilaw, Sri Lanka. Bishop Mendis offers his thoughts on #synod14 and addresses the issue of remarried and divorced Catholics. ...read more

Pope Paul VI presides over a meeting of the Second Vatican Council in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican in 1963. (CNS photo/Catholic Press Photo)  To learn more about the Second Vatican Council watch The Church Alive series. ...read more

This weekend we’ll celebrate the conclusion of the 2014 Synod on the Family and the beatification of the Pope Paul VI. The Church that we know today is deeply shaped by the Second Vatican Council and is in many ways a reflection of Paul VI’s pontificate. Watch this short video tribute to the ‘Pilgrim Pope’ ...read more

The Salt + Light team in Rome spoke with Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo of Jakarta, Indonesia. Archbishop Hardjoatmodjo comments on his thoughts of #synod14 and addresses challenges he faces in his archdiocese. ...read more

The S+L team in Rome spoke with Archbishop John Hung Shan-Chuan, SVD of Taipei. Archbishop Hung addresses the challenges the church in Taipei faces and comments on married life in Taiwan. ...read more