As far as I can tell in our day and age, only church councils and papal transitions can attract the kind of global attention for the Catholic Church that is both honest and positive.  While working in Rome in February and March of 2013, I was struck by this reality and by how the intrigue ...read more

Salt and Light Photo: The National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, Brazil By Sebastian Gomes World Youth Day Rio is about to begin and everyone is wondering what Pope Francis is going to say and do on his first trip back to South America.  Well, last week I may have uncovered a major clue. A ...read more

World youth Day Rio has released a series of videos called “Discipulus.” These videos are reflections on discipleship and the many ways of being disciples. In today’s video the reflection is focused on the word intimacy. ...read more

The local organizing committee of WYD Rio 2013 organized a visit of the historic image of Saint Sebastian, patron saint of the City of Rio, to various places in the diocese. In the photo above we see the Archbishop of Rio, João Orani Tempesta leading the processions to what was, until recently, one of the ...read more

Slavery could seem like something from the past, but taking a good look at the reality of the world today we find that there are 27 million slaves. That is more than in any other period in human history. The Universal Declaration of the Human Rights says: “No one shall be held in slavery or ...read more

Did you know that aside from being a world famous icon of an exotic and fascinating city, the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer that watches over Rio de Janiero actually belongs to the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro and is officially a Catholic sanctuary? Although construction began on the statue in 1922, the idea ...read more