On Thursday, the Pontifical Council for Social Communications (PCSC), the group that oversees the Catholic Church’s activities in the world of social communications, concluded a four-day congress assessing the status of print media worldwide.  More than 250 participants from 85 countries were in Rome to exchange experiences and reestablish a collective sense of purpose for ...

Do you ever wonder what the Church will look like in 50 years? Smaller? Stronger? Persecuted? Poor? Some people have their ideas, but at the end of the day, one can only hope and pray. Unless of course you’re in the engine room at the Vatican with a privileged view from the inside. And such ...

Welcome to the sixth in a series of blogs on the legacy of Br. André!  We are less than two weeks away from the Canonization of Brother André Bessette.  I’d like to tell you now about my impressions of the great shrine he built, Saint Joseph’s Oratory. I must have gone to Saint Joseph’s Oratory ...

Have you ever had the experience of praying the Rosary and come to the end of a decade only to ask yourself: “Um, did I just say 10 Hail Marys?” Sometimes we lose our place, we get lost in the repetition, or we are distracted.  And when I say distracted, I’m not talking about wrapped ...

As you know, I’ve been working the past few months on the documentary on Brother André, God’s Doorkeeper.  We’ve also been looking forward here at Salt + Light to Br. André’s canonization on October 17th. To do some justice to at least one other saint to be canonized by the Church that same day (after ...

After eight months with Salt+ Light, I am obviously still “learning the ropes” (and will be for quite some time). Back in June, however, I was asked to attend the World Religions Summit in Winnipeg. Upon my return, I was expected to then produce a summary piece of the meeting in the form of a ...

The President of the Pontifical Academy for Life Bishop Ignacio Carrasco de Paula has voiced his concern over the recent awarding of the Nobel Prize for medicine to Professor Robert Edwards. Edwards is responsible for the in vitro fertilization process. His lab created the first test tube baby in 1978. “Without Edwards,” the bishop wrote ...

Every year around mid-December there is a blessing at the Sunday Angelus Address of angels and little Baby Jesus figurines. As you can see in the photo, it’s a cute scene to see young children gleefully getting their Baby Jesus figures blessed, so they can be laid in their Nativity scenes at home. And though ...

[singlepic id=84 w=150 h=227 float=right] If you are someone who follows Vatican news, then you would be familiar with John Allen – the senior correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter and Vatican expert for CNN and NPR. John Allen has a new book: The Future of the Church and he tells us all about it; ...

With his time at Castel Gandolfo behind him, Pope Benedict prepares for a busy fall. In this week’s Catholic News Service, Carol Glatz and John Thavis look at what’s upcoming for the Holy Father. To download Flash Player please click here ...