Focus

  • The origins of the May Crowning

    May 12, 2017

    The origins of the May Crowning are hard to pinpoint, although devotion to our Blessed Mother Mary originated in the earliest days of the Church. Concerning the significance of the month of May, toward the end of the 18th century, Fr Latomia of the Roman College of the Society of Jesus (in Rome) instituted the practise of dedicating this month to our Blessed Mother.

  • Pope urges Vatican communications to go digital amid ongoing reform

    May 12, 2017

    Pope Francis told the Vatican’s Secretariat for Communications, which held their first plenary assembly, that given a growing digital culture throughout the world, new media must become a primary platform for spreading the Gospel.

  • Full text of Joint Declaration by Pope Francis and Tawadros II Mutually declare that Baptism will not be repeated

    May 12, 2017

    During his two-day trip to Egypt, Pope Francis met with Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Tawadros II, telling him their Churches are bonded by the blood of their martyrs, and are called to further cement this bond with acts of charity.

  • New clericalism is imposing old ways on modern church architecture

    May 05, 2017

    Church architecture has become a frontline of the liturgy wars as Catholic churches undergo re-renovations.

  • Ethicist sees Joy of Love as call-out for family, justice

    May 05, 2017

    There’s a lot going on in The Joy of Love (Amoris Laetitia), the exhortation Pope Francis published last year after the two-part synod on the family, but, says theologian Julie Hanlon Rubio, the core of it is pretty simple.

  • Food for thought

    May 05, 2017

    Pope Francis isn’t the only pope who has proposed care of creation as a Catholic, moral issue.

  • Creation care in Scripture

    May 05, 2017

    Concern for the environment now occupies a prominent place in Catholic teaching. Pope Benedict XVI spoke out frequently about our need to care for the earth, and Pope Francis, in “Laudato Si’” and elsewhere, emphasizes creation care as an integral part of Catholic teaching along with other social justice and respect for life issues.

  • Care for creation: A moral issue and a Catholic issue

    May 05, 2017

    You need look no further than the rising sea waters threatening Miami or the erosion of coastal Alaska, where entire villages must be relocated in a state that’s becoming a bellwether for climate change.

  • Pope tells TED conference to have hope, and calls for ‘tenderness’ from political leaders

    May 05, 2017

    Pope Francis on April 25 surprised the annual TED conference in Vancouver with a pre-recorded TED Talk in which the pontiff called for a “revolution of tenderness,” warning political leaders they will only “end up hurting yourself and those around you if you don’t connect your power with humility and tenderness.”

  • Food for thought

    Apr 27, 2017

    On March 23, 2017, Pope Francis approved the recognition of a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blesseds Francisco and Jacinta Marto, which opens the path for their canonization.