Christopher West in At the Heart of the Gospel maintains that, in the wake of the sexual revolution, Pope John Paul II’s message to the Church and world was that “we must learn how to venerate the body as an icon of the divine mystery.” To that end, he asserts that promoting the New Evangelization requires [...]
The Vatican announced in March that Benedict XVI has set up a commission to investigate the source and reason for a number of document leaks in recent months, collectively referred to as the “VatiLeaks” affair. Pope Benedict XVI has established a commission to investigate a series of leaks of letters exchanged among Vatican officials and between [...]
The Bible is a treasure that God, in His goodness, has given us through the men to whom He confided the mission of communicating His divine message. It is a book that should be approached with reverence, in fear and trembling. Kierkegaard put it well: the Bible should be read on one’s knees. This is a [...]
Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, archbishop of Kinshasa, the capital of the Congo, preached at the Lenten retreat attended by Benedict XVI and the Curia. It would definitely be wrong to say that Benedict XVI is not attentive to the life of the Church in Africa just because no African bishops featured among the cardinals appointed in [...]
Pope Shenouda III of the ancient Coptic Orthodox Praising the ecumenical commitment of the late Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria, Egypt, Pope Benedict XVI on March 18 offered his condolences to Orthodox Christians in Egypt on the death of their patriarch. Pope Shenouda, who served as patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church [...]
Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is an honor and a joy for me to celebrate Holy Mass with you this morning here in this historic Pro-cathedral. I am deeply grateful to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin for his kind invitation and for his very gracious welcome. I would like to begin by thanking the priests, as well [...]
In February, the young American Archbishop Charles Brown, 52, began his difficult mission in Ireland as the Pope’s nuncio, presenting his credentials to the Irish president and celebrating a Mass in St. Mary’s Pro-cathedral of Dublin. Here, the complete text of his first homily in Ireland... “Something new is happening. I am convinced that the Lord is [...]
To His Excellency, Bishop Bernard Fellay, and to the Priests of the Society of Saint Pius X Your Excellency, Most dear Brothers, Christian brotherhood is stronger than flesh and blood because it offers us, thanks to the divine Eucharist, a foretaste of heaven. Christ invited us to experience communion; this is what our “I” is [...]
On March 16, Cardinal William Levada, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, had a meeting lasting two hours with Bishop Bernard Fellay, SSPX leader. He is said to have given Fellay a deadline of April 15 to respond to the Vatican. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, with the approval [...]
Crucifixion by Guido Reni (1575-1642), Estense Gallery, Modena, Italy. During recent weeks, Benedict XVI has stressed the value of silence several times, saying it is necessary for us to “hear” God. Here, the catechesis the Pope gave at his general audience on March 7. Benedict stresses “the importance of silence in our relationship with [...]