Pontiff laments Italy’s demographic winter (Vatican Press Office)
The number of births in Italy has fallen to a 160-year low, and the average number of children per Italian woman has plunged to 1.17. “I have a concern, a real concern, at least here in Italy: the demographic winter,” Pope Francis said on December 26, following his Angelus address. “It seems that many couples […]
Let us strengthen our family bonds, Pope tells pilgrims (Vatican Press Office)
“God chose a humble and simple family through which to come into our midst.” Pope Francis said during an Angelus address on December 26, the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. “Let us contemplate in amazement the beauty of this mystery, emphasizing two concrete aspects for our families.” These two aspects […]
Pope Francis issues letter to married couples (Vatican Press Office)
On December 26, the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Pope Francis issued a letter to married couples for the Amoris Laetitia Family Year, which began in March 2021 and concludes in June 2022. “Marriage, as a vocation, calls you to steer a tiny boat – wave-tossed yet sturdy, thanks to […]
Cardinal Bo: Myanmar is a war zone
Myanmar’s Cardinal Charles Bo launches an appeal to the country’s military to stop the violence, and calls on the democracy movement and ethnic armed groups to strive for peace. His latest appeal comes in the wake of a brutal attack by military forces on Christmas Day. Read all
One Man Quietly Reclaiming Culture
Matthew Mehan is a large man with large ideas that sometimes pour forth in a gentle torrent. His central claim, that Western Civilization will not be reclaimed unless and until poetry and rhetoric are revived, has been the focus of his personal and professional life. Mehan describes his life’s project as “recomforting my children, my […]
Heap Songs Upon Their Heads
In my previous article, I said I had two recommendations for how we might deal with people who are so irrationally hostile to religious faith that they could not even put up with a secular talk show host, for the Australian Broadcasting Company, discussing with a New Testament scholar the stories about the birth of […]
The History of Christmas Ghost Stories
The midwinter ghost story is, arguably, the oldest story in the English language. The Old English epic poem Beowulf might not immediately spring to mind as the archetypal festive scare, but in truth it is a classic “winter’s tale.” The warriors of Beowulf are rendered vulnerable by their need to shelter in the hall of […]
Meet the ‘Catholic Gothic Club’
A trio of books illustrate how Catholic writers are addressing the perennial battle between good vs. evil. Three Catholic writers encounter vampires.
Myanmar cardinal pleads for peace after 38 killed in ‘Christmas massacre’
ROME – After nearly 40 people were killed in a brutal attack in eastern Myanmar right before Christmas, Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon made an appeal to both government and opposition forces to stop the violence and begin pursuing peaceful dialogue. The killing of at least 38 civilians in Mo So village, in Myanmar’s Hpruso, […]
Pope Francis, integral ecology and the pandemic
The urgent need to put the human person before merely economic concerns