The quiet revolution of German Catholics

The Synodal Path is an effort to bring about serious ecclesial reform in light of the clergy sex abuse crisis, but some Catholics in Bavaria wonder if the Church in Germany can survive

To understand Catholicism, you need to get Italy

ROME – If you were an American Catholic who carved out space midday Friday to watch Pope Francis lead the traditional Christmas Eve Mass, you may have tripped over a section of his homily in which, seemingly out of a clear blue sky, he brought up workplace safety and issued the cry, “On the day […]

Human Family Sunday shows us the human side of God

In the usual cycle of the Church’s liturgical year, believers receive a double opportunity to celebrate the Nativity of the Lord on Christmas and his earthly family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph on the Sunday afterwards. Celebrated in close proximity this year, the two feasts give us different perspectives on the singular event of the […]

English cardinal: Don’t close churches again over COVID

LEICESTER, United Kingdom – As British Prime Minister Boris Johnson continues to be briefed on Omicron variant of the COVID-19 coronavirus, Cardinal Vincent Nichols has pleaded with the government not to close churches if restrictions are reimposed in England. The archbishop of Westminster was speaking to the BBC before the Christmas Eve Mass, where he […]

The Top 5 Vatican news stories of 2021

ROME – To be honest, 2021 wasn’t really a banner year in terms of Vatican news. This wasn’t 2013, with the surprise resignation of Benedict XVI and the election of history’s first Latin American pope, nor was it even 2016, with the avalanche within Catholicism triggered by Pope Francis’ “Amoris Laetitia” (“The Joy of Love”) […]