Middle East Catholic patriarchs urge Christmas hope amid despair (CNS)

“We are ending this year and people are growing poorer, tired, disgusted, and afraid, and the prospects no longer appear promising, and life no longer looks sweet,” Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Joseph Absi, who is based in Damascus, said in his Christmas message. Christ’s birth, however, “reminds us of salvation and encourages us to persevere […]

Pope warns of ‘new Herods of our time’ (@Pontifex)

On December 28, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, Pope Francis tweeted, “The new Herods of our time devour the innocence of our children under the oppression of illegal slave labor, prostitution, exploitation, wars and forced emigration. Let us #PrayTogether today for these children and defend them.”

In Praise of Slow

In 1984, film director Philip Gröning wrote the Carthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse asking to make a documentary about their life at the monastery. Sixteen years—years—later they responded and the result was the beautiful film Into Great Silence. In 1962, Pope John XXIII summoned a council for the “modernization of the Church after twenty centuries.” […]

Business Under Biden

TRANSCRIPT Church Militant (a 501(c)4 corporation) is responsible for the content of this commentary. I’m Michael Voris, coming to you from our construction zone here in the media center. Just as a reminder and carryover from yesterday, we’re hiring reporters and video crews. If you’re interested, just go to the “We’re Hiring” section of our homepage (down at the bottom) and […]

Pope spends 2021 looking after his health; advocating for environment

[Editors note: This is part two of Crux Rome Bureau Chief Inés San Martín’s look back at 2021. Part one was devoted to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Catholic Church.] ROSARIO, Argentina – Taking advantage of being relatively cooped up in the Vatican due to the ongoing pandemic, Pope Francis focused much […]

Women of valor and the pro-life cause

I first met Erika Bachiochi — then Erika Schubert — in July 1998, when she was my student in the Tertio Millennio Seminar on the Free Society in Cracow. She had graduated from Middlebury College […]

Top Vatican diplomat visit South Sudan, says pope could visit in 2022

ROME – British Archbishop Paul Gallagher, a top papal aide, traveled to South Sudan right before Christmas, meeting with top civil and ecclesial leaders in a visit that could be setting the stage for the long-awaited visit of Pope Francis. Speaking to Vatican News, the Vatican’s official information platform, Gallagher said, “There is no perfect […]