VATICAN CITY – Parish communities with a real sense of obligation to spread the Gospel are places where vocations to be missionary priests and religious thrive, said Pope Benedict XVI.Read More

Gib Lease has noticed a definite pattern about who is most active in his church. No matter the ministry, he said, chances are pretty good that women outnumber men. More women teach religious education at his parish, he said. More girls are altar servers. And Mr. Lease is the only man in his Bible studies...Read More

At last we have something concrete to support the obvious (CR, Feb 21). As a result of a recent study of 1,008 married couples, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz was able to conclude that “We must find ways to offer couples a more integrated, continuous, and varied ministry that will help them grow in happiness and...Read More

VATICAN CITY – When Pope Benedict XVI met with the superiors of religious orders recently, most media coverage focused on the pope’s description of the “difficult crisis” religious life is facing.Read More

WASHINGTON – The long-held tradition of St. Patrick’s Day parades has experienced a bump in the road this year with the saint’s feast day occurring during an unusually early Holy Week.Read More

Dorothea McGee was thrilled to greet Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien at the front door of her Friendship Station Senior Housing apartment in Odenton Feb. 19.Read More

HAVANA – At a meeting with Cuban bishops and an open-air Mass, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state and the highest-ranking Catholic Church representative to visit Cuba in the past 10 years, said he hoped his visit would help advance church-state relations.Read More

WASHINGTON – When President George W. Bush and Pope Benedict XVI meet in April in Washington, they will continue discussions begun during Bush’s 2007 visit to the Vatican on the two leaders’ “common commitment to the importance of faith and reason in reaching shared goals,” according to the White House.Read More