The times are changing. Decades ago, Catholic families had a half-dozen kids or more, and Catholic schools were routinely staffed, for the most part, by a convent-full of religious sisters. High schools for boys often had religious brothers teaching. Tuition was often less than $100 a year.Read More

Students of Mercy High School, Baltimore, will be given a first-hand account of world hunger in India, thanks to Rekha Abel of Catholic Relief Services.Read More

Catholic schools and religious education programs not only educate children about their faith, they also help children grow spiritually, including teaching them to become missionary.Read More

Lent is a time, not to hurt ourselves, but to die to ourselves so that we can live life to its fullest. Many of our penances – giving up sweets or cigarettes or alcohol, as well intentioned as they are – end up making us more self-absorbed. We are never so conscious of our tooth...Read More

VATICAN CITY – For Vatican and Irish participants, the two-day meeting on the handling of priestly sex abuse cases was a major accomplishment, combining a frank admission of mismanagement with truly collaborative discussions on how to avoid such mistakes in the future.Read More

VATICAN CITY – The Catholic Church supports scientific research aimed at helping people, but the destruction of human embryos or their use as “biological material” demonstrates that a desire to help does not always coincide with respect for every human being, Pope Benedict XVI said.Read More

Early this month, I joined more than 30 bishops from the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast on a five day spiritual retreat at Our Lady of Florida Passionist Retreat House in North Palm Beach.Read More

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Bishop John H. Ricard of Pensacola-Tallahassee was resting in a Florida hospital Feb. 15, five days after undergoing surgery to remove a hematoma that had formed on his brain.Read More