Tristan Deppe acknowledges that then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s “Introduction to Christianity” was not exactly at the top of his reading list. But the text by the future Pope Benedict XVI was just one of several weighty theological works the 16-year-old parishioner of Immaculate Heart of Mary, Baynesville, read for the first time last semester as one...Read More

WASHINGTON – Nearly eight months pregnant and raising her 18-month-old son as a single mom, Dominique Pointer knows that getting a federally subsidized apartment early in August was a blessing.Read More

Imagine each day seeing and working with people who are incredibly poor, dying and alone – people few others in the world are willing to touch, much less love. Two people who were canonized last year epitomize this spirit: St. Damien of Molokai, who ministered to those with Hansen’s Disease (leprosy); and St. Jeanne Jugan,...Read More

I wish to respectfully disagree with James Dickinson’s letter (CR, Jan. 4), in which he states that the right to life should take issue before all others – meaning the end of legal abortion. I agree with him that Democrats should change the pro-abortion platform. In the same breath, if the Republicans think that prolife...Read More

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The resignation of a Polish archbishop over spying revelations has highlighted a tension between judgment and forgiveness in the church, one that has taken on new meaning in post-communist Europe. In the broadest sense, it’s a tension found in the teaching of Christ, who preached forgiveness but told his followers to...Read More

It is gut-wrenching to try to understand violent behavior and the senseless outcomes. While it challenges our conventional wisdom, each act of violence that lay on the floors of our war-ravished cities and countries, serves to shatter our illusions. They often serve as great moments of transformation. Even closer to home, we suffer the effects...Read More

During the last week of July, Baltimore City witnessed the murder of eight people. In response to this horrific violence, city Councilman Carl Stokes is holding a prayer vigil. Where is the Catholic prayer vigil response to all of this violence? How can we bring true peace to the violent streets without a meaningful prayerful...Read More

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The resignation of Polish Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus of Warsaw has prompted embarrassment and disappointment in the Vatican, along with a sense of relief that Pope Benedict XVI did not allow the awkward drama to continue a single day longer. In an official statement, the Vatican praised the “humility” of Archbishop Wielgus,...Read More