The moist air failed to dampen the spirits of the candle-holding faithful as they paid tribute to slain Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero in a Fells Point procession March 24 that illuminated the streets and enlightened onlookers. Patti Ferguson of Canton hadn’t heard of Archbishop Romero, who was murdered in San Salvador, El Salvador, while celebrating...Read More

Sometimes a single sentence is worth a 30-day retreat. I was having lunch with two of the finest people on the planet. I won’t mention Theresa and Bernadette by name. Suffice it to say that these two wonderful people have made enormous contributions in the fields of education and medicine. They also love, and rescue,...Read More

ST. PAUL. Minn. – Archbishop Harry J. Flynn of St. Paul-Minneapolis said he barred celebration of Mass at a national meeting on homosexuality and Catholicism because the sponsoring organization dissents from aspects of church teaching. People with homosexual orientation “are children of God, not outcasts,” but the truths of the Catholic Church need to be...Read More

LIMA, Peru – Around the corner from the health center in Quiquijana, a village in the southern Peruvian Andes, a scenic wall painting depicting a woman in colorful local dress announces the location of the “Mama Wasi,” or “mother’s house.”Read More

VATICAN CITY – As head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith since 2005, U.S. Cardinal William J. Levada has found that most of his work is behind the scenes. The recent action against Jesuit Father Jon Sobrino was an exception: He was the first theologian to be publicly censured during Cardinal Levada’s...Read More

CONVENT, La. – The haunting lyrics of the spiritual made famous by Louis Armstrong – “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen/Nobody knows but Jesus” – might be an apt job description for crisis counselors and case managers who daily commiserate with the south Louisiana fishing families harmed by the massive BP oil spill.Read More

VATICAN CITY – Many people today seem to have a difficult time recognizing sin, but at the same time the number of people suffering from “guilt complexes” seems to be growing, Pope Benedict XVI said. “We see a humanity that wants to be self-sufficient, where not a few maintain they can do without God and...Read More

WASHINGTON – At what one participant called a “critical juncture in consecrated life,” dozens of religious and Catholic lay leaders gathered in Chicago recently to hash out the next steps needed to attract young people to religious life today.Read More