Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, “Peace be with you!” (Jn 20:19). With these, the first words of the risen Lord to his disciples, I greet all of you in the joy of this Easter season. Before all else, I thank God for the blessing of being in your midst. I am particularly grateful to...Read More

ROME – Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna is not playing “a game of chicken” with priests calling for reforms in church practice, but is interested in getting the priests to work with him to bring new life to Viennese parishes, his spokesman said.Read More

Father William J. Watters, S.J., former pastor of St. Ignatius, Baltimore, was honored by the Ignatian Volunteer Corps (IVC) April 10 at a Loyola Blakefield, Towson, reception. The priest received the first Madonna Della Strada Award, presented by the IVC national office and named after Sancta Maria Della Strada, the first church which St. Ignatius...Read More

LEVITTOWN, Pa. – A new federal regulation that would require employer insurance plans to provide contraceptives that some consider abortifacient and voluntary sterilization among cost-free preventive care measures such as inoculations and Pap smears is being greeted with varying levels of dismay in Catholic dioceses across the country.Read More

SEATTLE – Catholic leaders must move beyond an attitude of simple compliance with safe environment initiatives and instead join in “a ministry of conversion” that will lead to a broader societal effort to end the sexual abuse of children, Archbishop Alexander J. Brunett of Seattle said April 8.Read More

All the Catholic elementary schools of the Archdiocese of Baltimore were set to open on the same Aug. 29 date this year.Read More

WASHINGTON – As the U.S. Catholic Church prepared to welcome Pope Benedict XVI, a new survey found big differences among Catholics of different generations about the importance of the sacraments in their lives.Read More

HARTFORD, Conn. – Warning that “budget cuts that negate assistance to our cities can end up costing the society much more in the long run,” a retired auxiliary bishop of Hartford said such cuts could make urban areas “ripe for explosive riots such as those we saw in the 1960s.”Read More