VATICAN CITY - Recognizing the sins of priests who have sexually abused children, performing penance and asking for forgiveness, the Catholic Church trusts that God will purify and transform the church, Pope Benedict XVI said.Read More

St. Cyril was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 376. This monk and priest became bishop of Alexandria in 412 and later became patriarch of the city. He worked at the Council of Ephesus to fight the heretic Nestorius who said that within Christ there were two persons. St. Cyril also wrote a book against Julian...Read More

St. Bridget of Sweden was born in 1302 or 1303 in Uppsala, Sweden. When she was 7 years old, she began having visions of the crucifixion. When she was 13 she married Prince Ulfo of Nercia and had eight children, including St. Catherine of Sweden. When her husband died in 1344, she went on a...Read More

JERUSALEM – The confluence of the Eastern and Western Christian calendars that leads to a common celebration of Christ’s resurrection this year is a “symphony that expresses the unity of faith,” said Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal in his Easter homily at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.Read More

It has been said that the wood of the cross was never far from the wood of the cradle. In December, we celebrated the birth of the Messiah. Now, in April, in Holy Week, we celebrate his death. Time goes even faster liturgically!Read More

St. Joseph of Cupertino was born June 17, 1603, in Naples, Italy. When he was 17 years old, he tried to join the Friars Minor Conventuals but was refused because of his lacking education. He also tried to join the Capuchins. Finally, he was accepted as an oblate at a Franciscan convent close to Cupertino....Read More

St. Martin de Porres was born Dec. 9, 1579, in Lima, Peru. He became a servant in a Dominican priory in Lima when he was just 11. When he served as the almoner (one who distributes alms), he begged from the rich to help the ill and poor in the city. He also cared for...Read More

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican defended a decision not to laicize a Wisconsin priest who sexually abused deaf children, despite the recommendation of his bishop that he be removed from the priesthood. In a statement responding to a report in the New York Times, the Vatican said that by the time it learned of the...Read More