Two new books take very different pathways in telling the story of St. Francis.

The church speaks out on the great challenge of our time: sustainable development.

Pointless exercises in provocation deserve to be deplored.

Over 50 years as a priest I have read many profound books of theology and philosophy, from Jean Mouroux’s The Meaning of Man to Jacques Maritain’s True Humanism to Romano Guardini’s The Church and the Catholic and The Spirit of the Liturgy. These books deeply affected me because th

‘Animal abuse? I don’t look at it that way. It’s not testing cosmetics. It’s trying to save my life.”So says Eileen Youtie, a breast cancer patient who, according to a Dec. 14 report from the Associated Press, is paying more than $30,000 to test various chemotherapy dru

British pundits, pollsters and commentators all got it comprehensively wrong. Even senior politicians could not believe what they were seeing, and not one of them dared to claim they had predicted this. As the particularly British ritual of vote-counts in drafty sports halls amid solemn victory conf

‘Aloft’ and ‘Sunshine Superman’ adopt a bird’s eye view.

Saudi Arabia and Iran need to settle their differences through diplomacy.

Catholics of different political stripes do agree on important things.

Catholic Relief Services and its partners within the Caritas Internationalis network of relief and development agencies have begun looking to what lies ahead for Nepal as the poverty-stricken nation recovers from a devastating earthquake.America got a frontline report on May 6 from Jennifer Hardy, a

Squabbles over Catholic teachings are not unusual, yet this summer brings a twist: Pope Francis’ encyclical on ecology has garnered anticipatory praise as well as skepticism. The fervent speculation about a papal document before its publication seems to be something new under the sun. “T

We can change the negative attitudes, self-images and behaviors that hold us back.

When Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated on March 24, 1980, the vestments he wore were bathed in blood. After the attack, Carmelite nuns who managed Divine Providence Hospital in El Salvador kept them and other belongings with the greatest possible care. For 35 years, the congregation and the s

An Archbishop RespondsI write to express my strong disagreement with the article “Confirmation Bias,” by Michael A. Marchal (4/27). I believe that the best time for confirmation in our time and in our country is in the high school years. I understand that some want the traditional sequen

After a meeting at the Vatican on May 10 with Pope Francis, Cuba’s President Raúl Castro told reporters that he studies all of the pope’s commentaries and told him, “If you continue speaking like this, sooner or later, I will return to prayer and I will return again to the Catholi

The Vatican has published the Statutes for the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, another important step in the wide-ranging effort by Pope Francis to ensure protection for children and minors in church institutions worldwide. The new statutes give this papal body a formal juridical

The U.S. Supreme Court on April 28 heard oral arguments on the constitutionality of states’ restricting the definition and recognition of marriage to the union of one man and one woman. Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, comment

The horrors endured by Syria's besieged civilians continue to pile up.

A day is a long time in politics; so we can easily imagine how long a month or a year is.

May 12, 2015St. Peter's BasilicaPope Francis said Tuesday whoever lives the mission of “Caritas” is a true witness of Christ. Speaking during his homily for the opening Mass of the XXth General Assembly of “Caritas Internationalis”, the Pope said the Church’s h