Awake now! So goes my two-year-old’s announcement every morning around 6. She wakes up, crawls out of bed, walks down the hall into our room and, putting her face as close to mine as she possibly can, declares the entire truth as she sees it at that moment. It is a microcosm of her every actio

Two of the most troubling aspects of American society today are the high rate of divorce and the fact that divorce in one generation increases the likelihood of divorce in the next. Current divorce statistics indicate that most divorces occur for couples married less than five years and that the pro

This is not the first book on the liturgy from Joseph Ratzinger a German Catholic theologian cardinal prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and former archbishop of Munich He has also written A New Song for the Lord as well as an important introduction to Klaus Gamber

Saint Benevolens parish just got the dreaded word. As of next June, St. Ben’s will cease to be a parish. To appreciate this situation, there are some things you should know. St. Ben’s parishionersit’s a real placehave had three pastors in the past four years. They have survived a s

Pope Clears Way for Beatification of 27 Ukrainian MartyrsJust seven weeks after the local study of 27 Ukrainian martyrs ended, Pope John Paul II cleared the way for their beatification during his trip to their homeland on June 23-27. The Vatican published the decrees recognizing the martyrdom of the

Like little green shoots, small church communities are emerging all over the Catholic parish landscape. They are one of the more promising pastoral initiatives at work in U.S. parishes today. In an individualistic and consumerist culture, whose spirit in some respects infects the very way we do pari

WARNING: In this essay I use the terms conservative and liberal that no one likes. I don’t like those labels! everyone says, implying (whether intentionally or not) that their own position is too complex and nuanced to be captured by something so simplistic as a one-word label. I use those lab

Gerald Coleman is a nuanced thinker, a faithful churchman and a sensitive pastoral guide. His writing on sexuality is widely respected and justifiably influential in Catholic circles, especially among people involved in the church’s ministry with and for lesbian and gay persons and their famil

Catholic Health System, Union Set Expedited Election RulesCatholic Healthcare West and the Service Employees International Union have signed a landmark agreement on procedures and conduct for expedited union representation elections. The 15-page accord between the nation’s largest health care