A new book describes the current state of Vatican affairs not so much through the lens of Pope Francis’ nine-year papacy, but via Benedict’s nine-year retirement.

If the main duty of a cardinal is to be an adviser to the pope, and there is no ordination required, it could make sense to restart the tradition of lay cardinals—and include women in the mix.

Catholics, that is to say, have not necessarily been praying the Our Father wrongly, but too often we have not been praying it fully, either. While we are busy trying to get it right, we neglect to make it our own and discover its vast permutations.

The 45-minute meeting was the second between Pope Francis and Victor Orban in less than a year, but couldn’t have been more different in tone.

Adults envy the wonder that kids can find in the everyday world, while kids resent being told that so much of the world is off-limits to them, that they must not touch, not taste, not take into their own hands.

As the numbers of priests and consecrated women and men available for ministry continue to dwindle, religious orders are seeking out models that ensure their respective missions and charisms.

“Honor thy father and mother” is a solemn commitment. It is not just about one’s own father and mother. It is about their generation and the generations before, honoring the elderly.

One year into a three-year global synodal process, we should not expect hot-button issues and their promoters to vanish, nor for public disagreements among Catholics to cease.

Robert F. Drinan, S.J., was a prominent U.S. politician and a longtime law professor—but he found his identity in his priesthood and his Jesuit life more than under the Speaker's rostrum.

This week on “The Gloria Purvis Podcast,” Gloria speaks with Rev. Jacques Fabre, who on May 13 will be installed as the first Black bishop of the Diocese of Charleston—and one of a handful Black bishops in the United States.