After months of speculation that the document could offer guidance to empower individual bishops to deny Communion to pro-choice politicians, the document only obliquely references Catholics in public life.

Criminals “are not dangerous people. They are only people who are not sufficiently loved.”

Joseph teaches us this: “Do not look so much at the things that the world praises, look into the corners, look in the shadows, look at the peripheries, at what the world does not want.”

In almost 20 books published over half a century, Barry Lopez always maintained a tight focus on the interconnectedness—and spiritual value—of all life, from the smallest mushroom to the largest forest.

Archbishop Christophe Pierre spoke to the U.S. bishops Nov. 16 about the importance of listening to people in the church and being open to the work of the Holy Spirit.

“We all need God to help us to make sense of our lives, so when we try to live without God, we can become confused,” Archbishop Gomez explained.

Many carried signs emblazoned with “Enforce Canon 915,” a section of church law that they believe requires the denial of Communion to Catholic politicians who support legal abortion.

That morale is down for priests across the country is not exactly stop-the-presses material. But I wonder if it isn’t the canary in the coal mine of the Catholic Church today.

The Most Rev. Thomas John Paprocki, the bishop of Springfield in Illinois, and the Most Rev. Kevin W. Vann, the bishop of Orange in California, write in response to America’s interview with Senator Durbin.

“Journalism is not so much a matter of choosing a profession,” the pope said, “but rather of embarking on a mission, a bit like a doctor, who studies and works to cure evil in the world.”