No Insurmountable Problems to Diplomatic Relations With China, Says Vatican A top Vatican official said there were no insurmountable problems to establishing diplomatic relations between the Vatican and China. Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, the Vatican’s equivalent of a foreign minister, said on

Basil Pennington Dead at 74; Known Worldwide as Writer and Teacher of PrayerAbbot M. Basil Pennington, the Trappist monk known worldwide for his books and ministry on centering prayer, died on June 3 at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester from injuries sustained in a

Catholic Press Group Silent on ResignationCatholic Press Association members voted 48 to 28 on May 26 against a statement expressing concern about the resignation of Thomas J. Reese, S.J., as editor in chief of America magazine and emphasizing the importance of Catholic journalists’ exercising

Two Reports Show Ecumenical ProgressDespite differences, there are many parallels in the way Catholics and Methodists foster and express communion with God and one another through their respective church structures, says a report released on May 13 by the U.S. Catholic-United Methodist dialogue. The

Justice for ImmigrantsCiting reasons as broad as Catholic teaching about the right to migrate to improve one’s life and as narrow as the need of one emigrant from Guyana to support his family, more than a dozen church organizations and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on May 10 launched

Jesuit Officials Say America Editor Resigned After Vatican ComplaintsJesuit officials in Rome said Thomas J. Reese, S.J., resigned as editor in chief of America magazine after repeated complaints from then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who objected to the magazine’s treatment of sensitive church