With several of his cousins and their children and grandchildren present, Pope Francis celebrated Mass in the Asti cathedral, giving a nod to his family roots and drawing people’s attention to the root of Christian faith: the cross of Jesus.
Family Life
Posted inFeatures, Magazine
Hours of Need: One nonprofit’s holistic approach to helping incarcerated women and their families
Since 1992, Hour Children has aimed to prepare women during their sentence for re-entry into society and then provide support after it ends.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
American corporations will pay for abortions, but not for parental leave.
More employers are promising to cover the costs of getting an abortion. They do not seem as eager to to expand paid parental leave and other benefits for workers who want children.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Pope Francis appoints a father of two to No. 2 spot at Vatican family office
The appointment of Gleison De Paula Souza as secretary means that now three out of the four senior positions of responsibility at the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life are held by laypeople.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
Punitive time-off policies may result in the first national railroad strike in 30 years
A threatened strike by freight rail workers is not about wages but about the right to take time off for a doctor’s appointment or to care for a sick child. Catholic social teaching supports this right for all workers.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
100-Word Faith Stories: (Very) short essays about unexpectedly experiencing God in the world today
These (very) short essays about unexpectedly experiencing God in the world today include feelings of joy, sadness, laughter, anger and anything in between.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
‘Having a child shouldn’t mean losing your job’: Pregnant Workers Fairness Act awaits vote in Senate
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act has yet to pass in the Senate, even though it has broad support from Democrats, Republicans, the USCCB and even the Chamber of Commerce.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
The Catholic Church needs to reimagine the role of godparents
Ted Kennedy Jr. on the importance of godparents: The need and desire for spiritual guidance, love, support and personal mentorship does not end when we reach adulthood.
Posted inFaith, Features
Flexible Catholic workplaces aren’t just good for parents. They’re also good for the church.
While Catholic employers still have a long way to go in figuring out sustainable maternity leave policies, most are missing another easily implemented opportunity to support women and families more generally: offering part-time, flexible jobs.
Posted inFaith
Pope Francis: Even for the elderly, the best of life is still to come
“The life of the risen body will be a hundred and a thousand times more alive than we have tasted it on this earth,” Pope Francis said as he concluded his cycle of catecheses on old age.