When the Jesuits in Portugal were entrusted with planning the Way of the Cross, they knew it needed to be quite different from any previous prayer service.

Christians can play a special role in the renewal of our politics. Because we know that the truth is not only real, but a person.

On Aug. 6, we wrestle with the dramatic extremes of good and evil, as symbolized by the ancient glory of the Transfiguration and the utter destruction of that first atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

America editor Ricardo da Silva, S.J., and Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell report from Lisbon on the opening of World Youth Day in this special episode of "Inside the Vatican."

A Reflection for Friday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Kaya Oakes

Pope Francis told some 500,000 singing, shouting and swaying young people that God has called each person to him by name, not their social media handle.