The alleged papal puppy putdown raised the question: Is there a spiritual component to owning an animal?

“That’s one of the reasons why I didn’t go to live in the papal apartment, because the popes before me were saints and I couldn’t do it—I’m not so much a saint,” the pope said on Feb. 6 during a primetime Italian talk show.

Recovering the history of black Catholics is an important challenge for all black Americans and for their churches.

Pope Francis, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and President Biden issued statements emphasizing the need to recognize that all people are brothers and sisters and are called to live together as such to achieve peace.

Is the church really interested in listening and learning from former Catholics? Or is it only “listening” to get them to come back to Catholicism?