Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay, India, is one of Pope Francis’s closest advisers. He’s a member of the council of cardinals re-writing the Vatican’s constitution, and he was also tapped to be one of the four coordinators of a recent Church summit on the protection of minors. Gracias told Crux said that the reorganization of Read more
Belgian Cardinal, Jozef De Kesel discusses with “New Europe” the role of the Catholic Church in modern Europe. Today’s Europe, where pluralism and secularism have changed the dynamic between Europe’s citizens and their relationship with one of the continent’s oldest institutions. What do you think it means to be Catholic in Europe today? What are Read more
Under previous pontificates bishops coming to Rome for meetings with Vatican officials could expect to be briefed about the work going on at head office and, if they had fallen out of line, should expect a stern telling off. This is changing with Pope Francis. According to the Archbishop of Melbourne, Peter Comensoli, who was Read more
A few prayers to Blessed John Henry Newman became a “constant dialogue” and then a desperate response to an emergency for Melissa Villalobos of Chicago. Her healing, which saved her life and the life of her unborn child, was accepted as the miracle needed for the 19th-century British cardinal’s canonization. Pope Francis announced July 1 Read more
You know that instant alarm you feel when a loved one’s normal voice on the phone is not normal? I knew something was wrong by the way my daughter said, “Mom?” A mother’s mind races in a thousand directions at that tone. What happened? What happened was indeed tragic, horrible, unbelievable: Her friend May had Read more
The devastating picture of Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his 23-month-old daughter, Valeria, lying face down in the muddy waters of the Rio Grande jolted the nation. We could no longer look away. The tragedy of a father and daughter from El Salvador drowning while he tried to save her from being swept away by Read more
I am writing to congratulate Members of Parliament who bravely defended the God-given right to life of every member of our community and voted against the End of Life Choice bill (EOLCB). By voting in favour of this bill at the second reading, Parliament has abandoned its commitment to upholding a culture of life and Read more
Without trust, human cooperation is impossible. Without trust, people refuse to cooperate and instead engage in struggles over power because they fear what will happen if their opponents have it. Today, we see this in the highly charged partisan character of American politics and in the Catholic Church, where the hierarchy has lost credibility. A Read more
On October 15, 2017, Pope Francis announced a Special Synod on the Pan-Amazon Region to take place in Rome. Its main objective is to “find new paths for the evangelization of that portion of the people of God, particularly the indigenous people who are often forgotten and often face a bleak future due to the Read more
A pair of schools in Indiana drew national attention to the Catholic Church’s attempts to grapple with LGBTQ relationships this month, highlighting the church’s complex position in a country increasingly welcoming to different sexual identities. The controversy began when it was revealed that the Archdiocese of Indianapolis would strip Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School of its status Read more