Did anyone else hear the Pope's homily in St. Patrick's tonight?  I was very pleased that his first point was about the gratitude and wonder of each successive encounter we have with the person of the Christ -- and that his second more behavioral point was grounded in the first.

Following up this post from a few weeks ago, the Vatican today rejected the apology of anti-Semitic and Holocaust-denying Bishop Richard Williamson.

Jewish groups praised the Vatican for its tough stand, which Vatican sources said will likely make it harder for the traditionalist bishop to be fully re-admitted into the Church and lead to greater ( Read more... )

Is it true that the catholic church charged money to have people raised from purgatory?

'Upon this rock I build my church'
What connection does the Catholic church claim, between itself, and Peter?

Taken from http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/?eng=y. I thought it was interesting :-)

The Pope Theologian Says: The Proof of God Is Beauty

The beauty of art and of music. The wonders of sanctity. The splendor of creation. This is how Benedict XVI defends the truth of ( Read more... )

On Saturday at World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, Pope Benedict XVI continued his catechesis to the young people gathered, this time focusing on the person of the Holy Spirit. Among the many great speeches he has given, this one is especially poignant because so many of us struggle with an understanding of our relationship to this mysterious ( Read more... )

And the series on the Church Fathers (in many ways a continuation of the series on the Apostolic Tradition):

1. 7 March 2007, Saint Clement, Bishop of Rome

1. 14 March 2007, Saint Ignatius of Antioch

1. 21 March 2007, Saint Justin, Philosopher and Martyr

1. 28 March 2007, Saint Irenaeus of Lyons

1. 18 April 2007, Clement of ( Read more... )

( Pope pictures )

When Jesus ascended into heaven , He left one Apostolic church behind him- not a ragged bunch of bickering and contesting factions. The church had unity for hundreds of years, until the Great Schism, when the eastern and western halves of the Church broke up ( Read more... )

I'm not a Catholic, nor do I wish this to turn into a debate about Catholicism, but I think that this is pretty interesting and worth discussing. Given that the Pope is the face of Christianity for many in the world, it should not be taken lightly. That is all. Cross posted to ljchristians

Fewer confessions and new sinsBy David Willey ( Read more... )

Pope Benedict released his second encyclical today. It's called Spe Salvi (Saved by Hope), based on the words of Saint Paul "in hope we were saved" (Rome 8:24). The introduction is as follows:

1. “SPE SALVI facti sumus”-in hope we were saved, says Saint Paul to the Romans, and likewise to us (Rom 8:24). According to the Christian faith, “ ( Read more... )