Read & Reflect
Articles, reflections, news, and homilies — thoughtful Catholic content for the faithful, published regularly.
World News
World News
Sheen City
Yo!Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen is going to be beatified September 24, in the city of St. Louis.Ed and I are going. We want you to come, too. We want as many Catholics to be there as possible.So we’ll be leading a pilgrimage to the beatification, and then to Fulton Sheen’s hometown of Peoria, t...
World News
Corpus Christi, ‘come una madre’, and real beer
Happy Friday friends,And a very happy feast of Corpus Christi, whether you celebrated yesterday or will on Sunday.For those who may not realize, the feast as strictly instituted falls on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. Though its transfer to the next Sunday is almost universally effected, the fea...
World News
America’s renewal begins with the Eucharist
Gen Z is the least religious generation. It also goes to Church the most. While most Zoomers reject the ‘outdated superstitions’ of their parents, a devout minority remains highly engaged. Young Americans are not lukewarm. They’re either all-out or all-in.Archbishop Charles Thompson kneels before th...
World News
USCCB to vote on revised 'Dallas Charter'
The U.S. bishops’ conference is set to vote next week on a revised version of their landmark safeguarding document, the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.USCCB headquarters, Washington, D.C. Credit: Fr. Gaurav Schroff, Flickr CC BY SA 2.0.But while there have been calls in rece...
World News
In the clubhouse with Christ — the ministry of MLB chaplains
When Father Richard Rocha quit coaching high school football to enter seminary, he thought he would be stepping away from athletics for good.But in 2005, a few years into his priesthood, Bishop Robert Finn, who was then bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, asked him to take on two additi...
World News
Mozambique bishop killed
The bishop of Quelimane, Mozambique was shot early Saturday morning in his residence. Bishop Osório Citora Afonso was 54 years old.Bishop Osório Citora Afonso. Credit: Mozambique episcopal conference. Details of the killing are yet to emerge. No arrests have been made, no suspects arrested, and moti...
World News
God and robots, the end of a synod, and a recipe for joy
Paid Pillar subscribers can listen to Ed read this Pillar Post here: The Pillar TL;DRHappy Friday friends,I am looking forward to the long weekend, as I am sure most of you are.Monday is likely to prove a working holiday for us here at The Pillar, given that it sees the formal presentation of Pope L...
World News
What’s France’s new assembly on catechumens?
The staggering increase in adult baptisms in France will be the topic of a major gathering at the end of May.Bishop Raymond Centène welcomes a catechumen at the Rite of Election in the Diocese of Vannes, northwestern France, on Feb. 22, 2026. Credit: Screenshot from @diocesevannes YouTube channel.An...
World News
Come Sheen with us!
Hey everybody,As Pillar readers know, Venerable Fulton Sheen — America’s favorite TV bishop — will be beatified September 24, at a Mass in St. Louis, presided over by Cardinal Luis Tagle.Ed and I will be there for the Mass, for a Pillar Podcast live show, for the full SheenFest experience, and for a...
World News
Pentecost in Brazil: Festa do Divino
Sunday is Pentecost, the feast on which the Church recalls the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles 50 days after Easter.Traditional celebrations for the feast day include novenas to the Holy Spirit, the release of doves, and the famous shower of rose petals in the Pantheon in Rome.Decora...
World News
John Carroll, the news, and the pope's encyclical
This Pillar Post is available entirely for free to all readers through a sponsorship from the Saint Sebastian Institute.You can listen to this Pillar Post here: The Pillar TL;DRHey everybody,Today’s the seventh Tuesday of Easter, and you’re reading The Tuesday Pillar Post.In less than two months, we...
World News
The German Church’s AfD nightmare scenario
Germany’s bishops are months away from a potential showdown with a surging political party they have urged Catholics not to vote for because of its “racial-nationalist” attitudes.Bishop Gerhard Feige of Magdeburg, Germany. Credit: Evangelische Kirche in Österreich/wikimedia CC BY-SA 2.0The looming c...