Read & Reflect
Articles, reflections, news, and homilies — thoughtful Catholic content for the faithful, published regularly.
Latest Articles
Featured
Head of French charity warns of existential challenges facing Eastern Christians
Monsignor Hugues de Woillemont, director general of the French organization L’Œuvre d’Orient, said that Eastern Christians, especially Christians in the Holy Land, are facing existential challenges that threaten their historic presence. Chief among these challenges, he said, are migration, the pres...
U.S. Embassy debunks claim Vatican honored Iran with top diplomatic award
The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See has publicly rejected online claims that the Vatican granted Iran a unique or politically motivated diplomatic award, calling the allegation inaccurate and misleading.“Contrary to news reports, Pope Leo has not bestowed an exclusive special honor on the Iranian ambas...
Inquest finds priest and 4 Catholic civilians shot by British troops ‘unlawfully killed’
Speaking at a Mass in Belfast, Northern Ireland, following an inquest that found five Catholics, including a priest, were unlawfully killed by British soldiers in 1972, Bishop Alan McGuckian, SJ, of Down and Connor told Corpus Christi parishioners that the verdict “restores dignity to the deceased,...
How Christ’s ascension takes the training wheels off our faith
Christ’s ascension is meant to help us to grow to full stature in Christ as we respond to his confidence in making us his missionaries, together with the Holy Spirit, to renew the face of the earth.The celebration of the solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord is an annual opportunity for us not only...
Catholic Culture
8 interesting things to know about Mildred Martínez, Pope Leo XIV’s mother
Learning about the life of Mildred Martínez, the mother of Robert Prevost, allows one to better understand the family environment that helped inspire the vocation of the man who is now Pope Leo XIV.In his book “De Roberto a León” (“From Robert to Leo”) published by Editorial Mensajero, Armando Lover...
Pew report details how Americans feel about religion’s influence on government and public life
A Pew Research Center survey found a growing minority of U.S. adults believe religion is gaining influence in American life, and more than half of adults have a positive view of religion.The May 14 report found that 61% of U.S. adults said religion is losing influence in American life. In contrast,...
Pope Leo XIV warns students against the ‘great lie’ fueling youth anxiety
Pope Leo XIV visited Rome’s public La Sapienza University on Thursday, the largest university in Europe and one of Italy’s most prestigious academic institutions, where he denounced the “great lie” he said is causing anxiety and depression among young people.Speaking in the university’s Aula Magna a...
German Catholic congress approves bondage group's booth
An ecumenical working group promoting “consensual BDSM culture” will again exhibit at Germanyʼs Catholic Congress in Würzburg this week after organizers said its guidelines pose “no contradiction with the Catechism.”BDSM is an acronym that stands for “bondage and discipline, dominance and submission...
Catholic film star becomes first Christian chief minister of major Indian state
CHENNAI, India — The Catholic Church in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu is celebrating after Joseph Vijay, an actor-turned-politician raised in the Catholic faith, was sworn in as the stateʼs chief minister on May 10.“This is a historic development. We hope it will lead to positive changes as the chi...
U.S. State Department renews $100M Cuba aid offer for Church-led distribution
The U.S. State Department reiterated an offer of $100 million in aid for Cuba to be distributed by the Catholic Church and other humanitarian organizations.In a May 13 statement, the State Department said the United States “continues to seek meaningful reforms to Cuba’s communist system, which has o...
Democratic senators press Housing secretary on missing homelessness data
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner faced scrutiny from Democratic senators over the agency’s failure to release legally required counts of homeless people, a lapse Catholic Charities USA says undermines efforts to address rising homelessness.Turner testified before the Senate...