Dante in the Underworld by George Augustus Wallis. Public Domain, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. When I was 24, I was asked at the last minute to substitute teach a religious education class at ...

An individual may ask a priest to offer a Mass for several reasons: for example, in thanksgiving, for the intentions of another person (such as on a birthday), or, as is most common, for the repose of ...

The following letter, sent to Catholic World Report, is a critical response to Michael O’Brien’s popular critique of the Harry Potter books, Harry Potter and the Paganization of Children’s ...

In the early martyrologies, three different St. Valentines are mentioned, all sharing Feb. 14 for a feast day. Unfortunately, the historical record is sparse. The first St. Valentine was a priest and ...

Vatican II in Session, Public Domain, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. “The appearance of the church in the modern era shows that in a completely new way it has become a church of heathens, and ...

Bishop James Conley. Most Reverend James D. Conley, DD., STL, is the bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska. Before his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI to the see of Lincoln in September 2012, he served as ...

The stench of their burning is with us yet. The stakes and gibbets where witches perished by the tens of thousands during early modern times still stand in popular imagination. For historians, the ...

Undset had come to Catholicism from Atheism, and on that journey looked at what Lutheranism could offer but found little to enthuse over. Her observations revealed the various Protestant Churches ...

“The Incredulity of Saint Thomas” by Caravaggio. The difficulty of discussing proofs and counterproofs in matters of faith lies in the fact that, strictly speaking, faith is not based on proofs, or at ...

The official process for declaring someone a saint is called canonization. Prior to the year 1234, the Church did not have a formal process as such. Usually martyrs and those recognized as holy were ...

Last week, you wrote about angels. What about the devil? We hear much about angels, but seem to have forgotten the devil. The Catechism of the Catholic Church asserts, “Behind the disobedient voice, ...

The Oxford Movement began in 1833 under the leadership of John Keble, E.B.Pusey and John Henry Newman. These churchmen had in mind a return of the Anglican Communion to a ‘Catholic’ Church faithful to ...