Will conservative Catholics help media skew Church discussions on marriage?

March 05, 2014 5:40 PM Will conservative Catholics help media skew Church discussions on marriage? By Phil Lawler

Seven months before the Synod of Bishops meets to discuss pastoral care for the family, one can easily foresee how the mass media will cover the prelates’ discussion. It is not easy to predict which themes will emerge as most...

The Crisis of the German Hierarchy Comes to a Wrongheaded Head

March 05, 2014 2:07 PM The Crisis of the German Hierarchy Comes to a Wrongheaded Head By Dr. Jeff Mirus

Sadly, the German cat is now rather obviously out of the bag, at least for those who thought it was still in the bag: German bishop demands change in Church teachings on sexuality. Bishop Stephan Ackermann of Trier is using the recent...

The City Gates

March 07, 2014 What's left for the Legionaries? By Phil Lawler

What do you do with a religious order that has lost its mission? In a revealing interview last week with the Catholic News Service, the new leader of the Legionaries of Christ spoke about how the order’s founder, the later Father...

Key Insights

March 07, 2014 Promise and Danger for the Church

It's been a banner week for commentary here at CatholicCulture.org. One of the most important topics has been the growing efforts to precipitate change in Catholic teaching on marriage, family and sexuality. See: Phil Lawler: Will...

Catholic World News: Today's Top Stories

• 4 Christian villages attacked in Nigeria
• Pope meets with leader of World Council of Churches, urges prayer for Christian unity
• Vatican denies rumors that papal trip to Israel is in jeopardy
• Swiss bishops’ conference criticizes proposed legalization of surrogacy
• New Haitian cardinal mediates in nation’s political crisis
• Papal secretary recalls Pope Benedict’s resignation
• Coordinate plans with parishes, Pope asks lay movements
• See more headlines! (News homepage)

Liturgical Year Blog

March 07, 2014 Lenten Wake-up Call By Jennifer Gregory Miller

Plunging into Ash Wednesday with fasting and abstinence is such a "rude" awakening of the senses to Lent. No matter how hard I try to "ease" into fasting, the day is always very difficult. The Ash Wednesday sermon of...

In Depth Analysis

March 07, 2014 Are we tempted beyond our strength? By Dr. Jeff Mirus

We have all heard from the time we were knee-high to a tadpole that God never permits us to be tempted beyond our strength. If we’ve done any spiritual reading, this axiom has been drummed into us by more than one author. Sometimes...