“The Catholic Church does not view the sacramental seal as incompatible with maintaining child safety. The Church wants measures that will genuinely make environments safer for children. There has been no compelling evidence to suggest that legal abolition of the seal of confession will help in that regard.”

We did not undergo the prenatal testing that can identify the condition when I was pregnant with Dylan. We knew that the results would not change anything, and our doctor was fine with our decision.

The vulnerability of the Virgin still dispels distortions that we would create about her Son. He is not a figure of myth nor the creation of dogma. He is a man born to a woman, living in poverty.

Speaking to the group of diplomats, the pope dedicated his brief talk to "the path to peace"

The group, which included 14 children and teens, arrived in Rome from the Greek island of Lesbos Dec. 4.

The synod on the Amazon has again raised the possibility of women deacons. The New Testament gives us a model and precedent, writes Micah D. Kiel of St. Ambrose University, by the name of Phoebe.