The “sense of mystery” Catholics should experience at Mass is not one prompted by Latin or by “creative” elements added to the celebration.

Noted primarily for his work on religious liberty, John Courtney Murray, S.J., provided much of the basis for theological and political reflection on the relationship between church and state on these shores through his voluminous writings.

The future pope was hesitant about categorically banning contraception before the release of “Humanae Vitae,” documents and recordings show.

Pope Francis has complained that traditionalist Catholics, particularly in the United States, are “gagging” the church’s modernizing reforms and insisted that there was no turning back.

“When liturgical life is a bit of a banner of division, there is the odor of the devil, the deceiver,” the pope said on May 7.

Kenneth Woodward interviews the Rev. Joseph Komonchak, the renowned scholar of the Second Vatican Council, on the council's impact yesterday and today.