Walter M Abbott S J the New England province Jesuit and former associate editor of America probably best known for his work in editing The Documents of Vatican II a book that for many years remained the standard compilation of the writings of the Council died this morning He had lived f

Here are the things I m reminded of every year at the LA Religious Education Congress--which ended today with a lively Mass celebrated by Roger Cardinal Mahony--and which I sometimes forget during the rest of the year First The Catholic church is alive because the People of God are alive with

If you haven t seen it already here s Fr Jim Martin s oped in today s New York Times praising the Vatican s recent directive calling for greater rigor in its own saint-making process Among Fr Jim s recommendations for a further tightening up of the process Officials could re

The LA Religious Ed Congress is not only a great place to hear fascinating speakers the most popular for the past few years seems to be Timothy Radcliffe O P the former master general of the Dominicans an unassuming and friendly man ho draws huge crowds with his talks on spirituality but also

One of the benefits of spending a little time in another part of the country means that you see how Catholics elsewhere do things and do things very well Last night I participated in an innovative adult-ed program called The University which is based in the northern part of the Archdiocese

What is it about modern church architecture that drives so many Catholics to distraction Admittedly there are some real clunkers out there in Catholicland Typically when I m driving through a new town I can often spot the Catholic church if it s been built somewhere around the 1950s or 196

It s sometimes rather difficult for a celibate man--a priest no less--to figure out what types of books articles essays and blogposts might appeal to mothers and fathers but this one I feel has a good shot of doing so since it was recommended by not only The New York Times in an article

A pilgrimage to Chimayo, the Lourdes of America

With all the commentary flying around the blogosphere about Pope Benedict s message to the Jesuit General Congregation it s helpful now to read an unofficial translation of the pope s full message to the Society which while strongly urging obedience to the Word of God and the Magist

Today Pope Benedict XVI received the delegates of the 35th General Congregation in the Sala Clementina in the Vatican for a meeting that lasted one-half hour The pope began his comments by thanking Father Kolvenbach for his service and as the official GC35 site describes The Pope also urged