Pope Francis wants it clear that his first encyclical is to be appreciated as an addition to the church’s 124 year tradition of Catholic Social Teaching. How do we know? He tells us so right there at the beginning in number 15: “It is my hope that this Encyclical Letter, which is now added to the body of the Church’s social teaching, can help us to acknowledge the appeal, immensity and urgency of the challenge we face.”

Although a new Pew Research Center study shows that Pope Francis remains just as popular as ever among Catholics across demographic and political lines (86 percent view him favorably), its recent polling suggests his hotly anticipated encyclical on the environment may only impress about half his U.S

Well, it has been some kind of morning here in Catholic media land.

The Archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis issued the following statement this morning from Archbishop John C Nienstedt In order to give the Archdiocese a new beginning amidst the many challenges we face I have submitted my resignation as Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis to our Holy Father

As the June 18 release of the pope 39 s encyclical on the environment approaches pre-emptive commentary either lauding or diminishing its so-far unseen contents continues apace Asked to comment on the galloping punditry that has anticipated the encyclical Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski noted wit

U S Conference of Catholic Bishops President and Louisville Archbishop Joseph Kurtz said U S bishops would welcome and cooperate with a new episcopal governing mechanism confirmed in an announcement from Rome this morning The Vatican announced today that Pope Francis had accepted the recommendati

Criminal charges were filed on June 5 against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis stemming from its handling of Curtis Wehmeyer, a troubled priest who was eventually convicted of child abuse in 2013 and defrocked in March 2015. Ramsey County prosecutors charged the archdiocese as a corporati

Criminal charges were filed today against the Archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis stemming from its handling of a troubled priest who was eventually convicted of child abuse in 2013 and defrocked in March Ramsey County prosecutors charged the archdiocese as a corporation with six gross misdeme

Memorial Day weekend produced headline-grabbing violence in three major U.S. cities.

UPDATE A referendum approving an amendment to the Irish constitution which will legalize same sex marriage has passed by a large margin as early polls had predicted The only surprise is how well the quot yes quot vote did across all segments of Irish society Many had predicted a generational di