Jeanie Hannaman

By St. Thérèse of Lisieux, The Catholic Thing - Beside the tomb wept Magdalen at dawn, – She sought to find the dead and buried Christ; Nothing could fill the void now He was gone, No one to soothe her burning grief sufficed.

By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press - Pope Leo XIV affirmed Wednesday that priests must be celibate and insisted that bishops take “firm and decisive” action to deal with sex abusers, as he gave marching orders Wednesday to the world’s Catholic hierarchs... Leo met in St. Peter’s Basilica with about 400 bishops and cardinals from 38 countries attending this week’s special Holy Year celebrations for clergy. A day after he gave an uplifting message of encouragement to young seminarians, Leo offered a more comprehensive outline of what bishops must do to lead their flocks. ....

By Stephen P. White, The Catholic Thing - The Pew Research Center (I served in an advisory capacity ) has a new report out that looks at Catholic life in the United States. The primary takeaway from the report is that nearly half (47%) of American adults have a significant connection to Catholicism. One in five (20%) Americans identify as Catholic. An additional 9% of Americans say they are culturally but not religiously Catholic. An equal number (9%) say they are former Catholics. And 9% have a Catholic parent, spouse, or partner – or say they sometimes attend Catholic Mass.