Catholic Church

By Michael Pakaluk, The Catholic Thing - I heard Catholic parents complain about the perceived assault on their family Christmas preparations, along the lines, “Do I need to shield my children from Vatican teaching now?” “What happened to ‘make straight his paths’ in Advent?” “Wasn’t John the Baptist martyred for not blessing an ‘irregular relationship’?”   While we were embroiled in controversy, surely the Christ Child was neglected.

By Alyssa Murphy, EWTN News - Here are the best moments to keep in mind from the last year as we push forward to build a more pro-life, pro-family America... As we rounded out our first full year as a country no longer under the grips of a national abortion law, the pro-life movement is steadfastly working not only to protect sacred life in the womb but also those growing old or infirm amid the rampant uptick in countries and states pushing for euthanasia.

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture - Last week when I compiled my list of the top 20 news stories of 2023, I consciously passed over the death of Pope Benedict XVI, since he died on December 31, the final day of the previous year. But now as I reflect on the past year, I suspect that the death of the “Pope Emeritus” had an enormous impact on Vatican policies in the months that followed.

By Isabel Barry, Catholic News Agency - A brilliant thinker and prolific writer, Pope Benedict XVI wrote 66 books in his lifetime. His final work, “What Is Christianity? The Last Writings,” was published in Italian on Jan. 20, just weeks after his death at age 95 on Dec. 31, 2022... In this last book, the pope addressed a number of important issues he had not touched on before. He also clarified and expanded his thoughts about various social and theological questions.