Catholic Church

By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky, Catholic Culture - Sexuality affects all aspects of the human person: body, mind, and emotions. It is the foundation of the capacity of men and women to bear children within the context of marriage. Human sexuality is also a significant factor in forming bonds of healthy relationships with others. In the crucially important arena of human sexuality, our first obligation is to identify the normal. Christian chastity defines normal and removes the frustrations that come with living abnormal lifestyles.

Catholic News Agency - Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI met last week with a recently dismissed professor of moral theology at Rome’s Pontifical John Paul II Institute, amid ongoing controversy regarding recent changes to the Institute… Benedict XVI invited Monsignor Livio Melina to meet with him in on Aug. 1, a source close to Melina told CNA… The pope emeritus “wanted to receive Prof. Mons. Livio Melina at a private audience. After a long discussion of the recent events at the Pontifical Institute John Paul II, he granted his blessing, expressing his personal solidarity and assuring him of his closeness in prayer.”

By Stephen Beale, Catholic Exchange - One of the most beloved verses on faith is Jesus’ simile of the mustard seed… Most people draw comfort from Jesus point about the power of a faith that is small like the seed. But a larger truth behind this: mustard seeds grow. So Jesus is not only drawing attention to the small size of these seeds… In order to grasp the full meaning of the phrase, let’s first take a look at it as it appears in Matthew and Luke…

By Fr. Jeffrey Kirby, The Catholic Thing - In life, we see two currents. The Lord Jesus described them as two paths: the wide way and the narrow way… Pope Saint John Paul II translated these notions into more contemporary language. In his monumental 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae… the beloved pontiff coined terms now common to a deep Catholic understanding of our times: the culture of life and the culture of death. In these expressions, the saint-pope was once again showing that there are two paths and two loves in life.