Theologians sometimes try to express the meaning of Jesus’ resurrection in one sentence: In the resurrection, God vindicated Jesus, his life, his message, and his fidelity. What does that mean? Jesus entered our world preaching faith, love, and forgiveness, but the world didn’t accept that. Instead, it crucified him and by that seemingly shamed his message. We see this most clearly on the cross when Jesus is taunted, mocked, and challenged: If you are the son of God, come down from there! If your message is true, let God verify that right now! If your fidelity is more than plain stubbornness a ..read more

Catholics who worship at parishes in Baltimore City have the opportunity to weigh in on the proposal for Seek the City, the archdiocesan process underway for nearly two years to change the footprint of physical locations in the city while emphasizing a Eucharistic vision and a renewed vision for the city church in Baltimore. Geri Royale Byrd, director of the Seek the City to Come process, said the team and consultants are still listening, still taking feedback. "Seek the City to Come" is based on Heb 13:14: "For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the one that is to come." The Archdioces ..read more

In a new report released April 17, Catholic migrant advocates detailed accessibility issues facing asylum-seekers using CBP One, the mobile app run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to secure appointments needed to claim asylum and legally enter the United States. Since January 2023, migrants in Mexico have made more than 64.3 million requests for appointments to enter the U.S. using the app since the Biden administration issued rules making it a starting point in the American asylum system at the U.S.-Mexico border, CBS News reported in February. Those requests represent the number of tim ..read more

Exercising the virtue of temperance is not a recipe for a boring life, Pope Francis said, but rather it is the secret to enjoying every good thing. If one wants "to appreciate a good wine, savoring it in small sips is better than swallowing it all in one go. We all know this," the pope said April 17 at his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square. Continuing a series of audience talks about vices and virtues, the pope focused on temperance, which the Catechism of the Catholic Church defines as "the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of ..read more

The Biden administration’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is set to change federal regulations regarding pregnant workers’ fairness to mandate employers make “reasonable accommodations,” including granting leave, for workers to obtain abortions. The new rule, which is set to take effect 60 days from its publication on April 19, is part of the commission’s efforts to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), according to a final EEOC rule change announcement. The final rule expands the scope of accommodations that employers must make for “pregnancy, chil ..read more

Through all the years of my childhood, widows were just next door. The lady in the apartment behind us was very old, lived alone, spoke no English, and always wore black, but I don’t recall ever seeing her without a smile. Based entirely on her expression, I have to assume the things she said to me were kind. I couldn’t understand a word of Italian. When I was in fifth grade, we moved to a proper house, and a widow occupied the tidy place next to ours. She had lost her husband many years before in the mining disaster that was legendary in our town. Her yard was immaculate, her house well kept ..read more

Highlighting that American communities would “grind to a standstill” without the labor of undocumented immigrants, Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso is encouraging Congress to create more avenues to legal employment authorization for those with pending asylum claims. “Without their contributions, American communities would grind to a standstill,” Seitz said in an April 15 statement. “Not only are they working in some of the most arduous conditions but frequently with limited legal protections, and they are more susceptible to human trafficking and other forms of exploitation.” Seitz, who is the cha ..read more

Australian religious and political leaders have called for calm and unity after the attempted murder of an Assyrian Orthodox clergyman at his church's altar in Sydney's western suburbs, just days after a separate knife attack claimed six lives in Sydney's Bondi Junction mall. Assyrian Orthodox Bishop Mari Emmanuel, who rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic for his fiery YouTube sermons, was stabbed at 7:10 p.m. April 15 at the altar of Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, an independent church he established in 2015. In a now-removed livestream, a man in dark clothing could be ..read more

Tens of thousands of Poles have joined church-backed street protests after legislators pressed ahead with plans to liberalize abortion in the traditionally Catholic country. "As Poles responsible for our homeland's future and the rights of every person living under our republic's sovereign authority, we demand an immediate halt to subversive actions by the current government and its parliamentary majority against the inherent right to life confirmed in our constitution," protesters said in a resolution. "The foundation for rights protected by our republic is the natural, inalienable and inviol ..read more

The creators of world-famous MGM Studios obviously thought having a live, roaring lion opening every one of their movies did not pack enough punch. They added a motto — and in Latin, nonetheless — to add gravitas: Ars Gratis Artis (“Art for Art’s Sake”). That may sound altruistic, but the reality of the motion picture industry will always be its commitment to the “industry” part of the “art,” and the profit and loss column.  MGM celebrates its centennial this year and there are now more production companies than there are stars in the heavens. With exponential growth in filmmaking technol ..read more