Who Can Receive Communion at a Catholic Mass?
You may approach the Eucharist only if you are a baptized Catholic who is in a state of grace, as receiving Communion while conscious of unconfessed mortal sin is spiritually…
What Does the Catholic Church Teach About Immigration?
There’s a consistent moral thread in Catholic teaching that every person, regardless of nationality or legal status, possesses inherent dignity because they are made in the image of God. You…
What Do Catholics Believe About the Eucharist? The Real Presence Explained
Most Catholics believe the bread and wine at Mass become the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ, not merely symbols. This conviction centers on the Real Presence, a doctrine…
Why Do Catholics Pray to Mary and the Saints? Do They Worship Them?
Over two billion Christians worldwide belong to the Catholic Church, and within its tradition, you encounter prayers directed to Mary and the saints. You may wonder whether this practice implies…
Pope Leo XIV remembers 9/11 victims, calls for peace and forgiveness
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV remembered the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on Sunday and renewed his appeal for peace amid conflicts and violence around the…
Vatican vegetable garden goes 100% organic
A vegetable garden and orchard inside the Vatican walls, which historically provided food for the pope’s household, is now cultivated using exclusively organic farming techniques. The private garden covers almost…
Pope Leo XIV sends greetings to Rome’s Jewish community for new year observances
Pope Leo XIV sent greetings to Rome’s Jewish community as it prepares to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot in a telegram addressed to the city’s chief rabbi, Riccardo…
Synod study group proposes broader role for Catholics in bishops’ ad limina visits
VATICAN CITY — For centuries, “ad limina apostolorum” visits — the periodic pilgrimage of diocesan bishops to the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul and their meetings with the…
Pope to new bishops: The most important mission is to ‘remain with Jesus’
Pope Leo XIV said the first task bishops must place before every other responsibility is to “remain with Jesus,” because, he emphasized, “we are bishops, but first and foremost we…
Synod group calls for gender-equality mechanisms in Church workplaces
The General Secretariat of the Synod on Tuesday, Sept. 8, published the final report of Study Group 6, which presents concrete proposals for renewing relations among bishops, consecrated life, and…
Love is not a feeling but a decision, Pope Leo XIV tells couples
Pope Leo XIV reflects on human love in the prologue to the new edition of “YouCat: Love Forever,” emphasizing that it is not a fleeting feeling but rather “a decision,…
Pope Leo XIV warns of Western ‘paradox’ on individual freedom
Pope Leo XIV warned Wednesday of a “paradox” in Western societies where a growing emphasis on individual freedom coexists with an increasingly widespread fear of being judged. Speaking to bishops…