Pope Benedict’s first encyclical. An encyclical is considered one of the most authoritative documents from the pen of the pope, and a new pontiff’s first encyclical is considered something of a “mission statement” for the rest of the pontificate. Benedict’s first, Deus Caritas Est, or God is Love, was considered surprising by some in that […]

Catholic World News article about Pope Benedict’s decision to consolidate the leadership of four Vatican councils under two presidents, one of his first reforms of the Curia.

Read an October 2002 Dallas Morning News profile of an Orthodox Christian icon painter.  

Current and historical information about the bishops and dioceses of the Catholic Church.

Read a Dallas Morning News article about how a church’s theology determines what kind of cross it displays. It’s posted by thecross-photo.com.

Exhaustive catalog of information on cardinals past and present with biographies, geographic distribution and a wealth of other information. Compiled by Salvador Miranda, a retired professor of library sciences at Florida International University.

Article by the Rev. Richard John Neuhaus about American dissent to official Vatican positions on sexuality as well as criticism of some of Pope Benedict’s early appointments of bishops including promoting the archbishop of San Francisco, William Levada, to succeed himself at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith as the church’s doctrinal gatekeeper and the […]

Read a Jan. 12, 2003, sermon that Charles Rush gave at Christ Church in Summit, N.J., describing the Easter tradition of baptism in the ancient church.

The Roman Catholic Church welcomes thousands of new believers into the faith each year at Easter Vigil. Some are converts from Protestantism, but those who are new Christians make the sacraments of baptism, First Eucharist and confirmation all in one momentous night. Read the blog of a lifelong Methodist who became a Catholic during Easter vigil 2005.