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April 17, 2019

Notre Dame fire shows beauty still matters, art historian says

April 17, 2019

As people in Paris and around the world watched in horror as flames consumed the roof of Notre Dame Cathedral, the blaze also stirred genuine emotions that could come only from witnessing the loss of beauty, art historian Elizabeth Lev said. The April 15 fire that engulfed the centuries-old Gothic cathedral showed that although Notre

Christians facing ‘unprecedented’ persecution, Catholic and Anglican prelates warn

April 17, 2019

Cardinal Vincent Nichols and Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby have called for the British government to do more to protect Christians facing persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. In a joint statement from the Catholic Church and the Church of England, the two prelates said the government should promote freedom of religion and belief

Saved from the flames: The treasures that survived the Notre Dame fire

April 17, 2019

When the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Parish caught fire Monday, most predicted the worst. It seemed unlikely the structure could survive, or that some of the treasures inside might be saved. Indeed, a full two-thirds of the cathedral’s roof was destroyed in the blaze, as was the famous spire. But despite the images of

Pro-life student group sues Scottish university for alleged discrimination

April 17, 2019

A pro-life student group at the University of Aberdeen filed a lawsuit on Friday against the university and its student association after it was blocked from affiliating because of its pro-life stance. In October the Aberdeen University Students’ Association prevented the affiliation of the Aberdeen Life Ethics Society, citing its own pro-choice policy. The move

Dispute over Papal Foundation’s $25 million grant approval continues

April 17, 2019

Scrutiny continues for the U.S.-based Papal Foundation, amid questions of whether some of its grant activity was motivated by a desire to secure leniency for disgraced former cardinal Theodore McCarrick. The ongoing controversy surrounds the foundation’s decision to make an unprecedented grant to a leading Italian hospital whose former leadership had faced accusations of massive

‘Mary, dry our tears’: French priests respond to Notre-Dame blaze

April 17, 2019

Father Pierre Amar was praying in Notre-Dame de Paris at 5 p.m. Monday evening to prepare spiritually for the Easter Triduum; hours later he was ringing the “funeral bells” at his parish to mourn the flames consuming the “mother of all the cathedrals in France.” Hearing the bells, Amar’s parishioners came to their church in

The symbolism of the Notre Dame fire is too great to ignore

April 17, 2019

I am still moved by the sight of Notre Dame de Paris engulfed in flames during the most sacred week of the Christian year. The intense array of images and signs are too great to chalk up to mere accident. Yet it is a strange fact that many commentators argued about who had the best

Why Holy Thursday is not for the spiritually timid

April 17, 2019

First published in 1931 and now republished by Sophia Institute Press, Holy Thursday by the French Nobel laureate, Francois Mauriac (1885-1970), deserves to be more widely known. The work of an imaginative writer rather than a theologian, this slim volume of 97 pages, excluding notes, reflects its author’s profound Catholic faith, his familiarity with the