All Souls Day immediately follows All Saints Day in the Church calendar for good reason: Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, reaffirms our ancient faith as Catholics “in the living communion which exists between us and our brothers and sisters who are in the glory of heaven …

El Día de Todas las Almas sigue inmediatamente al Día de Todos los Santos en el calendario de la Iglesia por una buena razón: la Constitución Dogmática de la Iglesia del Vaticano II, Lumen Gentium, reafirma nuestra antigua fe como Católicos “del consorcio vital con nuestros hermanos que se hallan …

Momma, I don’t feel so good.” Those dreaded words always send a flurry of thoughts running through my mind, especially when uttered on a weekday morning. Out comes the thermometer, and when the inevitable 100.8 degrees registers on the screen, my husband and I start quickly recalculating our plans for …

In The Gospel of Life, Pope St. John Paul II writes, “[T]he deepest element of God’s commandment to protect human life is the requirement to show reverence and love for every person and the life of every person” (EG, 41). By “every person,” the Holy Father especially named those who …

A pending bill in the Ohio General Assembly, S.B. 103 (the “Bill”), if passed and signed by Governor DeWine, will abolish the death penalty in Ohio. Cincinnati Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr, on behalf of himself and all the Catholic bishops of Ohio, has submitted written testimony endorsing the Bill and …

Question of Faith: If saints are known to be in heaven, are there particular souls known to be in hell? The Church does not judge whether certain souls are in hell. Such judgment is for God alone. Even those individuals who appear to have lived contrary to Christ’s teachings may …

Every month should be, in a sense, Respect Life Month. There is no time or circumstance in which respect for life is not demanded of Christians. During October, however, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) asks us to give special attention to the sanctity, dignity and rights of every …

Cada mes debe ser, en cierto sentido, el Mes del Respeto a la Vida. No hay momento ni circunstancia en la que no se exija a los Cristianos respeto por la vida. Durante octubre, sin embargo, la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de Estados Unidos (USCCB) nos pide que prestemos especial …

Does the Church believe homosexuality is a choice? Your question is a complex one, straddling science, moral theology and pastoral practice. In discussing the origins of homosexuality, it is important to understand the Church’s vision of the person and human sexuality. This is particularly crucial since the Church’s teaching regarding …

In my column from last month’s issue, I closed with these words: “In Jesus, there is always more to life.” My family recently spent some vacation time in Maine, and it provided me ample opportunity to ponder “more to life.” One day, when there was a break in the summer …