Pope John Paul II once said that “The Gospel lives always in conversation with culture, for the Eternal Word never ceases to be present to the Church and to humanity. If the Church holds back from culture, the Gospel itself falls silent.” (Address to the participants in the plenary meeting of the pontifical council for ...read more

In a recent interview with ZENIT, Salt and Light’s Sebastian Gomes reflected on the significance of Pope John’s upcoming canonization in the context of the 50th anniversary celebrations of Vatican II.  What does “the Good Pope’s” canonization mean for a generation of Catholics who came of age long after the Council closed?  Read the full ...read more

“This discernment takes time. For example, many think that changes and reforms can take place in a short time. I believe that we always need time to lay the foundations for real, effective change. And this is the time of discernment. Sometimes discernment instead urges us to do precisely what you had at first thought ...read more

Excerpt from ADDRESS OF POPE FRANCIS TO RECENTLY APPOINTED BISHOPS TAKING PART IN A COURSE ORGANIZED BY THE CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS AND BY THE CONGREGATION FOR THE EASTERN CHURCHES Clementine HallThursday, 19 September 2013 “What does tending and having the permanent and daily care of their sheep (Second Vatican Ecumenical Council Lumen Gentium, n. 27) ...read more

This post is part of a series of reflections by TJP writers on Pope Francis’s recent interview. Full Series List: The Papal Interview: Young Jesuits React and Reflect The Original Interview: At America Magazine By Ryan Duns, SJ “We must not reduce the bosom of the universal church to a nest protecting our mediocrity. And ...read more

By Peter Folan, SJ “In my experience as superior in the Society, to be honest, I have not always behaved in that way — that is, I did not always do the necessary consultation. And this was not a good thing. My style of government as a Jesuit at the beginning had many faults.” Like ...read more

This post is part of a series of reflections by TJP writers on Pope Francis’s recent interview. Full Series List: The Papal Interview: Young Jesuits React and Reflect The Original Interview: At America Magazine By Paul Lickteig, SJ We should not even think, therefore, that ‘thinking with the church’ means only thinking with the hierarchy ...read more

This post is part of a series of reflections by TJP writers on Pope Francis’s recent interview. Full Series List: The Papal Interview: Young Jesuits React and Reflect The Original Interview: At America Magazine By Quentin Dupont, SJ “I am a Sinner” This is Pope Francis’ first response–after a few moments of reflection–to the softball ...read more

  When Vatican Connections launched in January 2013, it was just an idea. Something we were testing out to see if it would fly. Then suddenly, everything changed. On February 11, 2013 Pope Benedict XVI announced to the Cardinals that was resigning from his Petrine Ministry. Overnight, Vatican Connections became the go-to source for information ...read more

This post was submitted by Catherine Mulroney, the editor of  Living with Christ which is published by Novalis. St. Jean de Brébeuf is a giant of Canadian history. His writings in the Jesuit Relations, for example, offer an invaluable window into life in 17th-century Canada, while his gift for languages, which prompted him to create ...read more