Editor’s Note: Catholic men’s conferences began in 2000 in Worcester, Mass. These encounters with Christ, some drawing upwards of 4,000 men, have since spread to 65 venues across the country. Worcester Bishop Robert McManus reflects on the oldest conference’s 10th-anniversary event.

With great enthusiasm, I am looking forward to the 10th anniversary Worcester Diocesan Catholic Men’s Conference. We will convene at the DCU Center March 20.

I am very proud of the fact that we are the first diocese in the United States to have a 10th anniversary conference. The conference is one of the... READ MORE

Sunday, March 14 (Year C, Cycle II), is the Fourth Sunday of Lent: Laetare Sunday.


Papal
Laetare (Rejoice) Sunday is the day that — since we have passed the halfway point of Lent — the Church looks forward to the joy of Easter. It’s called “Rose Sunday” for two reasons. First, priests may wear rose-colored (practically pink) vestments today. Second, it’s the day of the “blessing of the golden rose” in St. Peter’s, a ceremony that was already called an “ancient ceremony” in 1051. The intricately fashioned solid gold roses were once sent to Catholic monarchs. Now they are... READ MORE

The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women wraps up its annual meeting tomorrow, and a focus of the gathering this year is the 15th anniversary of the fourth international conference on women that was held in Beijing in 1995.

One woman on hand is Jeanne Monahan, director of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council. The Washington-based organization is a faith-based think tank and political watchdog on topics that touch on the questions of human dignity, sexuality, marriage and family, and how these affect culture.

Monahan holds a master’s degree in theology of marriage and family from the Pope John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in...READ MORE

WASHINGTON — After administrators of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School in Boulder, Colo., discovered that a preschooler’s parents were lesbians, they declared that the child would not be able to continue in the school.

The lesbian couple was informed that their child would only be permitted to complete kindergarten, but not advance to first grade at the school. Both the Archdiocese of Denver and the pastor with direct responsibility for the parish school issued statements defending the Church’s position.

“Parents living in open discord with Catholic teaching in areas of faith... READ MORE