We already reported on Deal Hudson’s comments on Miguel Diaz, the nominee for U.S. ambassador to the Holy See.

Hudson, who served as director of Catholic outreach for George W. Bush’s 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns, has now weighed in on President Obama’s Catholic outreach in this interview on Dan Gilgoff’s “God & Country” blog on the U.S. News and World Report website.

Commenting on Obama’s meeting with Pope Benedict, Hudson (who was with President Bush for his first meeting with Pope John Paul II in 2001) was blunt: “It was misleading of the president to speak to the Holy Father about committing to abortion reduction when he knew the healthcare bill would include...READ MORE

Caritas in Veritate: Benedict’s Call for Love in the Marketplace

BY FATHER RAYMOND J. DE SOUZA
REGISTER CORRESPONDENT

Pope Benedict XVI’s Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth) is a complex document of which the constituent parts have given rise to various reactions by commentators, some of them contradictory.

In terms of practical policy recommendations, Benedict’s first social encyclical shifts Catholic social teaching toward the more statist, redistributionist line favored by popes from Pius XI to Paul VI. It does not entirely abandon the more personalist, liberty-centered approach of Leo XIII and John Paul II, but Benedict does not draw out the same conclusions that his...READ MORE

Pope Benedict XVI will meet tomorrow with President Barack Obama for the first time.

The Register spoke recently with Carl Anderson, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus, about the upcoming meeting. The full text of the interview is available here.

Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

What are your hopes for President Obama’s meeting with the Pope?
Certainly, there are great expectations. Every circumstance in which he [Obama] finds himself, the expectations are huge. The diplomatic relationship between the Vatican and the U.S. is hugely important, obviously. The U.S. is the economic and military superpower, and you have the Vatican as really the global voice of conscience for...READ MORE

This Father’s Day, put Dad to work — on his own soul.

Dear Friend,

Father’s Day is right around the corner, and we’ve just completed the third reprinting of my fast-selling book: The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer.

It’s a spiritual guide book that no Catholic father should be without.

“Do a job right or don’t do it at all.”

“Nothing makes a tough task easier than having the right tool.”

These words have served me well over the years. And lately I’ve found myself thinking about their time-tested wisdom in a whole new way.

Why?

Because answering the Church’s universal call to holiness is a very tough task for most men. It can take a...READ MORE

CNSNews.com reports that a group has filed a formal complaint with the Internal Revenue Service charging the diocese of Portland, Maine, with violating federal tax rules in the homosexual “marriage” fight.

An activist group for “transgendered” and “bisexuals,” as well as homosexuals, wants the Church’s nonprofit tax status revoked.

Empowering Spirits Foundation spokesman Tyler Davis is quoted saying: “The problem is, Marc Mutty, who is the public affairs director for the Catholic diocese of Portland, Maine, went onto public television stating that the Church itself would be behind — and this is his own quote — ‘the largest grassroots movement in Maine’s history’ to overturn...READ MORE

Is Notre Dame Catholic?
Assessing the Evidence

By Thomas Uebbing
National Catholic Register

A question that will linger for many is whether or not the enthusiastic reception Notre Dame gave Obama was the beginning of funeral rites for the university’s Catholicity.

Archbishop Raymond Burke, prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican’s highest court, told the Register that Notre Dame needs to “come clean.”

“Is it Catholic or isn’t it?” he asked. “There’s an apostolic constitution, Ex Corde Ecclesiae, which sets forth the requirements for a university to have the name Catholic. I think that Notre Dame has to either follow those norms or say ‘We’re not a Catholic...READ MORE

Dr. Obama Dashes Dialogue at ND: Cites Irreconcilable Differences

A Register column
by Bishop Robert W. Finn
Of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo.

I tuned into the May 17 Notre Dame graduation for the obvious reasons. I was particularly interested in this cultural watershed that united scores of American bishops and countless others who could not fathom why President Barack Obama should be granted the platform and a doctoral degree honoris causa by a Catholic university.

In his commencement address at Notre Dame, President Obama cleared the air concerning his intentions in the abortion wars. “Understand,” Dr. Obama directed, “I do not suggest that the debate surrounding abortion can or...READ MORE

Pope Benedict XVI is now flying back to the Vatican, having concluded his Holy Land papal visit.

Now that the Pope’s May 8-15 Holy Land trip is over, it’s time to assess what was accomplished during the Holy Father’s trip. Here at the Register, we’ve assigned that task to Register correspondent Father Raymond J. de Souza, who was on the ground in Israel and Palestine to cover the papal pilgrimage of peace.

Look for Father de Souza’s take on the significance of Benedict’s visit, to published in the next print issue of the Register and available online on Monday.