Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., says that the U.S. bishops’ new Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty will officially meet for the first time this Sunday, Nov. 13.

He also revealed that the committee, which is “just getting organized,” will likely consist of “about 10 bishops” as well as “a number of very qualified lay consultors.”

“What is our goal? It is first of all to lift up the whole area of religious freedom, beginning with the teaching of the Church in Dignitatis Humanae, the Second Vatican Council’s declaration on religious freedom,” Bishop Lori told CNA on Nov. 8.

He also sees the committee’s task as “recouping, if you will, the vision of our Founding Fathers of...READ MORE

St. Mary’s Messenger, Catholic Magazine for Kids - Patti Maguire Armstrong, Catholic Lane

Australia: Love & Responsibility, Taking Universities by Storm - Bernard Toutounji, beingCatholic

Education = Virtue - Anna Williams, VirtuousPla.net

Will the New Translation Be Granted Its Full Voice? - Jeffery A. Tucker, New Liturgical Movement

Healthcare, Conscience, & Religious Liberty (Linda Greenhouse) - Helen Alvaré, Public Discourse

Straight & Worthy Answers on Abortion - Msgr. Charles Pope, Archdiocese of Washington

Belloc, Distributism & Political Power - Jonathan Witt, Acton Institute/Power Blog

Should Catholics Attend Invalid Weddings? - Eric Sammons, Our Sunday Visitor

Sense of...READ MORE

Mississippi’s proposed ballot initiative intended to recognize legal personhood from conception onward failed to pass on Tuesday, Nov. 8, but its backers resolved to continue their work.

With about 90% of the vote counted on the evening of Nov. 8, Initiative 26 was failing by 58% to 42%.

“Changing a culture — and changing a country — will not happen with one election, and so, it is not unexpected. We thank the over one-quarter of a million Mississippians who voted for Amendment 26,” said Keith Mason, president and co-founder of initiative Personhood USA.

“We vow to continue on this path towards affirming the basic dignity and human rights of all people, because we are assured that it is...READ MORE

Does a child have a right to parents? Does a child have a right to be reared by his parents? Should a parent ordinarily give life to a child and then get out of his life? Even if he does, should society allow that?

Most people would answer the first two questions “Yes” and the last two “No.” We instinctively recognize that children ordinarily have a right to parents who gave them life and raise them. We instinctively recognize that ordinarily a parent should be responsible for his child and, if he is derelict in that duty, society should hold him accountable.

I say “ordinarily” because we admit exceptions: A parent may die or be abusive; an unwed teenage mother may have no other option...READ MORE

Atheist Convert: Jennifer Fulwiler - Jennifer Fulwiler, Why I’m Catholic

Must the Roman Curia be Italian? - George Weigel, Crisis Magazine

Purgatory and the Role of Mary as Plenipotentiary - Taylor Marshall, Canterbury Tales

Waking Up Catholic: From Protestantism to Catholicism - Michael Larson, NOR

Benedict XV, Rudyard Kipling, John Bunyan & G.K. Chesterton - Donald R. McClarey, The American Catholic

Meaningless Art - Marc Barnes, Patheos/Bad Catholic

Talents in Trust (Matthew 25:14-30) - Fr. John Bartunek, Catholic Spiritual Direction

Abp. Dolan Decrees No Same-Sex “Marriages” in Churches & Properties - Thaddeus Baklinski, Life Site News

A Canonical Look at Archbishop Dolan’s...READ MORE

Republicans are more likely to attend church than Democrats, while Catholics’ presence in both U.S. political parties has dropped slightly, a new Gallup poll says.

“Democrats remain less likely to attend church weekly and more likely to seldom or never attend church than the national average,” Gallup reported on Nov. 7.

About 52% of Democrats or those who lean Democrat seldom or never attend church, a Gallup survey from June-August 2011 found. This is an increase of 2% since a Gallup poll conduced in January-March of 2008. Although the 2008 poll found that 29% of this group said they attended weekly, in 2011 only 27% said the same.

Among Republicans or those who lean Republican, 38% say...READ MORE

Do You Love Your Neighbor with Same Love that You Love God? - Fr. Ryan Erlenbush, New Theological Movement

Forgotten Praise - Sr. Lisa Marie Doty FDCC, VirtuousPla.net

Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade, SJ: Abandon Yourself to this Book - Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture

US: Belmont Abbey Goes Old School - Cardinal Newman Society/Campus Notes

The Human Face: Image of God - H. Reed Armstrong, Crisis Magazine

Proper Fear of God Encourages Us to be Spiritually Awake - Carl E. Olson, Our Sunday Visitor

Interior v. Exterior Peace - Joe Heschmeyer, Shameless Popery

Why I Never Should have had Eight Children - Leila Miller, Little Catholic Bubble

What I’ve Learned Falling in Love with my Fiancé...READ MORE

VATICAN CITY (EWTN News/CNA)—Pope Benedict XVI spoke today about Psalm 119 as a wonderful discourse on the breadth and depth of man’s relationship with God.

The Psalmist’s song “voices the range of sentiments which fill the hearts of those who pray: praise, thanksgiving, trust, supplication and lament, all within the context of a heartfelt openness to the Lord’s word,” the Pope said.

He explained to the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Nov. 9 general audience that the Psalm is “an acrostic” – an ancient poetic structure in which each stanza contains eight verses and begins with a different letter from the 22-word Hebrew alphabet. These 22 stanzas also make the Psalm the...READ MORE