Leonardo Defilippis wears many hats well.

He is an acclaimed actor, producer and director of award-winning films and videos, including the feature-length Thérèse; he is also the founder and president of Saint Luke Productions and Luke Films, which will celebrate their 30th anniversary on Oct. 18, the feast of St. Luke.

Defilippis’ latest production is the made-for-television program Vianney Speaks, which is co-produced with EWTN and premieres on EWTN on Oct. 14 and 15.

Vianney Speaks grew out of Vianney, Defilippis’ highly praised play about the life of St. John Vianney, the patron of parish priests. Defilippis has performed it for more than 100,000 people, from prelates to prisoners....READ MORE

The Vatican’s adult stem-cell venture with a U.S. biopharmecutical firm continues to gain momentum since the partnership between the two was announced in June.

The move shows how “the Catholic Church is not against science, that we support ethically acceptable research, and that we want to foster this knowledge and spread it globally,” Father Tomaz Trafny of the Vatican’s Council for Culture told CNA on Oct. 12.

“We also want people to understand that in joining forces we can really bring benefit to humanity,” he said, noting that the endeavor “is the first time we’ve entered into so deep a collaboration with an outside company.”

On June 16, the Vatican announced before the global media...READ MORE

WASHINGTON (EWTN News/CNA)—The Obama administration has cut funding for the U.S. bishops’ campaign against human trafficking, which had been challenged by the ACLU for avoiding contraception and abortion.

Sister Mary Ann Walsh, director of media relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said there was “no reason given” by the Department of Health and Human Services for rejecting the conference’s application for a new grant at the end of September.

She said the bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services work had previously been “well regarded.”

However, in a Sept. 29 letter to the U.S. Catholic hierarchy, Archbishop Timothy Dolan had warned that the administration was “requiring...READ MORE

John W. Garcia, known as “Johnny” to his friends, has seen the dark side of life. The 39-year-old California native came from an abusive home and sought to alleviate his pain through alcohol. He soon found that as his drinking increased so did his suffering.

Garcia’s attempts to overcome alcohol and eventual drug abuse included Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, inpatient and outpatient treatment centers, more than 10 medications and psychotherapy. He had periods of sobriety but also many relapses, never finding true contentment.

Garcia even found that some of the means proposed for his benefit actually made things worse, including the medications he was given. His breaking point came in...READ MORE

The Loss that Led Us to Mother Church - Siri Abrahamson, Catholic Herald

19 Words Every Catholic Should Know - Emily Stimpson, Our Sunday Visitor

Putinism and the Ukrainian Catholic Church - Tim Kelleher, First Things/On the Square

Franco, Spain and Catholicism - George Conger, Get Religion

October Catholic Presidential Poll - The American Catholic

Democracy in Peril: Egypt’s Handling of Coptic Unrest - Anthony Billingsley, MercatorNet

The Brittleness of Islam - Mark Shea, Patheos/Catholic and Enjoying It!

Remembering Christopher Dawson: Who Are You? - Brad Birzer, TIC

Can Christians Not Be Religious? - Fabiola Garza

Catholic Politicians who do Nothing to Stop Abortion - Fr....READ MORE

ROME (EWTN News/CNA)—As thunder, lightning and wind whipped through the World Youth Day prayer vigil this past August, Pope Benedict XVI was advised to leave the event three times. But he insisted that if the young people stayed, then he would too.

The revelation comes from a young Honduran woman who stood next to the Pope throughout the event.

“The masters of ceremony were asking him if the wanted to leave because it was raining; it was pouring, and the wind was really strong. And he kept on saying that he would not leave. In fact, he twice waved his finger saying, ‘No, no, no’,” 27-year-old Erika Rivera told EWTN News.

The advisers then asked a third time if the Pope wanted to...READ MORE

Jesus calls us to rhyme our lives with his, just as the New Covenant rhymes with the Old.

In past years, the WWJD (“What Would Jesus Do?”) phrase has become popular in some circles. It’s well intended and, to be sure, sometimes we are indeed to do what Jesus would do. So, for instance, when somebody sins against us, we must forgive them as Jesus would. When somebody is hurting, we must comfort them as Jesus would. When somebody is hungry, we must feed them as Jesus would.

But we must also remember that we are not Jesus. We are his disciples. We are to be like Jesus. We cannot be Jesus, and, therefore, we cannot always do what Jesus does.

We cannot, for example, multiply loaves and...READ MORE

Pastoral Answers: Apostolic Succession? - Msgr. M. Francis Mannion, Our Sunday Visitor

Natural Law: The Pope’s Foundation for Positive Law - Angelo Campodonico, Ilsussidiario

Big Porn Inc. - Melinda Tankard Reist, MercatorNet

Post-Kinsey: Is There Anything Normal About Pornography? - Cassandra Hough, Public Discourse

My Heroes Have Always Been Warlords - John Zmirak, Crisis Magazine

Memories of Michael Davies - Fr. Tim Finigan, The Hermeneutic of Continuity

Ten Traits of a Great Teacher - Theresa Thomas, Integrated Catholic Life™

New Translation: Eucharistic Prayer III, Part IV (Intercessions) - Jake Tawney, Roma locuta est

Tommy - Donald R. McClarey, The American Catholic

Martin...READ MORE