WASHINGTON (EWTN News)—Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington told a group of Catholic educators Oct. 2 that they have a special call to introduce their students to Jesus and show them how the faith is relevant to their lives.

“We are capable of transforming this whole world,” he said.

Cardinal Wuerl was the homilist at an Oct. 2 Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in the nation’s capitol.

The Mass opened a national invitation-only conference on “The Catholic Identity of Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools.” The gathering is being cosponsored by The Catholic University of America and St. John’s University.

In his homily, Cardinal Wuerl recalled...READ MORE

WASHINGTON — The 2011 Red Mass, held yesterday in the nation’s capital, marked a new term for the Supreme Court.

Briefly forgotten amid the spectacle of crimson vestments and a Knights of Columbus honor guard at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle was a critical First Amendment case that will get its day at the nation’s high court. On Oct. 5, the justices will hear oral arguments for Hosanna-Tabor Church v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, No. 10-553.

The case turns on whether a Lutheran church, which fired a teacher at a church school, should be subject to federal anti-discrimination laws protecting disabled employees.

The Lutheran church contends that the intrusion of...READ MORE

ORLANDO (CNA)—Twenty-five-year-old author and Catholic convert Brandon Vogt has a message for the Church: Utilize new media or fail to reach the American population and much of the rest of the world.

“These new-media tools have already infiltrated our culture, our way of communication, in ways that are mind boggling,” Vogt told CNA on Sept. 16.

“They are not a trend, they are not a passing fad and are, therefore, necessary for the Church to engage in,” he underscored. “If this digital continent is where people are, then the Church needs to be there too.”

In his new book The Church in the New Media (Our Sunday Visitor/$13.95), which includes a chapter by Register blogger Matthew Warner,...READ MORE

Nominated five times as country music’s top male vocalist and author of more than a dozen chart-topping songs, Collin Raye has been a popular country performer for 20 years. Now he is putting his talents toward the cause of life, recently signing on as national spokesman for the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network, which seeks to raise awareness about euthanasia and the care of persons with disabilities. The network is run by Bobby Schindler, the brother of Terri; her feeding tube was removed by court order in 2005.
 
Raye, 51, was born in Arkansas and grew up in Texas, first performing on stage with his mother at age 7. After performing for years with his brother, he began his solo...READ MORE

The First Epistle of St. John - Fr. Tucker Cordani, Catholic Lane

When Caesar Sits On the Altar: For Religious Freedom, Bishops Go to War - Rocco Palmo, Whispers in the Loggia

Scientists Confirm Eucharistic Miracle in Poland - Dylan Parry, A Reluctant Sinner

AP Reporter: Most Important Aspect of Covering Religion is Social Media and Blogs - Carl Olson, Ignatius Insight Scoop

Why Don’t Catholics Go to Confession Anymore? - Mark Stricherz, Catholic Vote

About Your Guardian Angel - Fr. Ryan Erlenbush, VirtuousPla.net

China’s One-Child Toll Reaches 400 Million - Steve Mosher, LifeSiteNews.com

Abp. Dolan Issues Warning to Obama Administration: Stop Attacking Marriage & Religious Liberty!...READ MORE

VATICAN CITY (EWTN News/CNA)—Pope Benedict XVI used his Sunday Angelus address on Oct. 2 to remind Christians to call upon their guardian angel for help throughout life.

“Dear friends, the Lord is always near and active in human history and follows us with the unique presence of his angels, that today the Church venerates as ‘guardian’; in other words, those who minister God’s care for every man,” the Pope told pilgrims gathered in Rome’s St. Peter’s Square.

“From the beginning until death,” he said, “human life is surrounded by their constant protection.”

The Pope’s comments come on the feast of the Guardian Angels, a day celebrating the Catholic Church’s teaching that each person is...READ MORE

John Wayne, for many, was a Hollywood legend who symbolized true masculinity and American values. To Father Matthew Muñoz, though, he was simply “granddaddy.”

“When we were little we’d go to his house, and we’d simply hang out with granddaddy; and we’d play, and we’d have fun: a very different image from what most people have of him,” Father Muñoz told EWTN News on a recent visit to Rome.

Father Muñoz was 14 years old when his grandfather died of cancer in 1979. In his lifetime, “The Duke” won three Oscars, the congressional Gold Medal, and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Of all those achievements, though, Father Muñoz is most proud of just one: his...READ MORE

The Catholic Conference of Illinois has created a new Defense of Marriage department in response to the state’s passage of a civil-unions law.

Each Catholic diocese in the state will appoint advocates who seek to defend against “public-policy encroachments” and to promote the Church’s “love and solicitude towards marriage, families and children,” the conference said on Sept. 22.

Zach Wichmann, the conference’s director of government relations, heads the new department.

He said that the new office reflects the bishops’ intention to keep the Church in the public square and in line with the Catholic faith’s mission. The department will advocate marriage as the proper home for human...READ MORE