Five Ways We Can Know God Exists and What These Ways Tell Us About Him - Nicene Guys

The Case Against Protestant Special Pleading - Joe Heschmeyer, Shameless Popery

Flogging: The Best Hope for Our Broken Prison System? - Stefan McDaniel, Public Discourse

Dour Combat: Gavin O’Connor’s “Warrior” - Daniel McInerny, Catholic Exchange

The Massgoer’s Guide To Full and Active Participation - Keyser Soze, New Springtime!

Faith and the Scientific Imagination - Mark P. Shea, Catholic and Enjoying It!

Fragmented Liturgy: It’s Time to Restore Unity in the Church - Dylan Parry, A Reluctant Sinner

How Should People of Faith Respond to Tragedy - Royce, VirtuousPla.net

Seven Reasons Why Parenting...READ MORE

New Children’s Books for Catholics - Carl Olson, Ignatius Insight Scoop

Sheep Without a Shepherd - Joe Heschmeyer, Shameless Popery

Protestant Founder of Life Chain Gets It - Mark P. Shea, Catholic and Enjoying It!

Pope Benedict: “Kneel before the Eucharist” - Fr. Simon Henry, Offerimus Tibi Domine

One in Christ - Sarah Babbs, VirtuousPla.net

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

You Might Be a ‘Good’ Catholic If. . . - Marissa K. Nichols, Theology of Laundry

Mary and the Liturgy - Kristina Johannes, The Catholic Thing

Quæritur: Frequent Confession to Root Out a Particular Sin - Fr. Zuhlsdorf, WDTPRS?

Assisted Suicide: The...READ MORE

WASHINGTON — Today, Sept. 14, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Catholic Church leaders, members of the Diplomatic Corps and Vice President Joseph Biden gathered for a memorial Mass for Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the former papal nuncio to the United States, who died in July. Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C. provided welcoming remarks, and Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York offered a homily that reflected on the significance of commemorating the nuncio’s death on the feast of the Triumph of the Cross.

Editor’s note: The following article ran in July, following Archbishop Sambi’s death.

WASHINGTON — The death of Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Holy...READ MORE

VATICAN CITY (EWTN News/CNA)—The breakaway traditionalist group the Society of St. Pius X, could be offered the status of a personal prelature within the Catholic Church if it agrees to some core Church teachings outlined at a Sept. 14 meeting in Rome.

During the two-hour meeting, the superior general of the society, Bishop Bernard Fellay, was presented with a statement of principles or “doctrinal preamble” by the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal William Leveda.

The document outlines points of doctrine that the Vatican needs clarified before finally healing the decades-long rift between the two sides. One Vatican insider told CNA that the overall offer...READ MORE

The game of quidditch from the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling is depicted as an exciting sport to watch and to play. Played while riding on magic brooms, it is fast-paced, requires speed and coordination, and relies on teamwork and individual creativity. It is depicted as a tough sport, not for the fainthearted.

And, as we all know, it is a fictional sport. In the end, quidditch, like Harry Potter, is not real. It is simply the product of an active and creative imagination.

We know it is a fantasy because we all intuitively understand the basic principles of our universe. Even for the more imaginative of us, it is obvious brooms cannot defy gravity, no matter what make or model....READ MORE

VATICAN CITY (EWTN News/CNA)—Pope Benedict XVI said Sept. 14 that Christians should continue to call upon God even in times of trial, when he may seem distant.

“The shadow of the cross gives way to the bright hope of the Resurrection,” the Pope told pilgrims gathered in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall for his weekly audience.

“We too, when we call upon him in times of trial, must place our trust in the God who brings salvation, who conquers death with the gift of eternal life.”

The Pope drew his observations from Psalm 22, which he described as “a heartfelt prayer of lamentation from one who feels abandoned by God.”

The writer of the Psalm is “surrounded by enemies who are persecuting...READ MORE

Director and actor Emilio Estevez and his actor father, Martin Sheen, are two and a half weeks into their bus-tour screening and promotion of their new film The Way, which opens in theaters on Oct. 7. The film tells a father-son story about Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James), the famed 497-mile pilgrimage from St. Jean Pied de Port, France, to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Both Emilio and Martin recently spoke with Register senior writer Tim Drake at the Marquette Hotel in Minneapolis.

What inspired the film?
Emilio: Martin was on a hiatus from The West Wing and had about two weeks, so he decided to go check out the Camino by car. He went with my son, Taylor, and a friend, Matt...READ MORE

NEW YORK — A new series of discussions taking place on the streets of New York City is shining a light on authentic love and relationships — and cultivating a following that is spreading to other parts of the country.

Love & Responsibility NYC is a 13-week discussion series that was launched last summer on a street in SoHo by Patrick Langrell, director of young-adult outreach for the Archdiocese of New York.  It is run by a group of young adults who moderate small-group discussions based on the book Men, Women and the Mystery of Love by Edward Sri, which provides practical insights from John Paul II’s Love and Responsibility.

Langrell, 23, read Sri’s book early last summer and was...READ MORE