As dioceses around the world followed Pope Benedict XVI in holding a “Vigil for all Nascent Human Life” Nov. 27, one apostolate based in France has been dedicated to praying for the unborn for more than 20 years.

Headed by Helen le Goaëc, Pilgrimages for Life is made up of what she calls “friendly voices” who pray primarily for the unborn (aborted, stillborn or miscarried), but also for parents and siblings.
In addition, prayers are offered up for medical professionals and politicians.

Pilgrimages for Life is based in Cotignac in southern France, which, until the Lourdes apparitions, was the most famous pilgrimage center in the country. As well as being known for the apparitions and...READ MORE

Light of the World: The Pope, the Church, and the Signs of the Times proves that Joseph Ratzinger did not stop being a teacher — or a thinker — when he became Pope on April 19, 2005.

And to drive home that point, the book-length conversation between Pope Benedict XVI and veteran German journalist Peter Seewald contains a juicy subject that got the world’s attention even before the book was released Nov. 23: condom use for people with HIV/AIDS.

The headlines were predictable after L’Osservatore Romano broke the worldwide press embargo on the book Nov. 20 and leaked passages from an advance copy: In rare cases, Pope justifies use of condoms (New York Times). Pope Says Condoms Can be Used...READ MORE

Cardinal Raymond Burke is prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the court of final appeal at the Vatican.

The Wisconsin native is the first American to hold that curial position. Pope Benedict XVI, who appointed him to the post in 2008, elevated him to cardinal Nov. 20, along with American Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., and 22 other bishops and archbishops from around the world.

In the midst of activities related to the consistory of Nov. 22, Cardinal Burke took some time to read an advance copy of Light of the World: The Pope, the Church, and the Signs of the Times, Pope Benedict’s book-length interview with German journalist Peter Seewald, just as a...READ MORE

Discussions of politics and morality often focus on divisions and conflicts more than what there is in common. This is a mistake, according to Carl Anderson, head of the Catholic fraternal organization Knights of Columbus.

In his recently published book, “Beyond A House Divided: The Moral Consensus Ignored By Washington, Wall Street and the Media,” Anderson doubts the usefulness of an analysis of America based on categories of right versus left, or red states versus blue states.

Over the last couple of years the Knights of Columbus have examined the opinions and values of the population through a series of polls. Topics covered included marriage and divorce, abortion, euthanasia, same-sex...READ MORE

Maggie Gallagher is a veteran of the culture wars that have turned backers of marriage and family into frontline troops for Christian civilization.

In addition to writing such best-selling books as The Case for Marriage: Why Married People are Happier, Healthier, and Better-Off Financially, the scholar and syndicated columnist is chairman of the board of the National Organization for Marriage. She now also directs the Center for Research on Marriage, Religion and Public Policy, which opened in October at Ave Maria School of Law.

Gallagher spoke with Register correspondent Matthew Rarey.

How did the Center for Research on Marriage, Religion and Public Policy originate?

The center...READ MORE

Along with several others, I testified the other day at a hearing of the New York City Council in consideration of a bill that would regulate crisis-pregnancy centers.

Such centers, staffed by volunteers and people of good will, try to give women options other than abortion when facing unexpected pregnancies.

In a political payback of grand proportions and under the usual guise of care for women, the council is seeking to pass legislation based on a report done by NARAL Pro-Choice New York titled “The Lies, Manipulations, and Privacy Violations of Crisis Pregnancy Centers in New York City.” Key to the report is the claim that CPCs pose as medical facilities and mislead pregnant women...READ MORE

The seventh Harry Potter movie, based on the seventh and final book, is here at last, yet the saga is not over. Extending their biggest cash cow of the millennium into next year, Warner Bros. has split Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in two, with Part 2 coming next year, almost a full decade after the series started.

In principle, this would seem to mean that seventh book should get better justice than the preceding books, which had to make do with one movie apiece. It should mean fewer compromises and more story integrity, fewer gaps and more logical continuity. Since this is the beginning of the end, now would be a good time to catch up those who may have missed an installment or...READ MORE

New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan was elected the new president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Tuesday, Nov. 16. The election of Archbishop Dolan broke from precedent that held that the vice president of the bishops’ conference, in this case Tucson Bishop Gerald Kicanas, would succeed the outgoing president, in this case Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, in a vote that would be more of a formality. Archbishop Dolan addressed questions from the media gathered there shortly after his election.

What would be your chief priorities as president of the conference, in the Church and society?

Candidly, I haven’t had time to think about it. Frankly, I was surprised by the election...READ MORE