Looking Up at a Great Light

As Christians, we all know how central light is to the story of our faith. The creation story opens with “Let there be light.” And Matthew introduces Jesus with a quote from the prophet Isaiah: “The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light” (4:16). When we look up at the stars or face the glorious rising sun, it is this sacred story that we are wrapped in.

Pope, Urging Young Russians to Be Proud of Their Heritage, Stirs Controversy

The head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church said Ukrainians were shocked when Pope Francis told Russian Catholic youths to be proud of their heritage and cited two historic Russian leaders that, the archbishop said, are “the worst example of imperialism and extreme Russian nationalism.”

Pope Warns That for Some U.S. Catholics, Ideology Has Replaced Faith

In a wide-ranging conversation with Jesuits in Portugal during his visit to Lisbon for World Youth Day earlier this month, Pope Francis touched on several hot-button topics, including criticism of his papacy among U.S. Catholics, outreach to the LGBTQ+ community, and problems of chastity among clergy.