Special Report

Dare to Decide

May 14, 2011 J. J. Ziegler 0

As epic events shook Europe in the sixteenth century, the evangelization of Latin America took place quietly. Today, 510 million of the world’s 1.13 billion Catholics live in Latin America. As equally epic events shook […]

Special Report

From this Holy Mountain

May 13, 2011 J. J. Ziegler 0

In the first general audience of his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI explained that he chose his name “in order to create a spiritual bond with Benedict XV, who steered the Church through the period of […]

Special Report

Where Converts Are Made

May 12, 2011 J. J. Ziegler 5

Among the most moving events in the annals of ecclesiastical history are mass conversions to the Catholic faith. In the seven years following the appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe, eight million sought baptism in […]

Special Report

Nuns Worldwide

May 12, 2011 J. J. Ziegler 3

Over the past 45 years, women’s religious communities in the United States have suff ered a freefall in membership. There were 181,241 American nuns in 1965, 153,645 in 1970, and 92,107 in 1995. According to […]

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Special Report

Secularism on Steroids

May 11, 2011 J. J. Ziegler 0

The Czech Republic is contemporary European secularism on steroids. Two decades after the Velvet Revolution, the nation of 10.2 million is wealthy, its per capita gross domestic product equaling South Korea’s and surpassing neighboring Poland’s […]

Special Report

The First Vocation Crisis

May 10, 2011 J. J. Ziegler 0

Addressing the societal collapse of marriage, the US bishops have issued a pastoral letter praised by defenders of the Church’s teaching on family life. In an August interview, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York discussed […]

Special Report

No to Neocolonialism

May 10, 2011 J. J. Ziegler 1

Addressing a group of African bishops less than a year before his death, Pope John Paul II rejoiced in the vitality of the Church on that continent—a vitality that continues to this day. In 1978, […]

Special Report

The People of God with Israel

May 9, 2011 J. J. Ziegler 0

In 1928, when the future Pope Benedict XVI was 11 months old, the Holy Office, under the leadership of the vigorously anti-modernist Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val, decreed that “the Catholic Church has always prayed […]

Special Report

A Source of Hope

May 9, 2011 J. J. Ziegler 0

Nearly two millennia ago, a doubting apostle saw, believed, and preached the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Fifteen hundred years later, a student at the University of Paris met Ignatius of Loyola, helped […]

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Special Report

“Pope Benedict Goes Bravely Forth”

May 7, 2011 J. J. Ziegler 0

When Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected the 265th pope on April 19, 2005, many reporters failed to come to terms with his theological depth. Instead, they tended to view him politically, at times employing the […]