Blessed John Paul II gestures to the crowd at World Youth Day in Denver in 1993. Although the process is not complete and is supposed to be secret at this point, Italian media reported that the canonization of the late pontiff is a step closer after an a lleged miracle was accomplished through the intercession of the late Pope.

Saints' congregation reportedly acts on causes of JP II, John XXIII

VATICAN CITY - The cardinals and archbishops who are members of the Congregation for Saints' Causes met July 2 and, according to Italian news reports, took steps to advance the sainthood causes of Blesseds John Paul II and John XXIII.

Fr. Fructuoso Garcia, who will leave Canada after 41 years on July 4, stands with pride in front of a large poster displaying the 2,000 phone numbers he’s memorized to gain publicity for his fundraising efforts that support churches in Latin America.

Ex-pat priest goes home

TORONTO - After 41 years of celebrating Mass in the Greater Toronto Area, Fr. Fructuoso Garcia is getting ready to hang up his collar and return home to Spain.

Heaven is our only reward

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) July 7 (Isaiah 66:10-14; Psalm 66; Galatians 6:14-18; Luke 10:1-12, 17-20)

Fr. Andrew Greeley gave us hope

As a young seminarian in the late 1960s, I was very taken by the writings of Andrew Greeley, a priest in Chicago, who was churning out books on popular spirituality.

A God-shaped hole resides within the human heart

The German philosopher Nietzsche once described Christianity as a religion of the weak. He argued that religion, especially Christianity, denied the human person free will because it removed the freedom to make choices by relying on a God who, he argued, does not exist.

100 days: Pope Francis off to invigorating start

100 days: Pope Francis off to invigorating start

As we mark Pope Francis’ first 100 days in office, it would be impossible to argue that they have been anything other than successful. Some might say wildly successful.

Jesus’ call is an invitation

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) June 30 (Kings 19:16, 19-21; Psalm 16; Galatians 5:1, 13-18; Luke 9:51-62)

Elisha was completely blindsided. As he went out to plow that morning, he probably thought the day would be like any other, but his life would never be the same.

Haste leads to spiritual blindness

Haste is our enemy. It puts us under stress, raises our blood pressure, makes us impatient, renders us more vulnerable to accidents and, most serious of all, blinds us to the needs of others. Haste is normally not a virtue, irrespective of the goodness of whatever it is we are hurrying towards.

Pope Francis arrives to lead the opening of the annual Rome diocesan convention at the Vatican June 17. The pope led the three-day gathering of priests, religious and laypeople who were meeting to set pastoral priorities for the coming year.

Pope calls for 'revolutionaries' to change hearts by sharing God's love

VATICAN CITY - Christians are called to be revolutionaries, changing the world one heart at a time, Pope Francis said.

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron walks with U.S. President Barack Obama at the Lough Erne golf resort, where the Group of Eight leaders are meeting in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, June 17.

Pope: Politics, economics must serve all people, protect poor, unborn

VATICAN CITY - The goal of politics and economics is to serve all of humanity, starting with the poorest, the most vulnerable and the unborn, Pope Francis told British Prime Minister David Cameron, president of the Group of Eight industrialized nations.

ardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila greets well-wishers as he takes possession of his titular Church of St. Felice da Cantalice on the outskirts of Rome June 15.

Manila cardinal takes delayed possession of his titular church in Rome

ROME - "We've been waiting a long time," Capuchin Father Gianfranco Palmisani told Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila, who showed up a few minutes late to officially take possession of his "titular" church on the Eastern outskirts of Rome.

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