After we are small children, it is rare that we are carried. Perhaps for a joke or dare, a photo-op at a threshold, maybe in the case of injury, or in certain situations in old age? My baby is big enough now I rarely carry his full weight unless he is asleep.

VATICAN – Speaking to the Synod of Bishops on behalf of Belgium's bishops' conference, a bishop said he was sure some young married men would become priests if they were asked.

You’d almost think it wasn’t a big deal to Anne and Dane MacCarthy, the Vatican honouring the Toronto couple for their years of service to the Church.

Mondegreens are those wonderful phenomena in language where a misheard phrase is substituted for the real thing, usually in music. The term comes from American writer Sylvia Wright who explained that she misheard the phrase “and laid him on the green” in a Scottish ballad as “and Lady Mondegreen.” 

ROME – The Catholic Church must reach out to couples living together without being married, Pope Francis told those involved in family ministry in the Diocese of Rome.

DUBLIN – God wants every person to love and be loved, creating a family or community where love is nurtured and shared with all who are poor, lonely or in need, Pope Francis said.

DUBLIN (CNS) -- U.S. Jesuit Father James Martin set out a series of ways in which parishes can show welcome and respect to LGBT Catholics.

VATICAN – Everything in the document "Amoris Laetitia" on marriage and family life is based on Catholic Church teaching "always in continuity -- without ruptures -- yet always maturing," Pope Francis said.

I was watching a comedy special by Chris D’Elia the other day where he joked about marriage and it really got me thinking. 

WASHINGTON – Priests continue to play diverse and integral roles in marriage preparation across Europe and Asia.

When I left high school I told myself university is where I would find a husband. Well, I have one year left of my bachelor’s degree with no husband in sight. 

PADERBORN, Germany – According to a regional newspaper report, Archbishop Hans-Josef Becker of Paderborn has decided to allow Protestant spouses of Catholics living in his diocese to receive holy Communion "in individual cases."

WASHINGTON – The German bishops' conference said when the bishops meet in September, they will continue to examine the issue of Communion for Protestant spouses of Catholics.

MANCHESTER, England – Nearly 500 British priests have signed a statement in support of the papal encyclical that forbade married couples from using contraception.

VANCOUVER – Katherine Babcock was in college studying toward an arts degree when she found out she was pregnant. The child's father, her best friend of 10 years, could not cope with the news.