Vatican Corner 12-09-18

The First Sunday of Advent occurs four Sundays before Christmas and is also the beginning of the new liturgical year. The English word Advent comes from the Latin word ad (“to” and venire (“to come”) and so it means “to come to” or “arrival.” Advent actually...

Vatican Corner 11-18-18

Traditionally sea gulls have lived around water, with some living inland but near rivers or reservoirs. However increasingly they are living in towns and cities and many have given up living by water entirely. Experts say that one reason is that the birds have found...

Vatican Corner 11-11-18

The Synod of Bishops is a permanent institution of the Catholic Church first established by Pope Paul VI in 1965 to continue the spirit of collegiality and communion after the close of the Second Vatican Council. It is an assembly of bishops chosen from different...

Vatican Corner 11-04-18

Horses originated in North America as indicated by the fossil records, but they moved to Eurasia when the climate cooled in the Pleistocene Epoch. They returned thousands of years later to the Americas, brought by the conquistadors. Since the end of the last ice age,...

Vatican Corner 10-28-18

The 2013 resignation of Pope Benedict XVI was in the news again with the leaking to the press of 2 private lefters which appeared in the German newspaper Bild on Sept. 20, 2018. The both letters written by retired pope emeritus Benedict in Nov., 2017 were to Cardinal...

Vatican Corner 10-21-18

In Beijing, China on September 22, 2018 the Holy See and the government of China signed a historic agreement regarding how Roman Catholic bishops in China are to be appointed. This was a first step towards the repair of diplomatic relations which ended in 1951. Pope...