Archbishop Chaput
Giving a soul to the Internet
By Cardinal Justin RigaliArchbishop of Philadelphia The Italian Bishops’ Conference recently sponsored a program called: “Digital Witnesses: Faces and Languages in the Cross-Media Age.” Their discussion, and the address Pope Benedict gave to them, can also be helpful to us and so we use them as our topic this week. Seeing through to a deeper […]
National Sexual Assault Awareness, Child Abuse Month
By Cardinal Justin RigaliArchbishop of Philadelphia Throughout the month of April, there has been a special feature added to our usual link on our Archdiocesan web site concerning Sexual Assault Awareness and Child Abuse Prevention Month, and this week I would like to highlight this awareness in this column. Lest we forget In some older […]
Father Augustine Tolton
By Cardinal Justin Rigali The Archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Francis George, recently introduced the cause for canonization of Father Augustine (sometimes known as “Augustus”) Tolton, the first full-blooded African-American priest in the United States. In this Year of the Priest, we reflect on his life this week. The universal call to holinessThe Dogmatic Constitution on […]
Fulfilling the promise of the Gospel
By Cardinal Justin RigaliArchbishop of Philadelphia As we celebrate the fifth anniversary of the election of Pope Benedict XVI, we are given the opportunity to reflect on the promise of Jesus and its continuing fulfillment. A marvelous continuityAs we recall the fifth anniversary of the election of our Holy Father on April 19, 2005, I […]
Thirtieth anniversary of the U.S. Refugee Act
By Cardinal Justin RigaliArchbishop of Philadelphia On March 17, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) marked the anniversary of the United States Refugee Act, which was passed in 1980, and so we reflect upon it this week. Where have we come from? So many of us, whose families have been settled in the […]
Fifth anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II
By Cardinal Justin RigaliArchbishop of Philadelphia This Friday, April 2, we recall the fifth anniversary of the death of the Venerable Servant of God, Pope John Paul II and so we reflect on his life this week. From a far countryWhen we recall the death of loved ones, we often think of the events or […]
Sharing in the sufferings of Jesus
By Cardinal Justin RigaliArchbishop of Philadelphia As we enter Holy Week, it is most appropriate that we reflect on the sufferings of Jesus and our ability to unite our own sufferings with His. Proving His understandingI recall being told something very interesting about a family-owned and run business. This business is now in its fourth […]
Receiving Holy Communion
By Cardinal Justin RigaliArchbishop of Philadelphia It is always good for all of us to review periodically what we do in our lives as Catholics. As we approach the celebration of the institution of the Holy Eucharist on Holy Thursday, we have the opportunity to reflect on the reception of Jesus in Holy Communion. “To […]
Men’s Spirituality Conference
By Cardinal Justin Rigali Following last year’s highly successful Men’s Spirituality Conference, it will be conducted again this weekend and it provides us with our topic this week. Come awayIn the Gospel of St. Mark, we read of our Lord’s invitation to His apostles: “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a […]
The dignity of each person
By Cardinal Justin Rigali In this column, I have often referenced the concept of the dignity of the person. This week, it is our primary topic. The source of our dignityThroughout the Scriptures, we find many expressions of the dignity of the human person. To give just a few of the many references, we can […]