From Vatican Radio: The controversial McDonald’s fast-food restaurant that has just opened only steps away from St. Peter’s Basilica and Vatican City State is to provide thousands of free meals to homeless people in the area. The restaurant was opened at the beginning of the year after months of protest from locals and prelates who deemed it inappropriate for the unique historical setting of the building it is housed in, with a prime view on the Vatican’s Saint Anne Gate. But... Read more

Charleston’s Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone issued a statement late yesterday responding to the death penalty being imposed on Dylann Roof: “We are all sinners, but through the Father’s loving mercy and Jesus’ redeeming sacrifice upon the Cross, we have been offered the gift of eternal life. The Catholic opposition to the death penalty, therefore, is rooted in God’s mercy. The Church believes the right to life is paramount to every other right as it affords the opportunity for conversion, even... Read more

The star of “Silence” undertook an Ignatian retreat in preparation for the film, following the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, and he spoke about the experience with Brendan Busse for America:  Andrew Garfield was, for lack of a better word, successful in the Exercises. “There were so many things in the Exercises that changed me and transformed me, that showed me who I was…and where I believe God wants me to be,” he told me. That’s about as good a... Read more

Rest in peace:  Steven McDonald, a New York City police officer who was shot by a 15-year-old in Central Park in July 1986 and paralyzed from the neck down, but who forgave his assailant, hoped for the youth’s redemption and remained in the public eye for his spirit in the face of adversity, died on Tuesday in Manhasset, N.Y. He was 59. His death, at North Shore University Hospital, was confirmed by a police spokesman, Lt. John Grimpel. Mr. McDonald... Read more

I met Thomas Williams a decade ago, when he first joined CBS News (after years at NBC) as a Vatican commentator and analyst. (His telegenic good looks prompted Katie Couric to refer to him cheekily as “Father What-A-Waste.”)  Now a layman, with a family in Rome, he’s embarked on a new career, reporting for Breitbart. The New York Times caught up with him: Rushing to meet his wife at St. Peter’s Square, Thomas Williams walked past priests in black cassocks and said that the only... Read more

From the geniuses who create the annual John Lewis Christmas ads in the U.K., one last Christmas blast for you. Enjoy. And prepare to be delighted. Read more

From Rocco:  While Utah’s 300,000 Catholics have spent the last 21 months anticipating their 10th bishop, another vigil has extended far longer: the hopes of the nation’s 5 million faithful of Asian birth or descent to see one of their own take the reins of a US diocese. And now, on both counts, The Wait Is Over – at Roman Noon this Tuesday, the Pope has named Bishop Oscar Solis, the Filipino-born, 63 year-old auxiliary of Los Angeles, to lead... Read more

Details:  Each year, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington accepts dozens of donated vehicles and provides them to those in need across the region. And now for the first time, the donated cars come will come with religious blessings. Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington on Jan. 5 presented a donated car to 34-year-old Wade Sheriff of Alexandria, who works at a senior center and has three girls, ages 4 to 9. It was the first donation of the... Read more