“Homeless Jesus” is homeless no more. You find him everywhere. One of the most audacious and surprising depictions of Christ—and one of the most controversial, as well—this sculpture has captured the imagination of people around the world. First created in 2013 by Canadian sculptor Timothy Schmalz, the life-sized bronze statue has challenged both believers and non-believers alike to think of Christ and poverty in a new way—one that is both instantly recognizable and instantly unsettling. The statue depicts a homeless... Read more

If you’re looking for a loaded question, you’ll find it right in the middle of this Sunday’s gospel: “Do you love me?” Here, it is more than a yes or no question. It is, in fact, a challenge. Days after Christ’s passion, death and resurrection, the apostle who denied Jesus three times was asked three times a question that must have caused him more than a little discomfort. “Do you love me?” It’s safe to say, Jesus already knew the... Read more

Remarkable witness, from displaced Christians in Iraq, via NCR’s Tom Gallagher and the CNEWA blog One-to-One: The homes are converted shipping containers, sitting on cinderblocks. They are cramped, airless spaces with two windows and a front door. One window contains a boxy air conditioner. The camp’s streets are made of hard-packed mud and stone and dust is constant. Families hang their washed clothing to dry on lines tied to their buildings. Another challenge for the camp is new marriages. Since... Read more

There’s some befuddlement out there on the Interwebs, and more than a few Catholics are referring again and again to “the pope’s latest encyclical” when they talk about Amoris Laetitia. Some have taken to comparing it unfavorably to “other encyclicals.” Let’s clear up the confusion. First, Amoris Laetitia is not an encyclical. It is an Apostolic Exhortation. Our friends over at EWTN have thoughtfully compiled a list of different kinds of papal documents, to clarify what they are and the... Read more

The Messenger, the newspaper for the Diocese of Belleville, has a special issue this week devoted to the diaconate. Check it out. It includes this helpful profile of one deacon’s wife:  Deacons live busy lives, working at jobs to secure their financial stability or in retirement to take on other roles, but always in the public eye. Most deacons enter their lives of ministry as one half of a married couple, with their lives of service shared by those closest... Read more

From Albany’s Bishop Ed Scharfenberger: Jesus meets us wherever we are on life’s journey and even runs after us when we get lost. He is the model Pastor, going out of His way to be our Way. This is the living Savior Pope Francis invites us to encounter in our personal lives, our families and our Church. I am taking my time to do what the Holy Father has asked us all to do and not rush my reading to... Read more

Bishop Robert Barron writes his first impressions of the exhortation: In regard to the moral objectivities of marriage, the Pope is bracingly clear. He unhesitatingly puts forward the Church’s understanding that authentic marriage is between a man and a woman, who have committed themselves to one another in permanent fidelity, expressing their mutual love and openness to children, and abiding as a sacrament of Christ’s love for his Church (52, 71). He bemoans any number of threats to this ideal,... Read more

From The Weekly Standard:  Bernie Sanders is leaving the country ahead of the New York primary. The Democratic presidential candidate is heading to the Vatican. Sanders’s campaign made the announcement of the visit today in an email to reporters. “U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Friday accepted an invitation from the Vatican to attend a conference hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences on social, economic and environmental issues,” says the Sanders campaign.  “I am delighted to have been invited... Read more

You can read the document for yourself here. But reaction and analysis is trickling in. For starters, on Aleteia’s homepage, Deacon William Ditewig weighs in with an analysis of the exhortation and finds some parallels between Pope Francis and one of his predecessors: “Time is Greater than Space” Pope Francis uses this expression twice in the Exhortation, first in AL 3 and then in AL 261, where he explains, “In other words, it is more important to start processes than to dominate spaces.” ... Read more