GUEST COLUMNIST

At one point in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults program each year I ask participants a seemingly simple question: “Is it possible to know God?” There is usually discussion and then concern that it is an impossible question to answer.

Santa Claus is real. More precisely commemorated as St. Nicholas (in Dutch, “Sinterklass,” later anglicized to “Santa”), the Church celebrates this fourth-century bishop every Dec. 6 for his holiness of life and zeal for souls.

NEW YORK (CNS) — In 2007, Franz Jagerstatter (1907-1943), a devoutly Catholic Austrian farmer martyred by the Nazis for his stance as a conscientious objector, was declared blessed.

NEW YORK (CNS) — A long time ago, in a world that now seems far, far away — to wit, Earth in spring 1977 — George Lucas wowed audiences with the original “Star Wars” film.

Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden was denied holy Communion by a pastor of a South Carolina Church Oct. 27, and people can’t stop talking about it.

All three Newman Centers in the Diocese of Phoenix have outgrown their spaces. The "Together Let Us Go Forth" campaign will help each build, among other initiatives impacting every parish.

When I was a young reporter just out of college working for the Niles Daily Times, I covered a murder trial.

How far would a person go to follow the truth? This is the story of Blessed John Henry Newman — soon to be saint — who will be canonized by Pope Francis at the Vatican Oct. 13.

NEW YORK (CNS) — “Adorable” has a new synonym: “Abominable” (DreamWorks), a charming animated film which transforms the dreaded Yeti monster — the legendary abominable snowman — into a lovable furball.

The title of Bishop Robert E. Barron’s “Letter to a Suffering Church” led me — as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse — to hope for a book like Fr. Thomas Berg’s excellent 2017 work “Hurting in the Church.”