New Evangelization & Discipleship

What is leadership in the Church? There is, of course, the leadership that comes with the sacrament of Holy Orders, which includes the gifts of sacramental celebration, apostolic teaching, and governance in the manner of Christ the Good Shepherd, filled with pastoral charity. This remains in... Read more

In this article, I would like to offer an argument for the prominent inclusion of moral preaching as part of the ministry of homiletic preaching in the new evangelization. The Archdiocese of Detroit, to which I belong, has taken as a motto for its new evangelization initiative, “Unleash... Read more

Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen could not recall a time in his life when he did not want to be a priest. At his First Communion, he prayed that one day he would be ordained to the priesthood. That day came in September 1919, when the 24-year-old son of Newton and Delia Sheen was ordained a... Read more

There’s a crisis in the Catholic Church that no one’s talking about. It’s not abuse. It’s not cover-ups. It doesn’t spring from Vatican infighting. It starts much closer to home, with the shepherds who guide the flock. Many good and godly Catholic priests are struggling with their... Read more

Like many powerful forces in this world, online communication is capable of building-up humanity or tearing people down and apart from each other. The stakes are particularly high for those who wish to evangelize online. The presence of Catholics in social media, blogs, news media comment... Read more

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins earned his first-ever playoff victory Sunday afternoon, which for now silences his critics who have long claimed he can’t win a big game. Shortly after throwing the game-winning touchdown in overtime to defeat the New Orleans Saints in their own... Read more

Looking at all of the stories where this person or that organization makes a very vocal public stance, files a lawsuit or does both, claiming they’re very offended by an action taken, often something said by a faithful Christian, I was brought back to a monument my husband and I stumbled upon... Read more

When Pope Francis visits Japan this November 23-26, he will be received by a highly resilient Catholic community – one that endured centuries of violent persecution under anti-Christian leadership and, more recently, an atomic bomb drop on Nagasaki, the nation’s longtime Catholic... Read more

This past June I was in the Munich area for four days, giving a public lecture on Evangelical Catholicism and doing a lot of media interviews. My hosts were exceptionally gracious, but it was also obvious that the Catholic Church in what was once Germany’s most intensely Catholic region is in... Read more

Out on the Kansas plains, he was just turning 21 when the Second Vatican Council promulgated its Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium) and its Decree on the Pastoral Office of the Bishops in the Church (Christus Dominus). So it’s unlikely that the Fathers of Vatican II had... Read more