We’ve seen it everywhere and taken it for granted, but yes: someone did invent that stretch of canvas you see at the circus. And word came this week that he has bounced to that Big Top in the sky: One by one, the trapeze artists topped off their routines by dropping from their high-swinging bars…

Some praise for the pontiff, from a surprising source, famed lawyer Alan Dershowitz: Nor is the Catholic Church the only institution that has faced problems of sexual abuse. Every hierarchical body, especially but not exclusively religious ones, has faced similar problems, though perhaps on not so large a scale. The problem of hierarchical sex abuse…

“I happen to think this is a great and important time to be Catholic. Really. No joke. How often do we get to be right smack in the middle of an opportunity for radical Christ-based, Holy Spirit-generated change – and know it? The challenge is, of course, believing that such change is possible, that we…

Sad news but, unfortunately, not all that surprising: The house in which Pope Benedict XVI was born in the southern Bavarian village of Marktl am Inn was vandalized overnight with an “obscene” phrase spray- painted above the main door, police said. The blue graffiti was discovered early today, Bavarian police said in a statement on…

More from Beliefnet and our partners
More from Beliefnet and our partners