From today’s General Audience, via AsiaNews: After presenting historical data about Matthew-Levi, a collector at Capernaum, the pope expressed his reflections. Above all, there is the fact that “Jesus welcomed into a group of his intimate friends a man who, according to the ideas in vogue in Israel at the time, was held to be…

There’s interest building about this film, The Nativity Story, a retelling of, well…that’s obviousl It’s directed by Catherine Hardwicke, who directed the well-regarded, if controversial and brutal Thirteen (brutal for its honesty I understand. I’ve not seen it) and it stars Keisha Castle-Hughes, the marvelous young star of Whale Rider, as Mary. The first link…

I learned yesterday that it’s illegal, in Catholic terms (I guess that would be canonically) – to allow a saint, once canonized, to remain buried underground. Can anyone confirm? I’m trying to think of exceptions I’ve seen…but I really can’t. Et vous? (I heard it re/the Sisters of Providence in Terre Haute. Their founder, Mother…

Ugandan ceasefire brokered by Sant’Egidio Community Mario Giro, a spokesman for St. Egidio, told Vatican Radio that the agreement does not end the conflict in Uganda, but it is a critical first step. "The most difficult thing was to begin," he said, and the ceasefire is a bid to overcome "20 years of mistrust." Now,…

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