Encyclicals

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to dialogue and encounter. We are expected to be welcoming and open to all people, including those who think differently from us or who hold conflicting opinions. We are also called to share the Truth, which is God's love for us in Jesus Christ.

"[Jesus] asks us not to fix our gaze on what divides us, but rather on what unites us, seeking to know and love Jesus better and to share the richness of his love," Pope Francis writes in Diverse yet United: Communicating Truth in Charity.

Jesus' love spurs us to dialogue, helping us to listen to one another and to get to know others. His love becomes the foundation of human solidarity and renders us capable of overcoming the barriers of our own weaknesses and prejudices. Jesus' love within us creates bridges, teaches new paths, and triggers the dynamism of fraternity.

Pope Francis invites us to communicate the Lord's merciful love to the whole world: "We too are given the gift of the 'tongue' of the Gospel and the 'fire' of the Holy Spirit, so that as we proclaim the risen Jesus, alive and present among us, we may warm our hearts and the hearts of peoples, bringing them closer to him, the way, the truth, and the life."

"The priesthood is going through a dark time", according to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Robert Cardinal Sarah. "Wounded by the revelation of so many scandals, disconcerted by the constant questioning of their consecrated celibacy, many priests are tempted by the thought of giving up and abandoning everything."

In this book, the pope emeritus and the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments give their brother priests, and the whole Church, a message of hope. They honestly address the spiritual challenges faced by priests today, while pointing to deeper conversion to Jesus Christ as the key to faithful and fruitful priestly ministry and genuine reform.

Benedict XVI and Cardinal Sarah "fraternally offer these reflections to the people of God and, of course, in a spirit of filial obedience, to Pope Francis", who has said, "I think that celibacy is a gift for the Church. . . . I don't agree with allowing optional celibacy, no."

Responding to calls for refashioning the priesthood, including proposals from participants in the Amazonian Synod, two wise, spiritually astute pastors explain the importance of priestly celibacy for the good of the whole Church. Drawing on Vatican II, they present celibacy as not just "a mere precept of ecclesiastical law", but as a sharing in Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross and his identity as Bridegroom of the Church.

"All of us are called to keep striving towards something greater than ourselves and our families, and every family must feel this constant impulse. Let us make this journey as families, let us keep walking together." Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia

In his groundbreaking work on modern family life, Amoris Laetitia: On Love in the Family, Pope Francis continues to guide and lead the Church, calling us to be a sign of mercy and encouragement for families of all shapes and sizes.

The Our Sunday Visitor edition includes exclusive reflection and discussion questions, to help Catholics grow in our understanding of this call, and act upon it.

In Amoris Laetitia: On Love in the Family the Holy Father expands on the topics and considerations of the two Synods on the family, and adds his own considerations to help us provide pastoral guidance to support and strengthen today's families.

On Love in the Family guides us through:

Scripture - what we can learn from Biblical families and relationships with God and each other

Reality - the experiences and challenges we face in today's world

Tradition - essential aspects of Church teaching on marriage and families

Love - what it means for all our relationships

Ministry - Pope Francis offers pastoral perspectives for helping build strong families

Spirituality - the expression of the Gospel message in our relationships

In his first apostolic exhortation, Pope Francis delves more deeply into the new evangelization, building on the foundation laid by Benedict XVI and John Paul II. The document discusses evangelization in the context of both the pulpit and the world. Referencing Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, the Second Vatican Council, and many Church documents, Pope Francis calls the Church to a greater evangelization empowered by a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ

Originally published in 1990, Mission of the Redeemer (Redemptoris Missio) recalls the Church to her primary mission: to proclaim Christ to the world. Twenty-five years later, we are still discovering the beauty and challenge of the call to the new evangelization. This special Anniversary Edition includes the full text of the original document plus new commentary that will guide you through this important encyclical. President of Renewal Ministries, Ralph Martin, S.T.D., offers insightful commentary, which can be used for study and reflection either privately or in groups.

For over two decades, Eugenio Pacelli, Pope Pius XII, has been blasted in the public square as "Hitler's Pope", accused by bestselling authors of cowardice in the face of the Nazi regime. Some have even said that the pope was complicit in Hitler's grab for power, privately fueled by a hatred for the Jewish people. And if they are right, who would not join in condemning a leader like this, especially one who claims to represent all Christians?

But what if this image of Pius XII is completely backward? Archival and archaeological researcher Michael Hesemann has unearthed thousands of documents--including from the Vatican Secret Archives (or the Vatican Apostolic Archive), only recently opened to scholars--to give a startling picture of Eugenio Pacelli as a shrewd diplomat and a champion of the Jewish people during World War II. Saving thousands upon thousands of lives, Pius demonstrated such courage and compassion in these times that Jewish leaders across the globe praised him, and the ecumenical Pave the Way Foundation has since nominated him for the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum's Righteous among the Nations award.

The Pope and the Holocaust traces Pacelli's fight for peace in the 1930s and 1940s, including his years as apostolic nuncio in Germany, where he resisted Nazism. Even some of his most controversial moves, such as the 1933 Vatican concordat, were made to protect Jewish and Christian lives. What emerges clearly from Hesemann's evidence is a portrait of a man radically committed to the Jews and the revelation God gave to them. As Pope Pius himself remarked in 1938, "It is not legitimate for Christians to take part in anti-Semitism. Spiritually, we are all Semites."

Good spiritual directors can be difficult to come by; this book offers Pope Francis to be yours. Ever wonder what advice the Pope would give you to help you grow in holiness, deepen your prayer life, know God's will?

In Practical Holiness you'll find the keys to discovering the answers to those questions. With anecdotes about people and stories about saints, this exploration of Pope Francis's apostolic exhortation, Rejoice and Be Glad: On the Call to Holiness in Today's World, reminds you that there is no cookie-cutter approach to holiness and encourages you to rediscover your unique way of living out the Beatitudes and Jesus's two-fold command of love. You'll navigate through the "five great expressions of love of God and neighbor" - essential for any Christian in our self-absorbed, digital culture.

Reflection questions at the end of each chapter, as well as forty personal questions at the end of the book, make this ideal for reflection, adult faith formation, book clubs, spiritual directors and their directees, and further catechesis during the RCIA's Mystogogia period between Easter and Pentecost.