I knew I had to go to confession at St. Peter’s Basilica. But I never guessed my confession there would change the direction of my life. While growing up in a Catholic family and attending Catholic ...

IN AN INTERVIEW with a Jesuit magazine in 2013, Pope Francis declared, “The confessional is not a torture chamber, but the place in which the Lord’s mercy motivates us to do better.” This is not how ...

My Catholic first Communion was circa 1962. I was 7-years-old, but my first confession was the stepping stone, which brings back dress rehearsals and the sins of omission. We second-graders had to ...

Parishioner prays during Mass at a San Diego synod in 2016 — its first in 40 years. Photo by Chris Stone Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged! The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior ...