THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA, INDIA -- This Advent marks the 50 anniversary of the liturgical reform — the “novus ordo” or “new order” of Mass — after the Second Vatican Council.

VATICAN CITY - The clerical sexual abuse crisis is rooted in the "egregious event" of the cultural and sexual revolution of the 1960s and a collapse in the belief of absolute truth and in God, retired Pope Benedict XVI wrote in a lengthy reflection.

OTTAWA – Notre Dame Cathedral was packed on Nov. 23 for a Pontifical High Mass marking the 50th anniversary of Ottawa’s Traditional Latin Mass community at St. Clement’s Parish.

VATICAN CITY – Catholic university programs in philosophy, theology and canon law – especially those designed for future priests – must be marked by fidelity to church tradition, academic rigor and an awareness of the challenges to belief in the modern world, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN – In an increasingly complex world of unprecedented scientific and technological challenges, theologians must communicate what is essential about life and help Christians proclaim God's merciful, saving grace, Pope Francis told a group of Italian theologians.

VATICAN CITY - The Catholic Church must continue to work to understand the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council and why they were made, rather than rethinking them, Pope Francis said.

ROME, Italy – Ten years after Benedict XVI broadened access to the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass, the document by which he did so is being hailed as a means of closing the rift of division following liturgical changes made after the Second Vatican Council.

ROME, Italy – For American composer J.J. Wright, the Second Vatican Council's call to inculturate the Church's ancient musical traditions into “mission territory” – while preserving its unity – is something he has adopted personally with one of his greatest passions: jazz.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The Second Vatican Council was an act of worship, said one of the few living council fathers.

TORONTO – One solution to the shortage of clergy available to Canadian Catholics starts with the ordination of women into the diaconate, according to Phyllis Zagano.

There is always resistance to the surprises of the Spirit, but it’s the Spirit who continues to lead the Church forward. That was Pope Francis’ message at Mass on Thursday at the Santa Marta chapel as he reflected on the reading about division and resistance within the early Church in Jerusalem.

VATICAN CITY - As discussions continue between Vatican officials and leaders of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, Pope Francis met at the Vatican with Bishop Bernard Fellay, head of the society.

VATICAN CITY - Italian Bishop Luigi Bettazzi is the last surviving bishop of the 42 members of the Second Vatican Council who celebrated a Mass Nov. 16, 1965, in the Catacombs of Domitilla and signed a pact promising to live simply and close to the poor.

WARSAW, Poland - Poland's Catholic bishops pledged to resist changes to Catholic teaching on marriage and family life at October's synod on the family at the Vatican and rejected demands for reform by German-speaking Catholics.

OTTAWA - Though a recent study shows most Catholic priests are happy in their vocations, they face many challenges that could lead some to become disillusioned.