A small parish in the poor neighborhood of Alagados in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, has become the first in the world to be named after St. John Paul II, after the late pontiff’s canonization April 27. Sara Gomes, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Salvador, told AFP that the “small church of Notre Dame of Alagados will now be called 'Notre Dame of Alagados and of St. John Paul II.' It is the first in the world to be named after the new saint.” The official name change took place the morning of April 27 after Mass at the parish. Pope John Paul II was declared a saint alongside Pope John XXIII at a Vatican Mass earlier that day. Archbishop Murilo Krieger signed a decree authorizing the new title for the parish, which was inaugurated in 1980 by John Paul II during the first of three trips he made to Brazil. Capuchin Father Jorge Rocha recalled meeting St. John Paul II at the parish three decades ago. “The saints live among us,” he told the Globo website. “The Church does not invent them, she recognizes what already exists.”

The Catholic Church cannot be built and the Christian faith cannot be spread without the contagious joy of knowing Christ, Pope Francis said. The joy that Christ proclaims is what lays the foundations: "Without this joy, without this happiness you can't build a church. You can't establish a Christian community," he said in a recent homily. The pope presided over a Mass at the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola in Rome for a celebration of thanksgiving for the canonization of St. Jose de Anchieta, a Spanish-born Jesuit who traveled to Brazil in 1553 and became known as the Apostle of Brazil. Pope Francis declared the new saint April 3 without requiring the verification of a miracle through the blessed's intercession or holding a canonization ceremony. The pope praised the new saint, who was one of the pioneers of the Catholic Church in Brazil. Along with another Jesuit priest, St. de Anchieta was one of the first Jesuits that St. Ignatius of Loyola sent to the Americas.

Christianity isn't a philosophy or guide to survival, good behavior and peace, it's a relationship with a real person who died on the cross for our sins, Pope Francis said. "Christianity can't be understood without understanding this deep humiliation of the son of God, who abased himself, becoming a servant to the point of his death and death on the cross" in order to serve humanity, the pope said. In his homily April 8 during an early morning Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, Pope Francis focused on the day's reading from the Book of John (8:21-30), in which Jesus tells the Pharisees and the Jews that those who belong to this world and do not believe in him "will die in your sins." Jesus tells them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am," the son of God, obeying God's will. "Christianity doesn't exist without the cross and a cross doesn't exist without Jesus Christ," the pope said, according to a report by Vatican Radio. The cross, however, "isn't an ornament" that is just placed in churches and on altars, and "it's not a symbol" of identification, he said.

Welcome to the Easter Triduum. As we enter the holiest days of our Church, it is good to reflect on our world and how we can have an impact. Using the power of the happiness effect, I encourage you to continue your Lenten sacrifice, especially if it has made you a better Christian. The happiness effect is research by psychologists that claim if you want to rewire your brain to do something, you need to continue that practice for at least 21 days in a row. After that, your brain is rewired to the new habit. With all of the negativity we see on the daily news (both video and print) is it any wonder that negativity reigns supreme on earth? In order to change that paradigm, you need to replace the negative with the positive. Try it yourself. Pledge to send someone close to you a daily text for the next 21 days. In that text you need to say at least two things you are thankful for that day. Have the other person repeat the process to you. See what kind of difference this can have in your life. If it works (and it will), pay it forward. Have a happy and blessed Easter!

Brown University biologist Kenneth Miller, one of America’s leading advocates, has just received one of America’s oldest and most prestigious awards—from the Roman Catholic Church. At commencement on May 18, the University of Notre Dame will honor Miller with the 2014 Laetare Medal, an award given annually to a Catholic “whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the ideals of the Church and enriched the heritage of humanity.” The award was first given in 1883 and previous recipients include former President John F. Kennedy, and West Wing’s popular acting president Martin Sheen. Many consider Miller a paradoxical figure who occupies the thinly populated no-man’s land between science and religion, embracing both with enthusiasm and finding no conflict. He is a life-long practicing Catholic and accepts church teachings on salvation, the virgin birth and resurrection of Jesus. He described himself in the PBS “Evolution” series as simply a “traditional” Catholic, one who has not had to abandon or distort his beliefs to accommodate his other passion: evolutionary biology. Notre Dame president Fr. John Jenkins describes Miller as an “incisive witness both to scientific acumen and religious belief.” Consistent with most Catholic believers, and supported by official statements over the years from the Vatican, Miller embraces mainstream science with enthusiasm, accepting that the world is God’s creation. “I see the Creator’s plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe,” he wrote in a personal reflection about evolution. Miller sees the earth “bursting with evolutionary possibilities,” and understands God to be continuously creating with providentially ordered “design to life.” But—and here the salvos begin to be launched from conservative anti-evolutionists—he says “the name of the design is evolution.” Ken Ham’s Answers in Genesis says Miller “appears to be blind” in his support for evolution, and unable to “distinguish between science and religious indoctrination.” The Discovery Institute has literally dozens of articles attacking Miller accusing him of everything from shoddy scholarship to duplicity. Miller has few peers when it comes to helping people understand evolution. He is the co-author of two of the most widely used biology textbooks in the country—one each for high school and college students. When creationists try to remove evolution from public schools, Miller’s text is often the target. He has written, spoken, and even testified in court on behalf of evolution when it has been under assault. He testified in the Dover trial in 2005, and was instrumental in keeping “Intelligent Design” out of the local schools there. His Finding Darwin’s God: A Scientist’s Search from Common Ground Between God and Evolution provides his personal view of how Christians can understand evolution. Miller, like most biologists, laments the widespread rejection of evolution in America, with culture warriors dug in on both sides, defending their turf. He told me he believes, on a national level, that there has “a hardening of positions … and I think the Ham-Nye debate actually helped to harden these positions.” His conclusion: “Bummer.” But, despite his battle scars, Miller has not given up hope. “The most recent poll I saw showed that acceptance of evolution was quite high among people under 30. So perhaps we are making progress.”

Cardinal Peter Turkson has encouraged business school faculty to teach their students about the Catholic Church's social teaching and to form them in ethics, morals, and stewardship. During an recent address, the cardinal pointed to the Church's social doctrine and its use in business, asking "that your graduates develop themselves to be 'principled leaders,' not merely market technicians, with their guidance provided by a 'faith with works' philosophy."Cardinal Turkson, who is president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, was speaking at the 2014 Business Ethics Conference for deans of Catholic schools of business, held in Houston, Texas. "Faith is incomplete without a vision of the world and our place within it – our works," the cardinal said, explaining that Catholic social teaching is built upon the truth that Christ “looked for more than faith alone” – for Christians to follow him in action, as well.The principles underlying the Church's social teaching are human dignity, the common good, solidarity, subsidiarity, and stewardship, he explained.These principles can be applied to the business world, and when taught to students "these same beacons or lenses will help them to make sound judgements and act accordingly." Cardinal Turkson emphasized that "multidimensional business enterprise contributes to the larger common good by fulfilling its threefold purpose of good goods, good work, and good wealth”: focusing on "truly good" service, "good and productive work," and being "good stewards of the resources given to them." Business should "not to be reduced to a single objective, such as maximizing profit or enhancing shareholder wealth, just as marriage should not be reduced to sentiment between partners, or education to credentials for a career." He warned that morality is often separated from business, adding that "education and formation is much larger than the objectives of a few ethics courses." By focusing only upon the market, students learn "that the marketplace and business decisions are morally neutral," and the consequences of this attitude – such as the financial crisis of 2007-08 – "can be ruinous." To relegate ethics to a course and have the rest of the courses be 'non-ethical' is to foster the divided life – deformation rather than formation." The cardinal said to the Catholic business school leaders that by attending a Catholic school, students "have an opportunity to learn that respecting everyone, whether employee, shareholder, supplier, client, or other stakeholder, provides the foundations for long-term success." Cardinal Turkson encouraged the educators to present students with ethical case-studies that they will meet in their daily lives, and teach students how to act "when confronted with decisions that are immoral." He challenged the educators to "shape business through research and by forming future business leaders." The current economic system holds ethical and systemic problems, Cardinal Turkson said, and business leaders can help form a solution "grounded in fundamental truth about our human nature and destiny."

Without a canonization ceremony, Pope Francis declared three new saints for the Americas, pioneers of the Catholic Church in Brazil and in Canada. Pope Francis signed decrees April 3 recognizing: St. Jose de Anchieta, a Spanish-born Jesuit who traveled to Brazil in 1553 and became known as the Apostle of Brazil; St. Marie de l'Incarnation, a French Ursuline who traveled to Quebec in 1639 and is known as the Mother of the Canadian Church; and St. Francois de Laval, who arrived in Quebec 20 years after St. Marie de l'Incarnation and became the first bishop of Quebec. In declaring the three saints, the pope used a procedure known as "equivalent canonizations," which required a thorough study of the candidates' life and writings, fame of holiness and reports of favors granted through their intercession. Unlike a regular sainthood process, though, it did not require the verification of a miracle through their intercession, nor further studies by historians and theologians working for the Congregation for Saints' Causes. The three were beatified together by Pope John Paul II in 1980. The Brazilian bishops, who thought the decrees would be signed April 2 and planned local celebrations for that evening, have said they will celebrate a Mass of thanksgiving with Pope Francis April 24 in Rome's Church of St. Ignatius. The bishops of Quebec have said they will celebrate a thanksgiving Mass May 18 in Quebec and hope to have a larger celebration with the pope in Rome in October.

Don't hold back when praying to God -- tell him exactly what's wrong and insist on holding him to his promises, Pope Francis said. Prayer should be like speaking face-to-face with a friend: "without fear, freely and also with insistence," the pope said in his homily April 3 during an early morning Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae. Pope Francis' homily focused on the day's reading from the Book of Exodus (32:7-14), in which Moses begs God to spare his people, even though they have created a golden calf to worship as their god. God says he's going to let his wrath "blaze up against them to consume them," but Moses reminds the Lord that these are his own people he has saved before and has promised to make their descendants "as numerous as the stars in the sky." Pope Francis said that, in the day's reading, Moses shows what praying to God should really feel and sound like: not filled with empty words, but a heartfelt, "real fight with God." Moses is courageously insistent and argues his point, the pope said, and prayer must also be "a negotiation with God, presenting arguments" supporting one's position.