Happy Catholic Schools Week! As we celebrate the blessing of our Catholic schools, especially St. Mary School in Chardon, we can be thankful for the gift of a well-rounded Catholic education for our students, the treasure of our teachers and their daily sacrifices, and the commitment of our families to raise their children in the faith of Christ.

This Monday, January 22 is the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. Based on the Judeo-Christian values of the dignity of the human person, the Church firmly, consistently, and insistently teaches that all people have the right to life from conception to natural death.

On December 18, the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith published the Declaration Fiducia Supplicans (FS), "On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings." There’s been confusion both inside and outside the Church about what this document says and means that I’d like to address in my column today.

This Sunday's Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the revelation of God's glory shown in the face of Jesus Christ. The word epiphany simply means appearance or revelation in the sense of an "Aha!" moment where something was made present and apparent that was formerly unknown.