We've just posted another Commonweal reading list to the website—this one on the state of Catholic marriage today. In it you will find concise explanatory pieces on interfaith unions, validity, divorce, and annulment, as well as more in-depth articles on the theological issues likely to generate discussion at the upcoming World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia and October’s Synod on the Family in Rome. Use it as a resource for thinking about marriage—as it is taught by the church, and how it is practiced today.

See the list here, and keep track of all Commonweal reading lists by bookmarking this page.

Also, Robert Mickens's latest letter from Rome is up, with news about how Italian bishops are following the example Francis set at the beginning of his papacy by pushing European politicians to enact more hospitable policies to deal with the influx of migrants fleeing persecution and war.

Meanwhile, eleven cardinals have come together to put out yet another book arguing against Cardinal Walter Kasper’s proposals for developing the Church’s doctrine on marriage—again, the aim is to have the volume ready for the upcoming gathering of the Synod of Bishops.

Read all of this week's letter from Rome here, and catch up on previous dispatches here.