Questions & Feedback

A Catholic reading site for the ordinary faithful: long-form essays and meditations, plain explanations of doctrine, the Church’s prayers and devotions, the Douay-Rheims Bible, the catechisms, and a liturgical calendar. It is meant to be read slowly — a study, not a feed.

The Lantern is written and kept by William F. Leach Jr., a Catholic layman. The About page says more about who keeps the lamp and what the site holds to.

No. The Lantern is the work of a layman, not an official publication of the Church. It tries to set out faithfully what the Church teaches, and it quotes Scripture, the Fathers and the catechisms so you can see where each point comes from.

The Church’s Magisterium is the authority on what the Church teaches, and your pastor is the one to ask about your own life. If you think something here is wrong, please tell us.

No. Everything on the Lantern is free to read, and it will stay that way. If the site has helped you and you would like to help keep it going, the Support the Lantern page explains how.

There are four ways in:

• Search. Press /, or Ctrl K (⌘ K on a Mac), or use the magnifier in the header. It searches every page, prayer and Bible verse.
• The A–Z Index. Every subject on the site in alphabetical order, with a box to narrow the list.
• Topics. Nine threads, each gathering the essays, doctrine, prayers and devotions on one subject.
• The Faith. All the doctrine pages, arranged by what to believe, how to live it, and whom to know.

The homepage has a section called Where Should I Start?, with paths for different readers. The User’s Guide walks through every part of the site and is also available as a PDF.

Yes. Every page is made to read well on a phone. The menu folds into the menu button (The menu folds into a Menu button at the top of the screen, and long pages offer a Contents button that jumps to each section.#9776;) at the top of the screen, and the longer pages offer a Contents button that jumps to each section.

Yes. Every link and control can be reached with Tab and shows an outline when it has focus. In the menus, the arrow keys move between links and Esc closes them. The User’s Guide lists all the shortcuts.

The Douay-Rheims Bible in Bishop Challoner’s revision, with all seventy-three books of the Catholic canon. You can read it, search it, and follow a reading plan on the Bible page. Psalms are numbered as the Douay numbers them, so Psalm 22 in the Douay is Psalm 23 in most modern Bibles.

The Church in the Latin rite keeps two calendars today. The 1962 calendar belongs to the traditional Latin Mass, and the 1969 calendar belongs to the Mass most parishes celebrate now. They differ in some feasts, ranks and seasons.

Choose the one you follow with the switch on the Calendar page. Your browser remembers the choice, and the homepage’s “Today in the Church” card follows it.

The Holy Days of Obligation page follows the law of the Church in the United States, for this year and the next two. Other countries keep different days, so readers elsewhere should check with their own bishops’ conference or parish.

The accent colour follows the liturgical colour of the day: green, violet, white, red, rose or black, as the vestments at Mass would be. If you would rather keep one colour, use the Liturgical colour switch at the very foot of any page.

Latin is the Church’s own language, and many of her prayers were first written in it. Wherever a Latin original exists, the prayers and devotions give it beside the English, and you can choose to see one or both. If you would like to learn, the Catholic Latin Primer starts from the prayers you already know and includes flashcards.

Yes. On the Prayers page, tick Add to book under each prayer you want, then press Preview or Print / Save as PDF. You can choose the paper size and large print, add a name to the cover, and include the Latin. Your choices stay in your browser until you clear them.

• A Holy Hour — the booklet from Eucharistic Adoration.
• The User’s Guide.
• Your own prayer book, from Prayers.
• Your checklist from the Examination of Conscience.
• The Bitter Cup: A Theological Analysis.

Any other page can be printed from your browser. Choose Save as PDF in the print window to keep a copy.

Yes. The checklist is kept only in your own browser on your own device. Nothing you tick is sent to the Lantern or anyone else. Use Clear all when you are finished, especially on a shared computer.

Enter your email address under Receive New Writing at the foot of the homepage. You will receive an occasional letter when a new essay or meditation appears, and nothing else. Every letter has a link to unsubscribe.

If you use a feed reader, the site also publishes an RSS feed at laymanslantern.org/feed.xml.

Use the form at the foot of this page, or write to bill@laymanslantern.org. Questions about the Faith, corrections, suggestions for new subjects, and notes about anything on the site that does not work are all welcome.

Every message is read by hand. A personal reply cannot be promised for every one, but if you leave your email address and a reply would help, one will be sent. Questions that many readers ask may be answered here or in a future essay. Your name is never published, and your question is only used if you tick the box that allows it.

Please share links freely. Every page can be linked to, and the prayers and Apologetics answers each have a button that copies a link straight to them. If you would like to reproduce more than a short quotation, please write and ask first.

Very little. The Lantern carries no advertising and no tracking scripts. A few preferences are saved in your own browser so the site remembers them on your next visit:

• your calendar choice and the liturgical colour switch
• the language you chose for the prayers
• the prayers you picked for your prayer book
• your Bible reading plan progress
• your Examination of Conscience checklist
• the Latin flashcard decks you have finished
• any news outlets you have hidden on Catholic News

These never leave your device, and clearing your browser’s site data removes them. Your email address is kept only if you subscribe, send a message, or open a donor account. The site’s typefaces are served by Google Fonts.

No. Everything can be read without signing in. The only account is the optional donor account on the Support page, which keeps a record of any gifts you have made.