Many Protestants have expressed righteous sadness at the sexual crimes in the faith traditions around us, namely the Catholic Church, while remaining indifferent to similar crimes within our congregations. We believe Protestant churches are safer. We are wrong. I know this from personal experience. Both my youth minister and pastor sexually abused me in my Read more
If you’re a Protestant married to a Catholic in Germany, you might be able to receive Communion along with your spouse in the Catholic Church. Then again, you may not be welcome to do so, or you could find yourself simply unsure. This confusing situation, created by a proposed change to the tradition that the Read more
A Vatican ruling on giving Communion to Protestants is being sought. According to draft guidelines approved by the German Bishops’ Conference in February, Protestant spouses may receive Communion after making a “serious examination of conscience”. The Bishops’ Conference says they must also affirm “the faith of the Catholic Church”, and wish to end “serious spiritual Read more
A non-sectarian Museum of the Bible opened in Washington on Saturday. The US$500 million museum’s aim is to entertain and educate visitors about the Bible’s history and significance. Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the Israeli Ambassador to the United States and the museum’s co-founder, evangelical businessman Steve Green, were at the opening. Wuerl spoke on behalf of Read more
In the United States we see pews as a necessary and basic part of every Catholic church. However, pews are a rather recent invention and surprisingly didn’t even originate in Catholicism. For most of Church history, worshipers stood during the celebration of Mass. There did exist a few scattered benches for the elderly to sit Read more
Since the 6.6 magnitude Grassmere quake on August 16, Catholics and Protestants in the Awatere have been worshipping in the same place. That’s because the Anglicans and Presbyterians had their St Andrew’s Awatere Christian Joint Venture Church, in Seddon, destroyed by the jolt. And, in the spirit of Christianity, the Catholic community opened their doors Read more
Evangelical Protestants are worse than Catholics in their response to sexual abuse, a law professor who investigates abuse has told a Religious Newswriters Association conference in the United States. “Protestants can be very arrogant when pointing to Catholics,” said Boz Tchividjian, a grandson of evangelist Billy Graham and executive director of Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Read more
Something extraordinary is happening in English churches. Imagine you arrived at an unfamiliar church just as the service was starting and you heard: “Almighty God, unto whom all hearts be open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid…” Right, you’d think, CofE, Book of Common Prayer. But this is the beginning of Read more
Those early Christian missionaries certainly did an impressive job in Samoa. Christianity remains the backbone and strength of the Samoan culture – every village has at least one church and sometimes up to four, with about 10 denominations represented across the islands. Samoa’s motto says: “Samoa is founded on God” and the locals’ strong religious Read more
A controversial Russian artist is using blood donated by Catholics in politically motivated art works being exhibited in Northern Ireland. In Andrei Molodkin’s “Catholic Blood” exhibition, freshly donated human blood from a pharmaceutical refrigerator is pumped through a replica of the rose window adorning the façade of the British Houses of Parliament. In an adjoining Read more