The CNN Freedom Project wants to amplify the voices of the victims of modern-day slavery, highlight success stories and help unravel the tangle of criminal enterprises trading in human life. It’s vacation season for much of the world, with travelers flocking to airports to jet off for some hard-earned R&R. But it’s not just holidaymakers who fly Read more
When Pope Francis issued his motu proprio on liturgical translation (Magnum principium) in September, most of the commentary that followed was focused on the change in Canon Law this enacted, which strengthened the role of bishops’ conferences. The 2001 Vatican instruction on translation, Liturgiam authenticam, had strongly centralized authority in Rome and diminished the role of the bishops’ conferences. Read more
Pope Pius XI’s will stated he wanted to be buried as close as possible to what tradition has considered to be the tomb of St. Peter. Pius XII then began the excavations under St. Peter’s Basilica, in order to fulfill the last will of his predecessor. With that single gesture, he also showed confidence in Read more
The word immigration is likely to spark a reaction, depending which side of the welcoming gate you stand. On Sunday, Duncan Garner faced a torrent of abuse, including being labelled a racist, following a column calling for New Zealand to curb immigration. Winston Peters and his party, NZ First, want to cut the number of people coming into the country – Read more
It’s the most popular and well-known Marian apparition in the recent history of the Church. One hundred years ago, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children in a field in Fatima, Portugal. She brought with her requests for the recitation of the rosary, for sacrifices on behalf of sinners, and a secret regarding Read more
On August 24, 1992, in the early hours of the morning, my family and I stepped out of our temporary shelter to find our city — and our lives — forever changed. We had spent the past several hours huddled together as Hurricane Andrew battered our South Florida neighborhood with torrential rain and winds near Read more
Of the items you might expect to see in the workplace of a professor of public health, a poker machine is probably not one. The Dolphin Treasure pokie sits on a bench in Charles Livingstone’s office at Monash University in Melbourne, too heavy for even two people to move and emblazoned with gaudy dolphins swimming merrily Read more
NCR’s Tom Roberts and David Gibson of Fordham University discuss an unsettling pattern of Catholic writers and scholars being disinvited from speaking engagements and adjunct positions due to intimidation from far-right Catholic groups. We say: The Catholic Church needs civil conversation, not censorship. Fr. Jim Martin was uninvited from a speaking engagement at the CUA seminary. Pressure Read more
Five years ago, Professor Miroslav Djordjevic, the world-leading genital reconstructive surgeon, received a patient at his Belgrade clinic. It was a transgender patient who had surgery at a different clinic to remove male genitalia – and had since changed their mind. That was the first time Professor Djordjevic had ever been contacted to perform a Read more
From the very first moments of his pontificate, Jorge Bergoglio signalled a departure in style from that of his immediate predecessors. His taking of the name Francis, his eschewing the full papal vestments, and his appeal to the masses gathered in Saint Peter’s Square below to pray for him, before imparting his own blessing, all Read more