Whenever Pope Francis talks about the need to welcome immigrants, to build bridges not walls, and to invest in the countries from which people are fleeing, critics inevitably will ask, “Okay, but what are you doing about it?” From snarky observations about the walls around Vatican city to wry observations about all the under-utilized ecclesiastical Read more
Much blood has been shed during human history in the name of religion. Thomas Jefferson 1743-1826) knew this all too well. Here are Jefferson’s very words: “Millions of innocent men, women, and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, and imprisoned” (“Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVII,” 1781-1782). It Read more
One way to understand the saints—the radiant, aberrant beings next to whom the rest of us look so shifty and shoddy—is to imagine them as cutting-edge physicists. Their research, if you like, has led them unblinkingly to conclude that reality is not at all what, or where, or who we think it is. They have Read more
Although never fond of church going and heedless of doctrinal orthodoxy, Tennyson was profoundly religious, stating: “Two things I have always been firmly convinced of—God—and that death will not end my existence.” Early and late, Tennyson’s theme was mortal beauty. In The Princess (1847), when he was scarcely forty, he set it to an enchanting Read more
With the release of a shocking report from Australia on accusations of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests, the old question is bound to arise: “Is the discipline of celibacy to blame for sexual abuse of minors?” The complicated question is dealt with in historian Philip Jenkins’s excellent study on the problem. Published in Read more
Our so-called ‘God’s own’ country is fast becoming anything but. A century ago New Zealand was one of most religious places on the planet, with the great majority of Kiwis, Pākehā and Māori alike, believing in some form of Christianity. Fast forward a few generations and not only Christianity, but belief in any form of Read more
In November 1990 at the Shrine Auditorium in LA, a rugged, ripped Bruce Springsteen stood on stage and drawled: “This song is about the price of blind faith and what refusing to give up your illusions extracts from you.” He then launched into Reason to Believe from his first solo album Nebraska, which tells a Read more
Amoris Laetitia? “It should be read as a whole, in any case, adultery is always a mortal sin and the bishops who stir confusion on this should study for themselves the doctrine of the Church. We must help the sinner to overcome the sin and to repent.” The unity of Christians? “It is important, but Read more
The Roman Catholic Church will allow priests all over the world to grant forgiveness for abortion. This announcement came from Pope Francis at the end of the Jubilee of Mercy – a holy year dedicated to forgiveness. When the holy year concluded on Nov. 20, Pope Francis made permanent the permission that he had provisionally Read more
Rakhine State in western Myanmar is in crisis rights groups say as thousands of largely stateless Rohingya Muslims attempt to flee to neighboring Bangladesh, while others are agitating for dangerous boat trips to Malaysia amid reports of villages being razed and gang rapes by Myanmar’s military. At least 5,000 Rohingya have fled the religiously and Read more