The controversy stirred up by the canonisation of St Junípero Serra is still raging in America. It’s a reminder that with social media and modern communications there is ever greater accessibility to the “human” side of contemporary saints. In some cases the hostility is between those responsible for a particular Cause. Here are five of the more Read more
Pornography may be defined as “the depiction of erotic behavior (sexual display in pictures or writing) that is intended to cause sexual excitement” in the viewer.(1) Over the past decade there has been a large increase in the pornographic material that is available to both adults and children. Mainstream pornography use has grown common because Read more
It’s a plain truth that democracies everywhere are witnessing the resurgence of religious bigotry. There are moments when it feels even as if something like a new global religious war has begun, on several fronts. Ignorant media hype, foul abuse of the faith or godlessness of others, ugly violence calculated to scare and kill: such Read more
We have heard a lot about (the new) mercy during the past months, and with respect to the (sometimes strange and surprising) topics discussed at the Extraordinary Synod on the Family. The remarks of some of the participants in the debates gave the impression that the insistence on truth—and on justice based on truth—is indicative Read more
Fifty years ago this Wednesday, the Vatican issued a declaration that established a new rapport between Jews and Catholics. On the eve of this anniversary, the Anti-Defamation League — founded to protect Jewish lives and rights — called the Church’s approval of Nostra Aetate “arguably the most important moment in modern Jewish-Christian relations.” How so? Read more
While wages stagnate, stock prices rise and the rich get richer. If you’re lucky enough to be a member of the global 1%, last year was another good year to be alive (every year is pretty great, though). Your wealth bracket increased its share of global riches so that it holds just over half of Read more
The latest edition of the ‘Church’s Book of Statistics’ was released to coincide with World Mission Sunday. The book details members of the Church, church structures, healthcare, welfare and education. World population To 31 December 2013 the world population was 7,093,798,000 with an increase of 70,421,000 compared with the previous year. Population growth was registered Read more
Crystal was 13 years old when she met her pimp. Of course, she didn’t think of him as a pimp; he was her boyfriend, her savior, the man who doted on her and gave her the things her parents couldn’t or wouldn’t provide. “You know how you’re a little girl and you dream of Prince Read more
There’s perhaps no other signature vehicle in the world more well-known than the popemobile. Tall and boxy or sleek and chic, it’s the one white ride that always catches people’s eye, mostly because of the special passenger waving inside. The popemobile is a specially modified vehicle that gives the pope enough elevation and visibility that Read more
A surge of migrant deaths in deadly voyages across the Mediterranean Sea has become a modern-day refugee crisis. But the Rev. Mussie Zerai, a 40-year-old Roman Catholic priest from tiny Eritrea, north of Ethiopia, has moved to help migrants trapped in the North African deserts and rickety wooden boats drifting across the sea. “It is Read more