It all depends on how you interpret Humanae Vitae. That’s essential to understanding what Pope Francis “really meant” in his recent string of remarks on having children. In fact, it’s a line that comes from the pope himself. He used it in an interview in March with Italy’s biggest-selling daily newspaper, Corriere della Sera. The Read more
Pope Francis delivered another gesture this week destined to burnish his legend for both humility and reform, deciding that an annual Mass in which newly appointed archbishops from around the world receive their symbol of office will no longer be held in Rome, but in their home archdiocese. That event, called the Pallium Mass, traditionally Read more
In a suburban Wellington dining room 10 people sit silently. Condiments pass across the table at the raising of an eyebrow or flick of a finger. One diner sees a neighbouring table’s empty water jug and rises quietly to fill it. A mix of religious and non-religious, the group had never met until a month Read more
The National Museum of Women in the Arts is currently hosting an exhibit of artwork depicting the Virgin Mary from several famous Renaissance and Baroque artists. The exhibit is called Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea, and runs from Dec. 5, 2014 to Apr. 12, 2015. If you are in the Washington, D.C. area, this might Read more
Fr Frank is a Marist Priest in Ranong, Thailand, working at the Marist Mission, serving among the poor. He shares his story. I’ve never felt happier. Restless. Yes, that perhaps sums up in a word a spirit led journey. I turned 40 a year ago and realised each year I was becoming a bit more Read more
The number, depth, and rapidity of changes in Chinese society over the last decade may obscure an unusual change within the academy: a markedly increased interest in the thought of Thomas Aquinas. Although it may seem strange to many in the West, contemporary Chinese scholars find Thomas’s thought not simply fascinating, but of enduring relevance. Read more
Is the Pope a conservative? After the papal zingers which landed in Strasbourg last week, some — Nigel Farage, writing in the Catholic Herald, for instance — seem to think so. Europe was ‘now a grandmother, no longer fertile and vibrant’, Pope Francis told a startled European Parliament, before saying that, to reconnect with ordinary Read more
“Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way. … Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” I Corinthians 13 The words of the apostle Paul are a familiar text at Read more
Immediately after his election on 13 March 2013, Pope Francis told himself, “Jorge, do not change, continue being yourself, because to change at your age would be ridiculous.” He revealed this interesting personal detail in a wide-ranging 50 minute, exclusive interview with Elisabetta Piquè, for La Nacion, the main Argentine newspaper, published today, December 7 Read more
A third of the world’s 196 countries currently have national flags that include religious symbols, according to a new Pew Research analysis. Of the 64 countries in this category, about half have Christian symbols (48%) and about a third include Islamic religious symbols (33%), with imagery on flags from the world’s two largest religious groups Read more