The White House has awarded Jesuit priest Father Greg Boyle the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Boyle is the founder of Homeboy Industries – a prominent ministry dedicated to rehabilitating gang-affiliated youth. A new ministry Immediately after his 1980 ordination, Boyle set about finding ways to give a second chance to ex-gang members and former prisoners. Read more
The Catholic Church in New Zealand is issuing a call for feedback regarding its role and response in the ongoing Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. Te Rōpū Tautoko, the body established to manage the Church’s dealings with the Royal Commission, has initiated an anonymous electronic feedback process that is accessible from anywhere Read more
Pope Francis said seminarians and religious men and women need well-rounded formation throughout their lives, not only at the onset of their religious training. In his prayer intention for the month of May, released on April 30 by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, the pope described each vocation as a “diamond in the rough” needing Read more
The synodal process within the Catholic Church demands a profound call to love that resonates at the very heart of Synodal discussions and decisions. This period of reflection and dialogue, aimed at rejuvenating and reforming the Church, must fundamentally be rooted in love. Central to this journey is the challenge to embody the greatest commandment—love. Read more
In an October 2023 interview, Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego and Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago said that the General Assembly of the Synod on Synodality raised the question of “reimaging” or “revisioning” the diaconate as a whole. It is precisely such a “revisioning” that many historians and theologians of the diaconate have been Read more
Responding with an “open heart,” Pope Francis has replied to Maltese parents of LGBTQ individuals who criticised a recent Vatican document denouncing gender theory and gender-affirming surgeries. In a letter dated April 30 Francis commended Drachma Parents, an organisation supporting LGBTQ Catholics, for their efforts. He described their work as “very beautiful and good”. In Read more
Filipino Fr Reynaldo Bunyi Getalado was ordained Coadjutor Bishop of Rarotonga on Saturday. In what is described as “a significant and deeply moving” ordination ceremony, the Catholic Diocese of Rarotonga, Cook Islands, witnessed the beginning of a new chapter. The ordination signalled the end of 53 years’ New Zealand leadership in the diocese. A sign Read more
Every Sunday, whoever is welcoming the gathered at my parish also welcomes those “joining us online,” before inviting us to stand for the processional hymn. Sometimes, I imagine that these folks are actually in the choir loft, where the camera and streaming laptop actually are. I can’t see them, but for most of Mass, I Read more
It’s been a bruising April for many of Christchurch’s iconic landmarks, venues and events, teetering under the weight of their own financial turmoil. The Arts Centre’s management team continues to sound the threatening drumbeat of insolvency if the ratepayer doesn’t rush to their rescue. (The doom-mongering hasn’t stopped them frittering lavish operational sums on their Read more
Catholic Answers, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to apologetics, has reaffirmed its commitment to using artificial intelligence (AI) despite facing backlash over its recent AI priest “Father Justin”. The AI priest project, launched on April 23, aimed to provide users with accurate information about Catholicism. However, the AI priest project quickly sparked controversy when users reported Read more