Hunting season doesn’t normally begin in most places in the United States until the autumn. But some self-appointed US Catholic intelligentsia members apparently agreed that, this year, it would start on March 13th. That was the day we marked the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ election to the papacy. And while writers generally used the Read more
During a special 24-hour event called “24 Hours for the Lord”, Pope Francis has urged the faithful to avoid religious hypocrisy and to being overly spiritual. In his sermon, the pope criticised those who consider themselves better than others because they follow religious rules but lack a genuine relationship with God. “Let us not hide Read more
A photo of candidates for this year’s Launch Out for lay pastoral leaders shows a lot of smiling faces. But not one of them is a male. There have been 38 candidates going through the the Archdiocese of Wellington’s lay leadership programme since 2002, including this year’s six; fewer than originally hoped for. Established in Read more
A booklet arguing that “to abolish clericalism, we must abolish the clergy” has ignited controversy among Catholics in Belgium. The proposal was made in a booklet titled “Let’s return the Church to the People of God! Putting an end to clericalism,” authored by nine Catholics working in healthcare for the Diocese of Liège. The group Read more
Pope Francis discussed the possibility of revising the Western discipline of priestly celibacy in a wide-ranging interview for his 10th anniversary as pope last week. Francis spoke with Argentine journalist Daniel Hadad. “There is no contradiction for a priest to marry. “Celibacy in the Western Church is a temporary prescription: I do not know if Read more
The future of Christchurch’s Catholic Cathedral precinct is suddenly looking shaky. The ground shifted when the City Council revised its CBD roading plans. Developers – those putting up millions and encouraging growth – don’t want one-way streets near their sites. Not when they were supposed to be two-way streets. One of the many projects caught Read more
One of Cyclone Gabrielle’s many casualties was a beautiful little Catholic chapel on the north side of Wairoa’s town bridge. Like many places in Wairoa’s North Clyde area, St Therese’s was swamped. Silt got into everything and did its worst. The same happened at the marae next door – and to numerous homes and properties. Read more
March 7 was Census day in Aotearoa, our five-yearly opportunity to (according to the 2023 census website) “represent ourselves, our families, whānau, communities, and cultures.” I’m reminded of the Bible censuses, especially the one early in Luke providing the reason that Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem. In recent years our NZ national census Read more
When Pope Francis was elected 10 years ago, I was sitting in front of a BBC camera preparing to be interviewed and uttered a word I cannot print in my column. Luckily, my mic had not been turned on. All I knew about Jorge Bergoglio was that my friends in Latin America, liberation theologians and Read more
The Church’s largest ever study of Catholic women has found they are hungry for reform. Women resent their lack of decision-making power and want to follow their consciences on sex and contraception. They think the Church should be more inclusive of the diverse and the divorced. Women also want to be allowed to preach, they Read more