The worldwide Catholic Church has now officially embarked on the “synodal process 2021-2023”. Pope Francis launched the project at the Vatican on October 10 with a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and bishops around the globe (though not all of them) inaugurated the process at the diocesan level the following Sunday with celebrations in their Read more
It’s a figure that has gone largely unnoticed. In the flood of information and disturbing statistics published earlier this month by France’s Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE), too little attention has been paid to an important detail in the commission’s report – an estimated 115,000 minors and vulnerable adults were sexually Read more
Worries that the COVID-19 vaccine could cause infertility are among the reasons people give for avoiding vaccination. While there’s no evidence any of the COVID-19 vaccines cause problems with fertility, becoming severely ill from the disease has the potential to do so, reproduction experts say, making vaccination all the more important. “There is evidence to Read more
When Pope Francis issued Laudato Si in 2015, media outlets treated this historic encyclical on climate change and the environment as a “game-changer.” One Jesuit priest told National Public Radio that the encyclical would have a “far-reaching impact,” because it would encourage Catholics “to make major changes in what they consume and how they live Read more
Thank you for coming! My name is Bishop Pascal. I am the ordinary in the Diocese of Heartlands, and I need your help. Let me first tell you my situation and some of the options that are being proposed to me for dealing with it. Then I’ll welcome your suggestions or proposals. Our diocese has Read more
Oct. 11 was the International Day of the Girl Child, a day to empower young girls and promise them a better future. However, today, I am sorry to say to girls that I do not have good news for you. You have grown up with the promise of a better future. Throughout your life, you Read more
This memo is a twofer, offering both a lively story theme to pursue and an issue that is now affecting the work of every stylebook and copy editor in the American media. An older campaign by feminists, including those working in the world of liturgy, sought to shun male pronouns — particularly when either gender Read more
The decision by the Rolling Stones to remove their 1971 song Brown Sugar from the set list for their upcoming US tour has drawn both praise and criticism. Read by some as a surrender to the “woke brigade” and by others as a reasonable response to the accusation the lyrics glorify “slavery, rape, torture and Read more
Pope Francis knows how to cause a stir with his statements. But even when the current Bishop of Rome says things that should not be newsworthy, they are objectively relevant in the context of the embattled Catholic Church of today. One example: the pope recently said that the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) shaped his theological Read more
The temple is emptier than it should be. The idols are alone. The country is in lockdown to manage the delta outbreak, and all the worshippers at Sri Venkateswara, a Hindu temple in Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt, are at home. Online, though, the bells are ringing. A priest chants prayers on the Facebook livestream, and for Read more