The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), as reported by The Guardian, has warned that as COVID vaccines continue to roll out, the world faces a “catastrophic moral failure” as richer countries administer the vaccine on a vast scale, while poor countries are left behind.” The head of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, underscored the Read more
Reactions to Pope Francis’s decree Spiritus Domini have not been explosive. Indeed, the reverse is the case: bishops and presbyters around the world have said that it is merely a matter of words. After all, women have been reading for years at the liturgy – so calling them ‘lectors’ is just a needless formality! Women have Read more
Fast food happened fast. The golden arches were first sighted in Porirua in 1976. Just 20 years later, there were 100 McDonald’s restaurants in the country. Nowadays, fast food restaurants are an omnipresent feature of the landscape of urban New Zealand. Kiwis flocked to the cities in the latter half of the 20th century, and Read more
Five months after Pope Francis issued new norms governing Vatican finances, the Secretariat of State has not yet given to the Secretariat of the Economy oversight and control over funds — a handover ordered by the pope — several Vatican officials have charged. Neither the Secretariat of State nor the Vatican press office have responded Read more
While I am always happy to celebrate any accolades my country and city might garner on the international stage, seeing Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau awarded the top ranking in a recent “most liveable cities” survey left me somewhat flummoxed. In particular, I would argue that many Māori whānau in Auckland do not enjoy the benefits of this Read more
Earlier this month, more than a hundred Catholic parishes in Germany carried out priestly blessings of same-sex couples in defiance of the Vatican and the German bishops. The ceremonies were, in part, a response to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s recent instruction forbidding such blessings and reiterating the Church’s traditional teaching regarding Read more
The Catholic Church seems to be tripping over itself to avoid issuing a clear and definitive apology for the church’s role in Canada’s residential schools after the remains of 215 children were reportedly discovered outside a Catholic-run school in Kamloops. While concerns about liability may be a factor, one significant barrier is theological. In traditional Read more
When Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the disgraced former papal nuncio to the United States, released an unprecedented and soon discredited letter in 2018 alleging Pope Francis’ complicity in covering up for former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s history of abuse, San Francisco’s Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone came to Viganò’s defence. Despite Viganò’s shocking call for Pope Francis’ resignation, Read more
Now it is formally illegal to ordain a woman as a deacon. Or as a priest. Or as a bishop. On June 1, Pope Francis promulgated revisions to the Code of Canon Law detailing crimes and punishments. The new “Book VI: Penal Sanctions in the Church” takes effect on December 8. Most of the revisions Read more
In our world Church today, there are two conversations at a national level about how a national Synod should occur. One is in Germany and another is in Australia. There seems little doubt that these conversations are only the first two of what will become dozens and dozens of conversations seeking to clarify what the Read more