Each year the eve of Anzac Day is given over to the International Day of Multiculturalism and Diplomacy for Peace. This year the conjunction is particularly apposite at a time when the air is full of wars and rumours of war. Wars – past, present and future Anzac Day recalls the generosity and death of Read more
The nature of power and how the abuse of power has been dealt with in the past and present were the focus of an international conference in Rome attended by about a dozen scholars earlier this month. Experts in history, philosophy, sociology, political science, psychology and education came together at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University April Read more
“Without liturgical reform, there is no reform of the Church,” Pope Francis said emphatically last February during an address to the plenary assembly of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. His remarks came around the 60th anniversary of Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy that was issued during Read more
We have already seen six months of war in Gaza. Now, it seems that Israel is beginning its last phase of conquest, after ordering a million and a half people to take refuge in Rafah, a border town with Egypt. Soon, there may be almost no one left in the rest of Gaza. There have Read more
Fr Timothy Radcliffe, the Dominican friar, was chosen by Pope Francis to lead the three-day retreat for all participants prior to the first assembly last October of the Synod on Synodality. This was a position of great trust given the eyes of the Catholic world were gazing at this potentially earth-shattering event. Who is Fr Read more
In Europe, the number of church members is declining – but Christianity remains strong worldwide. However, the structures do not remain stable, but are constantly changing. Thomas Schlag is Professor of Practical Theology at the University of Zurich, where he heads the Centre for Church Development, where he conducts research into participation and church development. Read more
When I was studying political science in graduate school, I was surrounded by students who were much smarter than me. Most of my fellow students at the University of California Berkeley went to Ivy League schools as undergraduates. They were well read, articulate and confident. When they asked where I went to school, I responded, Read more
The incoming class of seminarians who will be ordained in 2024 is young and involved in their community, an annual survey released April 15 found. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops commissioned the Center for Applied Research (CARA) at Georgetown University for an annual survey. From January to March of this year, CARA surveyed almost Read more
Our attitudes to war change drastically when it becomes personal. When it is distant, it involves people whose nationality and culture we do not share, and wrongs of whose cause are disputed. But it does not affect us at gut level. When it is someone who has walked our streets, swum on our beaches, speaks Read more
Announcing the results of a new Global Flourishing Study, a consortium of scholars and pollsters led by Gallup said that they found links between religiosity and people’s satisfaction with their lives. Religious influences The study, a joint project of Harvard and Baylor universities, Gallup and the Center for Open Science, aims to uncover what influences Read more