A new report indicates that Spain leads the world in terms of the number of Catholic missionaries serving abroad, with almost 10,000 Spanish priests, nuns, and brothers working in Latin America and other corners of the world. It’s also in second place in terms of financial support for missionary activity. Such a commitment is obviously Read more
Will there be a Viganò schism? Surely not a schism like the ones in the handbooks of Church history. But news that the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith had summoned Italian Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò to answer to charges of schism reveals something of this Catholic moment and Catholic culture. From 2011-2016, Read more
The latest episode of a well-documented saga occurred June 28 in New York. U.S. President Joe Biden once again made a sign of the cross in public under circumstances that did not match the rituality of the gesture, thus causing confusion. The American president was attending the opening ceremony of a cultural center dedicated to Read more
Americans idolise youth. We want something new, fresh and beautiful. Wrinkles are not badges of wisdom and maturity. They are ugly and need to be stopped with Botox. Today, we have an elderly pope in Rome, an elderly president and an elderly Republican candidate for president. Age and ability Because the 87-year-old pope has difficulty Read more
The final round of the World Synod will convene in Rome in October this year. Bishops, priests, and laypeople will vote on new consultation and decision-making processes in the Catholic Church. The working paper, Instrumentum Laboris, is the crucial guideline for this process and is expected to be available soon. The Synod Secretariat announced at Read more
The latest Catholic commotion is over the Vatican’s promotion of an accused abuser priest’s art. Not long ago, the Vatican’s chief spokesman told 350 media professionals that Vatican media would still use art by Fr Marko Ivan Rupnik, 69, currently under investigation for accusations of abusing women religious. Paolo Ruffini, 67, prefect of the Vatican’s Read more
I am tempted to depression and despair when faced with the reality of global warming, and I fear that I am not alone. Global warming Carbon dioxide levels continue to increase, followed by rising temperatures around the world. Sea levels are rising as ice melts, droughts are spreading and storms are getting stronger, leading to Read more
In her early 30s, Rachael Sanborn found herself in a bad relationship and dreaming of an escape to the Camino de Santiago in Spain. It’s a pilgrimage her father had undertaken that had profoundly changed his life. Sanborn, a rebel and adventurer by nature (she dropped out of college to meditate in India for a Read more
As a nation, we’re still figuring out what to do with Matariki. Regional anniversary days or King’s birthdays are easy. Many have their own rituals and routines: beach, boat or bach for the weekend is the aspiration for most of us. In one sense, Matariki is a long-overdue move towards a confident national identity. Most Read more
Want to find that one issue upon which at least some Democrats and Republicans can agree? Here it is: the danger that social media poses to our young people. Surgeon General’s warning In the words of United States Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy (pictured): “The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency — Read more