There was a big magnolia tree in the retreat grounds, white cup-shaped flowers that poured out fragrance on us as we made our way to the chapel. We would stop on the path under that tree, to breathe it in. We didn’t think of the pause as prayer, but that’s what it was. On the Read more
It started in Tokyo. On Thursday, Google employees around the world stopped work at 11am local time, as part of a planned protest against the tech giant’s handling of sexual harassment complaints. The protests happened in waves, with workers walking out of their offices, carrying signs and chanting, as the clock struck 11 in Singapore, Read more
Aileen Carlin Giannelli died on September 8. By itself, that’s probably not something most readers are interested in. Statistically, perhaps as many as 46,000 American Catholics died in September, and I am sure any reader of these words can name at least one of them. But this particular American Catholic was my wife’s mother and Read more
If you’re an American Catholic, or an Australian, Irish, German, Chilean, or from pretty much anyplace else scarred by clerical sexual abuse scandals, news that a global summit of Catholic bishops in 2018 could walk up to the brink of endorsing a “zero tolerance” policy, only to pull back at the last minute, may seem Read more
Did a just-concluded meeting of Catholic bishops here open the door to rethinking Catholic teaching on homosexuality? The question was unexpectedly left hanging in the wake of the final report of the Vatican’s synod on young people, which ended Sunday (Oct. 28). Produced in a unique collaboration between 249 bishops and some three dozen young Read more
Although clergy sexual abuse scandals aren’t new, the ones that have rocked the Catholic Church this summer revolved around a group seldom focused on before: seminarians. The sexual harassment and abuse of seminarians, and the response of seminary leaders, have been at the center of the case of former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, whose removal from Read more
Young people may use digital and social media, but what we ultimately desire lies far beyond it. “Digital pastoral care” as a way to meet young people where they are remains a main topic of conversation for bishops and auditors at the Synod on the Youth. Bishops are aware that young people, many of whom Read more
While having a baby without being married was uncommon and stigmatized several decades ago, it’s becoming the norm in many European countries — and even the U.S., according to a report released today by the United Nations Population Fund. Why it matters If having babies without being married becomes increasingly common, it could help stabilize Read more
A year after the coalition Government took office, its flagship housing plan KiwiBuild is barely off the ground. At this year’s Bruce Jesson Memorial lecture, Monte Cecilia Housing Trust’s Bernie Smith argued KiwiBuild’s flaws not only perpetuate housing unaffordability, but cause further intergenerational social problems. Bernie Smith tells an interesting story. After working in some of the Read more
As the Vatican copes with the growing clergy sex abuse scandal and declining number of priests worldwide, it is laying the groundwork to open formal debate on an issue that has long been taboo: opening up the priesthood to married men in parts of the world where clergy are scarce. Pope Francis has convened a Read more