One pope was a father of 10 through multiple mistresses, a man who purchased the papacy with mule-loads of silver. It is said that Alexander VI, the most debauched of the Borgia pontiffs, elected in 1492, even had an affair with one of his daughters. Another pope contracted syphilis during his reign — a “disease Read more
As Ricky Martin and Christina Aguilera sang: “Nobody wants to be lonely.” But loneliness is more than just missing spending time with your friends. Research has found that loneliness can have a negative impact on a person’s health as significant as the effect of “smoking 15 cigarettes a day.” While loneliness is increasing in numbers Read more
The Pope’s popularity in Italy has dropped from 88 percent in 2013 to 71 percent in 2018. But you’d be mistaken to think that the decline has to do with Archbishop Viganò’s charge that Francis had covered-up for Cardinal McCarrick. The poll was taken before that story broke. According to the poll’s author, much of Read more
The life journey on this earth, is also one of spiritual growth, and we know that tension is a requirement. Growth through the tension of opposite states, is a condition of nature. Let us think about that for a moment. At this time of the year, we see trees bursting into leaf. The smooth branch Read more
Saint John Paul II died in April 2005 and can no longer speak. The Pope Emeritus Benedict, his collaborators explain, has absolutely no intention of saying anything about the whole thing. Pope Francis invited journalists to read what was written by the former nuncio Carlo Maria Viganò in his j’accuse that tries to involve three Read more
It is not surprising that Catholics are furious about the latest sex abuse crisis. It began, most recently, with accusations of abuse and harassment against the former cardinal-archbishop of Washington, D.C., Theodore McCarrick deepened with the Pennsylvania grand jury report detailing 70 years of abuse in the Commonwealth and, intensified with the former Vatican nuncio Read more
If you think religion belongs to the past and we live in a new age of reason, you need to check out the facts: 84% of the world’s population identifies with a religious group. Members of this demographic are generally younger and produce more children than those who have no religious affiliation, so the world Read more
We are facing a current crisis in the church. Only 14 percent of Catholic millennial young adults go to Mass every Sunday. Research indicates that most young people disaffiliate from the faith between the ages of 10 and 12. Young couples are not looking to get married in the church, nor are they bringing their Read more
The Catholic Church is being rocked — again — by high-level sexual abuse scandals, with allegations in recent weeks surfacing in Chile, Honduras and the District, home to Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, a once-super-popular cleric who is facing accusations by five males of harassment or abuse. And again, people say they are shocked and outraged, which Read more
While Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò makes a number of accusations against former and current Vatican officials in his 11-page letter, there is only one he aims at Pope Francis. Vigano alleges Pope Francis knew former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick had “corrupted generations of seminarians and priests” but nonetheless decided to lift sanctions. Sanctions that included “a Read more