Cardinal Gerhard Müller’s criticism of Pope Francis’ termination of his tenure as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) is simply astonishing. His complaint is that he had no warning and the termination was a summary dismissal. I don’t know where the cardinal has been in recent months. But it doesn’t Read more
I’m stepping out of line here, but I believe someone has to put words to what the Holy Spirit has been telling us for years: married priesthood needs to be reinstated. The arguments against marriage for priests do not sit well with history or the majority of priests who claim they don’t cope with celibacy. Read more
On February 22, 2011 at 12.51pm I was in Christchurch having lunch with Bishop Victoria Matthews. I am ever grateful that her choice of restaurant meant we were sitting on large bench seats in a corner away from windows. As we sheltered under the sturdy tables, I learnt that in the advice “duck, cover and hold”, Read more
Legalising cannabis won’t necessarily make more people use the drug but it will mean that those who already do, will do so more often – at the cost of their health. About 75 per cent of New Zealanders have used cannabis at least once by the age of 25, according to The Christchurch Health and Read more
There’s no such thing as male privilege when it comes to suicide. International statistics confirm we’re three times more likely than women to take our own lives. For guys under 45, it’s the primary cause of death. Though women are worse off in many ways in society, this is one issue that disproportionally affects men. Read more
Nearly two decades after the reality TV craze took a firm grasp on our culture, viewers are really good at pretending the stars of these shows are only characters. Sure, we watch Lifetime’s revealing “UnReal” and skim juicy tell-all books and read about how reality TV is really made. But when we see cast members onscreen in outrageous situations Read more
In December, the Australian Royal Commission into child sex abuse in institutions will make its final report. But already enough has been revealed in interim reports to suggest that it will make very challenging reading for Catholics not just in Australia but worldwide. And a recently published book has focused on victims, responses by Church Read more
Typically speaking, about the most important thing any cardinal of the Catholic Church will ever do is to help pick a pope. As a result, one time-honored way of evaluating consistories, the events in which popes create new cardinals, is in terms of what they portend for the choice of that pope’s successor. Applying that Read more
World Refugee Day, June 20, came and went with hardly a notice. I almost missed it. Sadly, little mention was given in the secular and even religious world to the unprecedented refugee crisis endured by countless fellow human beings who have fled their homes with little more than the shirt on their back. According to Read more
Two years ago, when this story came out, I asked some friends and fellow journalists, “Is this the trigger-pull on Pell?” At the time, of course, his name wasn’t even being mentioned. But as the events unfolded that would later be referred to as “Vatileaks II,” media reports of new allegations of financial mismanagement at the Vatican left Read more