Elevating John XXIII and John Paul II to sainthood is political and divisive. It’s time the church closed its dead popes society, says Paul Vallely. The date for the arrival of two more saints within the Catholic church will be announced on 30 September. So what’s two more, given the recent deluge from the Vatican? Read more
When addressing the cardinal conclave, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Buenos Aires warned of “self-preferentiality” and “theological narcissism,” which he said would lead to a “sick” Church. He particularly criticized the “mundane Church that lives within itself, of itself and for itself.” Six months into his papacy, it is crystal clear that this Argentine cardinal, Read more
A man I know said to me yesterday that I must be outraged about what Pope Francis is saying. I inwardly rolled my mind’s eye. Let me just tell you who this guy is. He’s a professed non-believer. A former Catholic. The worst kind, right? And he’s a bit in your face about it too, Read more
The resignations of two bishops on child sex abuse allegations in the past six weeks and the Vatican’s handling of these latest cases has again prompted questions on how the world’s oldest monarchy handles controversy: It ignores it. In both cases – a nuncio to the Dominican Republic and, most recently, an auxiliary bishop in Read more
As a practicing Catholic working in the media, perhaps the five most frightening words I hear are “Pope Francis gave an interview.” They aren’t scary because of anything Pope Francis actually says; the former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio spent decades choosing his words carefully as an Argentine priest and then prelate of Buenos Aires, emphasizing the Read more
As a Jesuit, I was overwhelmed by the interview of Pope Francis by my Jesuit brother, Fr. Antonio Spadaro, editor of La Civilta Cattolica, a Jesuit journal based in Rome. Congratulations to Antonio, my former colleagues at America, and the 14 other Jesuit publications for this extraordinary exclusive. That all of these Jesuits could keep Read more
In a typical American classroom, there are nearly as many diagnosable cases of ADHD as there are of the common cold. In 2008, researchers from the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University found that almost 10 percent of children use cold remedies at any given time. The latest statistics out of the Centers for Disease Read more
The cases of Pfc. Bradley Manning, who prefers to be known as Chelsea Manning, and Edward Snowden raise acute issues about the role of confidentiality in our society and the responsibilities of individuals who encounter disturbing information that they consider damaging to national security. In each case, an individual chose to divulge classified information even Read more
World-famous scientist, Richard Dawkins has attracted a lot of negative attention recently by suggesting that the “mild pedophilia” he experienced as a boy wasn’t really such a big deal. In a recent interview, he recalled how one of his teachers “pulled me on his knee and put his hand inside my shorts.” Dawkins went on Read more
New Friends and Old Sometime in August our staff Josephine and I attended a Boroko Rotary Club dinner and made a presentation on the work of WeCARe! It went over very well and the club is very interested in helping us. They have already given us a handsome donation which is very welcome, and told Read more