Among the many popular and impious sayings about Rome, some dating back to early times, there is this little gem: Roma veduta, fede perduta. Basically, it means you risk losing your faith when you go to the Eternal City. It’s certainly a phrase that was bantered about during the 16th century when Martin Luther (an Read more
Of all that happened in the liturgy in the aftermath of Vatican II, only two events were visible to most people. First, was the disappearance of Latin (which had become a de facto badge of identity for many Catholics), and the second was the fact that now the president of the Eucharistic assembly ‘faced the Read more
Heart of the City and the City Centre Residents Group say it’s time for recent investment in housing and support services to bring an end to rough sleeping and begging on our city centre streets. This is a critical time to act and deliver on a significant opportunity for our city. We now have purpose-built Read more
Pope Francis has been the subject of what seems like unrelenting criticism for several years. At times, it is difficult to keep up with the sheer volume of critiques and attacks on the Holy Father coming from Catholic media outlets, Catholic journalists, columnists and writers; as well as, more surprisingly, cardinals, archbishops, bishops and priests. Read more
He herehere tawhito o tētahi whareherehere kōwhiritia a Nazi i haere ki te toro i tana hoa he toa te whakamātautau tahi ki a ia. ‘Kua murua koe i ngā Nazi?’ ka pātai ia ki tana hoa. ‘Āe,’ te whakahoki. ‘Nā, kāore ahau. E kī ana tonu ahau ki te whakarihariha mō rātou.’ ‘I tēnā Read more
The idea of a Catholic University has been foremost in my mind in recent days. Catholic means “universal”, but what makes a university Catholic? Greater intellects than mine have considered this question before. John Henry Newman — a saint of the Catholic Church and the patron saint of the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy at Read more
It is rare to celebrate the centenary of the writing of an essay, especially one as brief as “The Mass on the World” by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. To be fair, “The electrodynamics of moving bodies”, the paper Einstein published in 1905 while he was working at a droll job in a patent office in Read more
The recent Women’s Football World Cup, with its acting-out of the Enlightenment values of liberty, equality and fraternity, was a delightful patch of blue sky among more ominous dark clouds. The fires and floods in the Northern Hemisphere have emphasised the threat of climate change to people’s lives throughout the world. They foreshadow the future. Read more
The call for synodality has been louder than ever, but does the Church truly understand what it means to listen, especially to those who have left its pews? Listening has become a recurring term in religious circles, particularly in discussions around synodality. But if the Catholic Church is serious about this form of governance, it Read more
Over the past three years, I have been speaking to many groups about the notion of synodality and what it might mean (and not mean) for that community of disciples we refer to as the Catholic Church. In the discussions, one question is invariably put to me, and it amounts to this: If you were Read more