Kitchy symbols of pop culture, a crucifix, a movable penis and Christ do not mix well and have offended Filipino Catholics. “May your soul burn in hell” wrote a furious Facebook user, one of many who have denounced the work of Mideo Cruz as offensive art. Cruz intended the work to be a commentary on Read more
Many faith communities are working together on the front line after the riots in London and other cities and towns in the UK. Haringey Citizens, is an alliance of civil-society institutions including St Ignatius Church and St Ignatius College. They are are part of Citizens UK, a national broad-based alliance of schools, colleges, universities, churches, mosques, synagogues, Read more
It’s ‘back to the future’ when receiving Holy Communion, if Head of the Congregation for Divine Worship, Spanish Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera has his way. According to Llovera, kneeling and receiving on the tongue are the recommended ways of taking Holy Communion. The cardinal’s remarks came in response to a question about whether Catholics should Read more
Facebook is letting expectant parents add their unborn children to their personal profiles. Among the regular family options the profile now allows the option “Expected: Child” and can even add a name and the expected date of birth. A Facebook spokesperson said, “Facebook started providing the option to add an ‘Expected: Child’ as a way Read more
A priest in Ireland’s troubled Cloyne diocese is urging the church leadership to develop a new way of thinking and acting in light of the scandal facing the diocese. Fr Joseph McGuane, the first ordinary cleric in Cloyne to comment on the child abuse controversies, said that ordinary people were very angry that “justice has Read more
Complacency has hit America’s born again Christians; a study by the Barna Group warns about a lack of faith commitment. The study examined faith behaviour of born again Christians over a ten year period and identified a drop in church attendance, decline in reading the Bible, lack of faith priority in things such as volunteering The study also found Read more
The American Psychological Association (APA) have approved a resolution at their annual convention to support same sex marriage. The vote was 157-0, and the move is seen as a huge boost for those in their fight for marriage equality. Members approved the measure because numerous studies have supported same sex marriage as a good thing for Read more
“The Arab spring is over: we are experiencing a hot summer,” says Father Paolo Dall’Oglio. “Whoever was able to complete this change in just a few weeks really hit the jackpot; Syria and Yemen, countries marked by complex social, cultural and religious situations, and Libya which has its own complexities, are all stuck mid-stream and Read more
The British public has raised NZ$80 million for Somalia in just over three weeks, but three more regions have been hit by the famine, so much more is needed. Brendan Gormley, chief execution of the British Disasters Emergency Committee said: “To raise NZ$80 million in just over three weeks is a wonderful demonstration of public Read more
In a world first, Germans Catholics are now able to rate priests online using a “shepherd’s barometer”. The barometer, “Hirten barometer” gives parishioners the chance to rate their priests performance on scale of 1 – 6 measuring the priests performance at church services crediblity having the ‘finger on the pulse’ youth work care for the elderly “Pastoral Read more