At dusk in this small indigenous village, Antelmo Pereira calls local Catholics to prayer, changes into a white robe and leads a religious service that is the closest thing the faithful in this remote part of the Amazon can get to a proper Mass. Speaking in the indigenous Ticuna language, he leads a recital of Read more
For both admirers and critics, the personal authority and moral legacy of Pope Francis will be hanging in the balance this month. On Monday (NZ time) he will invite a gathering of bishops, men and women from religious orders, indigenous people and secular experts to think boldly about a remote but ecologically sensitive corner of Read more
With the upcoming Amazon Synod, some people are only focused on whether it will recommend that the priesthood be opened to the ordination of married men, but there is a lot more at stake. True, the synod will discuss the possibility of ordaining married men because there is a shortage of priests to serve such Read more
The Church should “deepen its understanding of the uninterrupted tradition of priestly celibacy in the Latin rite” says Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. Ouellet says a deepened understanding of celibacy is preferable to grabbing at quick solutions to resolve the current lack of priests. He makes the claim in his newly Read more
Issues on the table at the upcoming Vatican summit on the Amazon region are not just political and ecclesiastical, but also down to earth and mundane, including the funding difficulties for Amazonian dioceses and parishes. According to local bishops, the geographic and economic challenges in the Amazon make the Catholic mission in the region a Read more
Battle lines have been drawn for October’s highly anticipated Vatican summit on the Amazon region, where the proposal to give isolated communities access to the sacraments by ordaining married men has led to uproar — frustrating some of the meeting’s organizers for distracting from other pastoral concerns at stake in the region. Father Michael Czerny, Read more
Two cardinals are challenging the working document for next month’s synod of bishops on the pan-Amazonian region. Cardinals Walter Brandmüller and Raymond Burke have both written to fellow members of the College of Cardinals raising concerns about the document. “Some points…seem not only in dissonance with respect to the authentic teaching of the Church, but Read more