Jose Gomez has set a stunning example of what the church should be doing. ‘I FIND these files [about priests who sexually abused children] to be brutal and painful reading. The behaviour described in these files is terribly sad and evil. There is no excuse, no explaining away what happened to these children. The priests Read more
The Catholic Church is no stranger to criticism from those who disagree with its teachings, but the petition posted recently on the White House Web site to label the church a “hate group” is beyond the pale, even in an age when an aggressive secularism seeks to marginalize the influence of religious belief. The church has long been Read more
Catholic agencies in the United States are cautious about a new “accommodation” for religious institutions that object to covering contraception and abortion services in their employees’ insurance plans. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops declined to comment on the Obama administration’s latest modification to the Health and Human Services mandate that many Catholic employers are Read more
The first week of April 2005 was dominated by images of Pope John Paul II’s dead body vested in red, mitred and laid out among his people with bells and books and candles, blessed with water and incense, borne from one station to the next in what began to take shape as a final journey. Read more
St Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Newtown, Connecticut, became the centre of grieving for the six adults and 20 children — some of whom were preparing for their first Communion — killed by a lone gunman at the local school on December 14. The pastor, Monsignor Bob Weiss, was on the scene of the Read more
Near the bottom rungs on the ladder of rectitude, just above criminals, used to be the space occupied, in the common mind, by politicians and used-car salesmen. That position has now been seriously threatened and overtaken by people euphemistically calling themselves “developers”. What that moniker frequently amounts to is simply the blatant destruction of buildings Read more
Less than a year after it was established, the ordinariate for former Anglicans seeking to join the Catholic Church in the United States has grown to include 1500 individuals, 35 communities and 24 priests. The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter has also had a five-acre property, worth $NZ6 million, donated to it Read more
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris — a religious, cultural and historical landmark on an island in the River Seine — is being spruced up to celebrate its 850th anniversary. The graceful and inspiring Catholic church that has dominated Paris since the 12th century, survived the Hundred Years War, the French Revolution and two world wars Read more
While the Catholic Church teaches that “the whole body of the faithful . . . cannot error in matters of belief”, this does not mean Catholic beliefs are open to popular vote, Pope Benedict XVI has told a group of theologians. The Pope said an authentic “sensus fidei” (“sense of faith”) can come only when Read more
The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian denomination, with more than a billion members worldwide. Its Latin Rite (there are several others) is the only organized branch of Christianity to expand substantially beyond Europe. However, this globalization is relatively recent. Yes, there were Franciscans with Marco Polo on his 13th century journey to China. Read more