I have previously written about the Catholic Church’s need to be realistic about its property needs — in terms of schools, churches and presbyteries. If a property is no longer needed or the revenue generated from its sale would be a better use of the asset, assuming it’s not going to be disproportionately detrimental to Read more
Margaret Sullivan now wears the public editor hat at The New York Times and with a recent ombudsman column took on a huge media problem: False balance aka false equivalency. False balance reports are those that appear fair because they have two sides, except that one side reflects neither knowledge nor a right to speak. Reports on Catholicism are especially vulnerable Read more
Catholics have been arguing about the Second Vatican Council—about what it did and didn’t do, about what it meant and still means or what it never meant and could never mean—for half a century. Many reform-minded Catholics today are disappointed by what they see as a retreat, under the papacies of John Paul II and Read more
On July 2, the Vatican announced that Pope Benedict XVI had appointed Bishop Gerhard Müller the new prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, arguably the most influential and prestigious of all the Vatican’s departments. The 64-year-old native of Mainz in central Germany was subsequently elevated to archbishop and made ex officio president of the Pontifical Read more
A Massey University study, Changing Patterns of Auckland Religion, has found that, with the exception of Catholicism, membership of all mainstream Christian denominations has fallen to historic lows. At the same time religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam are growing. Professor Peter Lineham, who led the study, said the survey showed the mainstream Christian churches Read more
Vandals defaced the walls of one of Jerusalem’s best-known Catholic churches on Tuesday. Police said the perpetrators, who are believed to be Jewish extremists, defaced a wall leading to the Church of the Dormition, a century-old structure built on the site where tradition says the Virgin Mary died. The graffiti read “Jesus, son of a Read more
Dear Fathers, We are writing this letter to you today because we have some things we want to say to you. Some things are easier to say than others, but here you go. Before that, though, a HUGE thank you. Thank you for having the courage to say yes to your counter-cultural vocation. We are forever grateful Read more
In a recent book of the same title, Can the Church Be Saved? (2012), this question was posed by Swiss-German Hans Küng, one of the best known and prolific theologians in the Catholic fold. Along with his colleague from the University of Tübingen, Joseph Ratzinger, he enthusiastically advocated for a renewal of the Church. Küng Read more
Vatican City — With the recent death of Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, Catholics who call for church reform on issues such as homosexuality and priestly celibacy have lost one of their last leading lights in the top echelons of the church’s hierarchy. Martini, who died Aug. 31, was a Jesuit and an archbishop of Milan Read more
Let’s go back to 15 February 2000, when you were informed you were to become the 10th Archbishop of Westminster. Did Pope John Paul II send you a letter or a text, or how did it happen? Easing back in his chair, Cardinal Cormac reflected for a while on that life-changing event 12 years ago. The circumstances Read more