Pope Francis’ transfer of Cardinal Raymond Burke on Saturday from being the Vatican’s “chief justice” to a mere cardinal-protector of the Knights of Malta has intensified yet more irresponsible talk of schism within the Catholic church. And top prize for the person most responsible for being irresponsible goes to none other than the man wearing Read more
We just happen to be Catholics, right? Does it make any difference what we are? Does being Catholic really, ultimately, mean much of anything? “So the power of deception, which is over others’ minds (symbolised by the invisibility given by the Ring), is an essential component to the power over others’ bodies and lives and Read more
An interview with Fr.Robert Spitzer, SJ, president of the Magis Center, about faith, reason, atheism, and Stephen Hawking’s “hogwash”: Fr. Robert Spitzer, SJ, Ph.D., 62, is president of the Magis Center (www.magiscenter.com), headquartered in the new chancery office of the Diocese of Orange, California. The center’s goal is to demonstrate that faith and reason and Read more
The financial crisis and its aftermath have revealed the dark side of the post-cold war model, but Catholic social teaching proposes correcting the way market forces work so that they serve the public interest. It was 25 years ago this month that communism ceased to be a threat to the west and to the free Read more
I needed Pope Francis. And not only because I’m part of the Catholic Church and we were without a shepherd . . . I mean I needed him because I’m sinful, and broken, and I need a constant reminder of how to be like Christ. I have been awestruck by him from the first moment Read more
Imagine if the pope were invited to address a summit of Protestant leaders, and used the platform to take a swipe at Italy’s tiny Waldensian Protestant church — complaining that it tries to convert Catholics, and demanding that it shut up about the separation of church and state. Protestants would rightly howl about how crude Read more
He was not what she was expecting, in several ways. The man who would one day be Pope Francis had come to hold a service far from the grandeur of the great cathedral of Buenos Aires. He had travelled – taking the subway train and then the bus – to arrive in one of the Read more
Can you be more Catholic than the Pope? The American arch-reactionary Pat Buchanan clearly thinks so. He has been lambasting Pope Francis for sowing “confusion among the faithful” by refusing to defend “the unchanging truths of Catholicism”. Indeed, says the US Catholic paleo-conservative, the Pope may be “speaking heresy”, which would imply that Francis is Read more
Although the Synod of Bishops on the family has sparked frank discussions about the direction of the church, the American archbishop who represents U.S. Catholics at the event said Friday it is “doing what it’s supposed to do.” In an interview with NCR, U.S. bishops’ conference president Archbishop Joseph Kurtz said the synod is starting Read more
(RNS) As he wraps up a Vatican meeting marked by sharp debates over sex and morality, Pope Francis on Sunday will honour one of his most controversial predecessors by beatifying Pope Paul VI, who is most famous for reaffirming the Catholic Church’s ban on artificial contraception. Beatification puts Paul one step shy of formal sainthood. The move Read more