High-ranking Catholics from across the globe have converged on the Vatican, where a landmark initiative is underway that will shape the future of the Catholic Church. Cardinals, bishops, priests and lay Catholics, both men and women, are meeting Oct. 4-29, 2023, as part of the Synod on Synodality: an effort Pope Francis launched in 2021 Read more
You know when you start to make a smoothie and everything is loud, the blender is shaking, and you think it’s about to explode? That was me at age five realising that my beliefs contradict each other. Growing up in a Māori Catholic family, I struggled to exist within two worlds. My spirituality has never Read more
These days, Catholic intellectuals open the op-ed pages of the New York Times with the same dread they once had for the threatening, unsigned editorials of the official newspaper of the Vatican, L’Osservatore Romano. Except that we’re not talking about condemnations emanating from the pope. Instead, the condemnations found in world beacon of the liberal Read more
The head of the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of People, and one of Asia’s most important Church figures says Europe is becoming a “mission territory.” On Thursday, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle said, “We are really concerned, not only for Europe but for all the world, regarding evangelization.” Speaking with reporters during the presentation of Read more
Back in 2000, sociologist Andrew Greeley wrote a book called “The Catholic Imagination,” in which he looked at the enduring power of Catholic stories, images and sensibilities in shaping the experiences of artists through the ages — from the 16th-century Italian sculptor Bernini to the film director Martin Scorsese. Now there’s a new addition to Read more
In early July, The New York Times published two articles that had seemingly little to do with one another. One covered the Entomological Society of America’s decision to stop using the terms gypsy moth and gypsy ant. The other was about a new movie by the director Paul Verhoeven featuring an affair between two 17th-century Read more
The advertisement for a student-loan company features a picture of a nun in a veil with the legend “If you’re a nun, then you’re probably not a student.” The movie “Jeffrey” includes a trash-talking priest sexually propositioning a man in a church sacristy. One can readily venture into novelty stores and buy a “Boxing Nun” Read more
If asked about Catholicism, most people think of the pope, a Pew Research Center survey has found. The survey, published on Tuesday, found over half the respondents (4 percent) said “the pope,” “Pope Francis,” or “Pope John Paul II” when asked who they thought of first when they heard the word “Catholic.” Of those, 47 Read more
Late night USA television host Stephen Colbert is open about his faith but revealed in an interview that he became “convicted of [his] atheism” before returning to Catholicism. The CBS star told Father James Martin on his Catholic talk show “Faith in Focus” last Thursday night that there was a time in his life he turned Read more
For believers, the Catholic Church is at once transcendent and mundane — the Holy Spirit working on Earth through 2,000 years of committee meetings. For those of a more secular bent, it is simply a terrific show, and hence the Met’s current exhibit of Catholic religious garments — and the Met Gala’s Catholic-themed fancy-dress ball Read more