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
Although Crux’s John Allen likes to pretend otherwise, Roman Catholicism is now clearly divided between the Party of Francis and the Party of Benedict. Not since the days of the Jesuits and the Jansenists has the Catholic elite — clerical and lay intellectual — been at daggers drawn as it is now. Yesterday, the New York Times nicely encapsulated the partisan Read more
Tim Wilson is a changed man. In the past four years he has converted to Catholicism, met and married singer/songwriter Rachel, and had two “sparkling” children — Roman, 17 months, and Felix, five months — whose existence lights him up from the inside like a sky lantern. For those readers who might confuse fiction for Read more
A Swedish doctor has been accused of denying one of his patients antibiotics when he refused to join the Catholic Church. The doctor was forced to leave his job as a locum at a practice run by the local authority in southern Sweden, Region Skåne. Bosses at the GP surgery reported him after it emerged Read more