The Pope’s historic four-day visit to Mongolia ended on Monday amidst discussions about charity. Pope Francis’ main purpose in visiting Mongolia was to visit its tiny Catholic community. He completed his trip with a stop to tour and inaugurate the House of Mercy. The House of Mercy provides health care to the most needy in Read more
There was a time in my life when the only badly behaved people I knew were all adults. They were utterly entitled and completely uncivilised. I can give you chapter and verse of shouting, harassment of all kinds, extreme bullying; and all done with a smile and “she’ll be right, mate”. These people saw themselves Read more
During a recent show, a Jewish French-Moroccan comedian Elmaleh gently poked fun at Catholics for their lack of religious pride. French Jews and Muslims, he pointed out, are a lot more public about demonstrating their religious identity. But if you ask a Catholic about their affiliation, he said, you’re likely to get a more evasive Read more
The UK’s National Health Service controversial child transgender clinic will shut its doors after a damning report found it was ‘not safe’ for children. The closure comes in response to an ongoing review led by senior paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass, who warned the gender clinic was ‘not a safe or viable long-term option’. Trans-medicine is Read more
A new study has found that parents who read to their children at least once a day from 9 months of age improved their child’s developmental outcomes. The measure was associated with ‘higher language ability, cognition and social-emotional competence’ once the child reached its first birthday. The study, which drew on data from the highly Read more
For many Catholic adults who oppose abortion today, the pro-life movement was our real introduction to moral philosophy. Maybe we attended prayer vigils with our families in grade school or high school, or maybe we just read news magazines and argued with kids on the school bus. Either way, the questions surrounding abortion opened our Read more
Islamic State recently staged their most sophisticated attack since 2019 – a prison break to release former IS fighters in an effort to refill their ranks once again. According to Save the Children, hundreds of boys and teenagers were allegedly used as human shields during the fighting. In late January, Islamic State militants attacked the Read more
An international study of the effect of the pandemic on the faith of young people and families has found widespread disengagement and disconnection, and that many failed to return to church after lockdowns eased. The study, based on research carried out in the UK, United States, Brazil, and Canada in June, suggests that children felt Read more
Until very recently, people with intersex variations have often been unseen, stigmatised and routinely discriminated against. Intersex Awareness Day (October 26) is therefore an opportunity to examine how much progress has been made and how far we still have to go. It’s estimated 1.7 to 4% of people globally are intersex – meaning they don’t Read more
The Christian mystic and philosopher Simone Weil wrote that “Attention, taken to its highest degree, is the same thing as prayer.” Indeed, we can only love something insofar as we direct our pure, generous attention toward it—be that to God, to a neighbour or to ourselves. And in a world that so hungrily demands it, Read more