A mafia hitman is being blamed for making a poison chalice for an outspoken priest. He is said to have mixed bleach with communion wine. Father Felice Palamara (pictured) – who is known for bravely denouncing organised crime in his small town – narrowly missed drinking the lethal mixture when celebrating Mass last Saturday. Fortunately, Read more
He herehere tawhito o tētahi whareherehere kōwhiritia a Nazi i haere ki te toro i tana hoa he toa te whakamātautau tahi ki a ia. ‘Kua murua koe i ngā Nazi?’ ka pātai ia ki tana hoa. ‘Āe,’ te whakahoki. ‘Nā, kāore ahau. E kī ana tonu ahau ki te whakarihariha mō rātou.’ ‘I tēnā Read more
Forgiveness is an age-old practice central to the teaching of many of the world’s religions. In Islam, forgiveness suggests alignment with Allah. In Judaism, acts of atonement — or Teshuva — are expected for wrongdoing. In Christianity, forgiveness is unconditional, by loving one’s enemies as oneself. Throughout human history, religion and science have often been framed as conflicting Read more
Last Sunday at Mass, the Parish Priest, a sensible, experienced man, mentioned that next week we’d have First Communion, and increased numbers of people were expected at Mass. Then he smiled and said: ‘We probably won’t see them again the following week, but that’s OK.’ I was pleased to hear that. It is of the Read more
At precisely noon on May 17, 2011, the 85-year-old daughter of the last king of Ireland touched down at Casement Aerodrome, a military airfield southwest of Dublin. For the first time in a century, a reigning British monarch set foot in what is now the Republic of Ireland but for centuries had been the impoverished Read more
There’s no doubt suffering has its own unique smell and associations, a priest serving in Ukraine says. For him, the smell of burned homes and lives is tied to the metaphoric “smell of sheep”. Francis says priests need to learn what suffering smells like. It will be coming from human lives and they need to Read more
Representatives of Canada’s Indigenous communities were in Rome last week for a series of meetings with Pope Francis. The purpose of their visit was to urge Francis to publicly apologize for the abuse that their ancestors – and even some of them – suffered at residential schools run by the Catholic Church. But can a Read more
I first met Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 1994 when I was researching my book “Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church.” I was getting ready to leave Rome and he was one of the last and most important interviews for the book. Because of illness, he had to cancel our first Read more
Pope Francis Social Encyclical: ‘Fratelli Tutti’ was launched at the Vatican, Sunday 4 October, 2020. The document focuses on fraternity and social friendship as the ways to build a better, more just and peaceful world – with the contribution of all: people and institutions. The official summary follows, with a link to download the full Read more
October 4, Pope Francis signed his new encyclical, Fratelli Tutti during a visit to Assisi. The encyclical calls for a new kind of politics and emphasises social friendship as a way to build a more just and peaceful world. It encourages the contribution of all people and institutions and seeks to build a global movement Read more