When Pope Francis addressed a group of top international comedians on June 14, 2024, he called them “artists” and stressed the value of their talents. To many Catholics, this meeting came as a surprise. Traditionally, the themes of detachment, sacrifice, humility and repentance appear far more frequently in religious writing and preaching than the spiritual Read more
Was anyone surprised when New Zealand’s self-made Apostle Brian Tamaki courted controversy and arrest by participating in two anti-lockdown protests in Auckland recently? Or that during one of these events he declared he would rather live in “dangerous freedom than peaceful slavery” and likened the director-general of health to Hitler? This was, after all, the Read more
When did the church commit itself to better relations between Muslims and Catholics? I suppose the church really committed to dialogue and positive engagement at the Second Vatican Council, with the famous declaration on the relationship of the church to non-Christian religions, “Nostra Aetate.” There’s a paragraph in there dedicated to Islam and opening up Read more
Every 73 seconds, someone is sexually assaulted in the U.S., which means it’s likely that you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence. Talking about sexual assault is hard. For many survivors, the reaction of the first person they disclose to, often a friend or family member can have a huge effect on their Read more
There are so many lessons that someone going through a divorce needs to learn, but three of the most powerful (and difficult) lessons I’ve learned are these. The label “divorced” does not define a person. It’s an event that happened—terrible as it is—but it in no way is the sum total of who a person Read more
In 2005 while undergoing chemotherapy, I was sitting in an uncomfortable recliner on the sixth floor of the medical facility. An IV dripped poison into my veins that would simultaneously cure me of the cancer in my body, and wreak havoc on it, sending waves of nausea, chills, malaise. The concoction did not discriminate between Read more
In August The Archbishop of Suva, Peter Loy Chong visited the village of Natadradave. While there he bathed his knee, which had been operated recently, the water. In Fiji hundreds of people have been flocking to the village in Dawasamu, Tailevu to be bathed under water that is said to contain miraculous healing qualities. Visitors Read more
There are many moments – the loss of a job, finding out you have cancer, a child’s walk home from school in a dangerous neighbourhood – when faith in a loving God watching over you can provide comfort and hope, several studies have found. But are there times when too much control can be ceded Read more
The priest dubbed the Vatican’s point man for clerical sexual abuse says the media did the Church a service by revealing abuse scandals. In an interview with the Sunday Star Times, American Msgr Robert Oliver praised the media’s role, echoing a tribute he paid early last year. “It’s hard for any group over time to Read more
Sex abuse victims who tell their stories are the new missionaries to the Catholic Church, the Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn says. In an interview with the Canberra Times, Archbishop Christopher Prowse said the Church is going through an “unprecedented crisis”. “There is so much shame, there is so much humiliation with the criminal acts Read more