It is late summer here we’re picking apples and bottling peaches, watering kawakawa so the leaves float and don’t droop, and harvesting lemon verbena. We’re flicking mosquitoes at dusk so they won’t bite and listening to noisy cicadas and hearty piwakawaka and spotting a ripening fig before a blackbird pecks at it. The Synod on Read more
Pope Francis has openly criticised what he terms the “backwardness” exhibited by certain conservative factions within the US Catholic Church. The pontiff pointed out that, in some instances, political ideology has begun to overshadow genuine faith. This can prompt a displacement of core religious values. Francis made the comments on August 5 in a private Read more
The synod on synodality could cause a schism in the Church, a leading conservative Catholic cardinal says. A new book, “The Synodal Process Is a Pandora’s Box: 100 Questions and Answers,” addresses the “serious situation” brought on by the synod, Cardinal Raymond Burke (pictured, centre) says. Pope Francis is risking confusion and even schism in Read more
Common threads are emerging as dioceses and eastern Catholic churches release syntheses of the documents they’ve prepared for the 2023 synod on synodality. More adult faith formation and help with engaging young adults are important. So is revising the language used at Mass and other church ceremonies, say New Zealand and Australian Catholics. The New Read more
An Irish Archdiocese’s pastoral plan is being described as a “blueprint for transitioning the Church to this new era of inclusivity”. Everyone, including divorced or separated people, LGBT+, migrants and minorities should all feel they belong to Catholic parishes, as should “those who consider themselves ‘cultural Catholics’,” it says. In addition, “images of families used Read more
Something’s not quite right here. The 21st-century buzzwords are diversity and inclusivity, but they seem to be applied very selectively. It seems we’re in favour of diversity and inclusivity if we’re talking about race, colour, gender and sexual identity, the latter two of which keep spinning off into ever-new permutations. But puzzlingly, we’re only partially Read more
Solutions to poverty need to offer ways to include the marginalised, poorest members of society, says Margaret Archer. Archer is the President of the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences. She was speaking at the plenary session of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, held at the Vatican this week. The meeting focused on the theme Read more