On his tour, Pope Francis promoted peace, religious harmony, and Catholicism’s engagement with Islam, particularly in Indonesia. His visit showcased his focus on global peripheries and the Church’s need to navigate complex political and interreligious issues in today’s world. Pope Francis is arguably at his best when far from Rome. His apostolic trips to the Read more
Recently, we have been hearing Israeli and diaspora Jewish voices expressing disappointment at the Catholic Church’s reaction to the terrorist attacks of Oct. 7. The claim is that the pope has not sufficiently condemned the crimes of Hamas and, furthermore, that he has created a symmetry between Hamas and Israel in his comments. If that Read more
Pope Francis on Sunday told Mongolian Catholics that only love can truly satisfy our hearts’ thirst. In his historic first visit to Mongolia, the pope spoke to about 2,000 people at Ulaanbaatar’s Steppe Arena and emphasised God’s presence in difficult times. Francis drew parallels with life in Mongolia, where about 30% of the land is Read more
Commitment to interfaith understanding and cooperation has resulted in Singaporean nun Sister Theresa Seow (pictured) being honoured with an Exemplary Interfaith Award. Jamiyah Singapore – the Muslim non-profit organisation behind the award – aims to “work and contribute towards the welfare and overall development of the Muslim community and mankind”, according to its website mission Read more
Papal critics have accused Pope Francis of being “reckless” and verging on heresy in his outreach to Muslims. “There are some critics who say the pope is not brave but ‘reckless’, that he’s taking steps against Catholic doctrine. That he’s one step from heresy,” the pope told journalists, March 8, on the plane from Iraq Read more
An important way to oppose the plague of religious fundamentalism is through interreligious dialogue, says Pope Francis. It is an effective means of countering accusations that religions sow division, he told representatives from the Argentine Institute for Interreligious Dialogue this week. In “today’s precarious world, dialogue among religions is not a weakness. It finds its Read more
Trappist priest, Thomas Keating, who was a global leader in both Christian contemplative prayer and interreligious dialogue, has died. He was 95. He died at St Joseph’s Abbey, Massachusetts, where he had been abbot from 1961 to 1981. In the early 1980s Keating began his role as one of the chief architects of the contemporary Read more
Shortly after my ordination and assignment to Japan, an elderly Japanese priest told me about an experience he had as a young man sometime before World War II. A European bishop was visiting Tokyo, and the then-young priest was assigned to be his tour guide for a day. In the morning, they went to the Read more