The nature of power and how the abuse of power has been dealt with in the past and present were the focus of an international conference in Rome attended by about a dozen scholars earlier this month. Experts in history, philosophy, sociology, political science, psychology and education came together at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University April Read more
Those who set the Church’s moral behaviours have only ever had partial control over them – and chocolate perhaps helps explain why. Chocolate’s acceptance in the Catholic diet was clearly less the result of what theologians or canon lawyers did or said than of the decisions of ordinary clergy and laity who drank it regardless, Read more
Intellectuals in Vietnam are having a heated debate about a city’s plan to name streets after two 17th century Jesuit missionaries. The Jesuits are credited with systematizing the country’s official language. Since October, authorities in Da Nang have collected public opinions about a plan to name 137 streets in the southern central city by the Read more
Discernment is one of the words Pope Francis repeats most, especially when speaking to priests and seminarians. He often expresses his desire for greater formation in discernment – a concept that may seem obscure without an understanding its importance to the Pope’s Jesuit formation. “When a Jesuit says ‘discernment,’ they’re employing a term that has Read more
Father Roberto Busa was born on November 28, 1913, in Vicenza, Italy, and died in August 2011. He is the father of hypertext. Stefano Lorenzetto, a journalist from L’Osservatore Romano, summarises Busa’s work stating that “if you browse the internet, you owe it to him; if you go from one site to another by clicking Read more
Fr Fernando Cardenal, SJ, a priest who defied the Vatican to be in the Sandanista government in Nicaragua, has died aged 82. Fr Cardenal was suspended from the priesthood after refusing to step down as education minister in the left-wing government, which he joined following the overthrow of the Somoza regime in 1979. Fr Cardenal, Read more
The chancellor of Loyola University Chicago has said it would be healthy for Catholic priests to be able to be married. Fr Michael Garanzini, SJ, a former president of the university, said until Pope Francis opened up avenues of discussion, he didn’t expect to see change in this area. Fr Garanzini said the issue is Read more
Heythrop College in London is to close as a higher education institution after more than 400 years of operation. Its current form as a constituent college of the University of London will end in 2018. But a statement following a governors’ meeting noted that the Jesuit-run institution’s “mission and work will not [end]”. Heythrop, which Read more
An American cardinal has publicly criticised Pope Francis in a documentary to be screened on Irish television next week. On “Pope Francis – The Sinner”, Cardinal Raymond Burke says that since Pope Francis’s election two years ago, “there really just is growing confusion about what the Church teaches”. When Cardinal Burke’s term as prefect of Read more
Ten United States seminaries across several denominations will receive a combined US$1.5 million in grants to include science in their studies. The grants were announced by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Funding has come from the John Templeton Foundation, in an effort to bridge gaps between science and faith. Catholic institutions to Read more