Let’s play a game: I will describe a location, and you decide whether it’s The Roman Empire around the time Jesus lived or Panem, the dystopian nation where The Hunger Games trilogy takes place. Question 1: This location has a class of people whose wealth desensitizes it to the needs of the less fortunate. Panem, Read more
A Christian who chooses to follow his own moralistic ideology “has lost the faith” and is no longer a disciple of Jesus, Pope Francis has declared. Worse still, the attitude of ideological Christians frightens other people and chases them away from the Church, he said. “When a Christian becomes a disciple of an ideology, he Read more
More than 6000 papal medals minted to commemorate the papacy of Pope Francis have had to be withdrawn because the name Jesus was misspelt Lesus. The gold, silver and bronze medallions marking the Pope’s first year in office had been specially made by the Italian State Mint. They went on sale on October 8 and Read more
“Last Wednesday, I emphasized the deep bond that exists between the Holy Spirit and the Church. Today, I would like to begin on the mystery of the Church, a mystery which we all experience and of which we are part.” — Pope Francis, General Audience, May 29, 2013 (L’Osservatore Romano, English, June 5, 2013) “The Read more
The Catholic faith is spread not by proselytising but by “attraction, by witnessing, by preaching”, Pope Francis has told a congregation including Vatican employees. True evangelisers build bridges, to meet people wherever they are, rather than building walls to protect the Church, he said. “A Christian must proclaim Jesus Christ in such a way that Read more
It is not possible to find Jesus outside the Church, the community that gives Christians their identity, Pope Francis said in a homily on his personal feast day. Dozens of cardinals living in Rome or visiting the Vatican joined in the April 23 celebration of Mass on the feast of St George — the patron Read more
On Maundy Thursday I was struck by these words from a hymn (133, Common Praise). We strain to glimpse your mercy-seat, and find you kneeling at our feet. In the action of having our feet washed or in washing the feet of another, we acted out concretely the love and very presence of Christ. Christ, then, the Read more
New tests conducted at the University of Padua have confirmed that the Shroud of Turin can be dated back to around the first century AD. This dating is compatible with the tradition that the cloth with the image of a crucified man imprinted on it is the one in which Jesus’ body was wrapped when Read more
Some mainstream New Zealand churches are struggling to keep their heads above the communion wine but other religions are thriving, building new churches, mosques and temples and gathering devoted worshippers in their thousands. Banks of lights pulsate in waves of colour, and cameras project images on to three monstrous screens. And there is plenty of Read more