The next six months are likely to be a bumpy road on the way to Rome where the first of two Synod assemblies on the very issue of synodality will take place this coming October. This gathering, and a second one in October 2024, are the culmination of the Synodal Path on which Pope Francis Read more
One could easily lose count of how many books have been published — or about to be published posthumously by Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI. And there are the books by those bishops and cardinals who refer to the late pope and former doctrinal chief in support of their views on the issues at the center of Read more
Even before his funeral Mass got underway on January 5, there were already calls to declare Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI santo subito, in a repetition of what happened at the death of John Paul II. This could be simply a déjà vu, repeating what happened almost 18 years ago. But looking at the larger historical context Read more
Among the anti-communist propaganda that spread through Italy in the early years after World War II was the threat that the Cossacks would soon be watering their horses in the fountains of St Peter’s Square. It was a time when some feared for the Church’s survival. But back then, the Vatican enjoyed religious, moral, cultural Read more
The upcoming plenary meeting of the USCCB comes as the Catholic Church is on its way to being, in some ways, a “post-episcopal” Church—no longer a bishops’ Church. That will likely have a dramatic impact on how Catholicism may influence and interact with American social and political values. The situation arises from the precipitous drop Read more
These days, Catholic intellectuals open the op-ed pages of the New York Times with the same dread they once had for the threatening, unsigned editorials of the official newspaper of the Vatican, L’Osservatore Romano. Except that we’re not talking about condemnations emanating from the pope. Instead, the condemnations found in world beacon of the liberal Read more
The two-day meeting of all the world’s cardinals, which Pope Francis held on August 29-30, was something truly extraordinary for this pontificate — and not just because it was held, contrary to custom, in the sweltering heat of the late Roman summer. This was only the second time that Francis has convened the entire College Read more
In the history of the papacy, Benedict XVI marks a caesura or a break, something quite ironic, given the fact that many traditionalist Catholics identify his pontificate with the “hermeneutics of continuity”. This caesura is not only tied to his decision in 2013 to voluntarily resign the papal office but even more so to the Read more
Throughout history, there have been Church debates — either locally or with the powers at the Vatican — that have had far-reaching and long-term consequences on the lived and intellectual history of Catholicism. One of them, for instance, was the “Chinese rites” controversy in the 17thand 18thcenturies. This would influence the way the Church approached Read more
The worldwide Catholic Church has now officially embarked on the “synodal process 2021-2023”. Pope Francis launched the project at the Vatican on October 10 with a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and bishops around the globe (though not all of them) inaugurated the process at the diocesan level the following Sunday with celebrations in their Read more