On his daily blog from the synod on the family, Archbishop John Dew has painted a picture of sharp divisions among synod members. – Originally reported 17 October 2014 On his October 15 posting from Rome, Archbishop Dew noted that there had been vigorous arguments in the small group discussions taking place this week. “The Read more
The Pope’s historic four-day visit to Mongolia ended on Monday amidst discussions about charity. Pope Francis’ main purpose in visiting Mongolia was to visit its tiny Catholic community. He completed his trip with a stop to tour and inaugurate the House of Mercy. The House of Mercy provides health care to the most needy in Read more
Living alongside other religions might appear to be far from the issues we are discussing now in terms of synodality. However, if we do not keep in mind that we share this planet with many faiths, then we might just become a little sect rather than be witnesses to the Good News. Here is where Read more
Pope Francis said the goals he has achieved in more than nine years as pope were simply the fruit of the ideas discussed by the College of Cardinals prior to his election. In an interview with Argentine news agency Télam published on July 1, the pope said that objectives such as the reform of the Read more
There’s no doubt suffering has its own unique smell and associations, a priest serving in Ukraine says. For him, the smell of burned homes and lives is tied to the metaphoric “smell of sheep”. Francis says priests need to learn what suffering smells like. It will be coming from human lives and they need to Read more
Pope Francis says the Lord does not expect us to be “perfect Christians,” and he (the pope) is afraid when he sees righteous and self-assured Christians. Francis told a crowd at the Vatican on Sunday that the Lord would prefer us “to seek him, to call on him or even, like Thomas, to protest, bringing Read more
Culture warrior Catholics are falling prey to fundamentalism and bigotry says a Czechoslovakian academic. Warning the positive content of faith has become emptied, Father Tomáš Halík quotes the former Archbishop of Milan, Carlo Maria Martini; “I am not so much afraid of people who do not have faith; what disturbs me are people who do Read more
Redemptorist Father Joe Maier, 80, opened his first school in Bangkok’s market-side slum district of Klong Toey in a swine slaughterhouse more than 40 years ago. So it is not surprising when he explains that he comes from the “wrong side of the tracks” in his native Seattle. For that is largely where he has Read more
Helping a person in need requires compassion toward their situation, Pope Francis said Sunday, encouraging Catholics to think first about their own hardness of heart, not the sins of others. “If you go down the street and see a homeless man lying there and you pass by without looking at him, or you think: ‘Eh, Read more
Theological development comes through dialogue, Pope Francis said in a speech at the Pontifical Theological Faculty of Southern Italy in Naples. He also identified an aggressive defence of doctrine as unhelpful as it seeks to impose its beliefs on others. Fidelity to the Gospel “implies a style of life and of proclamation without a spirit Read more