The principal purpose for the Synod of Bishops, which commenced Oct. 7, is to study how the New Evangelization affects the mission of the Church. The Holy Father has asked the synod to study about “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith.” As the theme indicates, the focus is on the “transmission” Read more
The 25th Synod of Bishops began Sunday, this one dedicated to “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith.” New evangelization is the apple of Pope Benedict XVI’s eye, so the synod, held every couple of years or so since 1967, is being touted by the Vatican, along with the Year of Faith Read more
Pope Benedict XVI marked the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council on Thursday with a Mass and the re-enactment of the great procession into St. Peter’s Square that launched the council in 1962. A report by the Associated Press said the anniversary comes as the church is fighting what it sees as a wave Read more
Pope Benedict XVI opened the Synod of Bishops on Sunday by urging prelates from around the world to try to bring back Catholics who have left the church through an evangelization mission. Some 262 cardinals, bishops and priests gathered in Rome for the meeting, or synod, called to give impetus to the pope’s efforts to Read more
Catholics have been arguing about the Second Vatican Council—about what it did and didn’t do, about what it meant and still means or what it never meant and could never mean—for half a century. Many reform-minded Catholics today are disappointed by what they see as a retreat, under the papacies of John Paul II and Read more
On July 2, the Vatican announced that Pope Benedict XVI had appointed Bishop Gerhard Müller the new prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, arguably the most influential and prestigious of all the Vatican’s departments. The 64-year-old native of Mainz in central Germany was subsequently elevated to archbishop and made ex officio president of the Pontifical Read more
Some institutions may not adapt to 21st-century radical transparency. The papacy’s turn to inflammatory rhetoric while hit by a series of damaging leaks suggests that it’s struggling. Strange things have been happening at the Vatican this year. Beginning in January, documents written by high-level figures in the Catholic Church began finding their way into the Read more
Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday told Catholics to rejoice, and not be jealous, when non-Catholics or other Christians do good. “God can do good and even amazing things outside the circle” of the Catholic Church, the pope said during his midday Angelus address. The pope quoted St. Augustine who said that just as there could Read more
Against the backdrop of an effort to recognize “gay marriage” in France, Pope Benedict XVI told a group of French bishops that the truth about marriage and the family is vital to society and must be promoted in bold and creative ways. He said marriage and the family “must be promoted and defended from every Read more
In a recent book of the same title, Can the Church Be Saved? (2012), this question was posed by Swiss-German Hans Küng, one of the best known and prolific theologians in the Catholic fold. Along with his colleague from the University of Tübingen, Joseph Ratzinger, he enthusiastically advocated for a renewal of the Church. Küng Read more