Pope Francis has reportedly encouraged a 22-year-old gay man to continue to pursue a vocation to the priesthood after he was not accepted into a Catholic seminary. Just days after the Vatican issued an apology for the pontiff’s use of a slur in reference to seminarians who identify as gay, Francis reportedly responded to an Read more
Migrants and their pastoral care throughout the Pacific and Oceania was a central discussion point last week. In Wellington that is, during the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conference of Oceania (FCBCO) meeting. Catholic Archbishop of Wellington Paul Martin and the Wellington Archdiocese hosted the three-day meeting. In recent decades migration has become the key to Read more
One curious feature of the modern papacy is the informal, but very real, PR safety net which grows up almost spontaneously around every pontiff. It’s forged in part by the Vatican’s own official communications channels, but even more so by outside commentators and media platforms heavily invested in selling a given pope’s story to the Read more
In a May 21 interview with CBS, the Holy Father confirmed the exclusion of women’s diaconal ordination from the scope of discussion at the Synod on Synodality in the Catholic Church. There are undoubtedly many reasons for this authoritative decision, and it can be legitimately reduced to the pope’s personal conviction formed in prayer, which Read more
The full ambivalence of Pope Francis’ pastoral approach to the issue of homosexuality has come into view, first during his television interview with CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell, and now with the news that he told the Italian bishops’ conference that gay men should not be allowed to enter the seminary. Is this the same pope who, early Read more
Pope Francis has apologised for what has been taken as a vulgar, homophobic slur. He “never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he apologises to those who felt offended” says Holy See press office chief Matteo Bruni. The remarks are at odds with the pope’s track record to date. He has Read more
Catholic bullying is spreading. In the latest example of a bully is Minnesota Bishop Robert Barron’s Word on Fire organisation threatened Commonweal magazine and theologian Massimo Faggioli over Faggioli’s April 22 essay, “Will Trumpism Spare Catholicism?” The commotion is too weird to behold. Sticks and stones It began like all schoolyard fights. Barron, or someone Read more
The Week of Christian Unity, the church celebrated this week, supports an unfashionable cause. It encourages the healing of divisions between churches. Divisions rule In culture, politics and religion, however, division provides most of the news of the day. The religious headlines emphasise fractures within churches. They tell of discrepancy between the professed values of Read more
Pope Francis seems to have changed his mind about female deacons. This week, in a CBS TV interview, he explained that ordaining women has never been on his agenda, but non-ordained female deacons could be. Female diaconate supported In February, one of Francis’ theological advisers, Sr Linda Pocher, said while the Church wasn’t considering women’s Read more
In the era of smartphones and social media when our attention is constantly drawn downwards, this weekend saw an event so spectacular it made much of the planet pause and look upwards to marvel at creation. It was a sign of God’s action and beauty in the world. Global wonder The past week has been Read more