Imprisonment without offering the prisoners hope in the future is the same as torturing them, says Pope Francis. While he agrees prisoners must pay the price for the crimes they have committed, the punishment can be effective “only when inmates are helped to look toward the future rather than only back at a past lived Read more
I am not a moral theologian or a canon lawyer, so I do not feel qualified to comment on the content of Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis’s controversial document on the family that includes a cautious opening to Communion for the divorced and civilly remarried. Being caught up in busy parish life, I also don’t have the time Read more
Cardinal Pietro Parolin’s four-day visit to Russia is stacked with meetings with government and Orthodox Church officials. The meetings’ focus is on finding peaceful solutions to global conflicts. After meeting with Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, Parolin – who is the Vatican Secretary of State and its top diplomat – said the meetings so far Read more
Pope Francis is challenging countries to open borders to refugees and put asylum seekers’ safety over national security concerns. His challenge to politicians, made in a detailed position paper on migrants and refugees, is at odds with the policies various governments have introduced to deal with growing anti-immigrant sentiment. Francis isn’t just tackling the movement Read more
Pope Francis’ commission on clergy abuse is considering whether to restructure itself so that it no longer includes the direct participation of abuse survivors. An option the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors is considering involves the possibility of creating a separate advisory panel of individuals who have been abused by clergy. Read more
A Polish archbishop, Henryk Hoser, who has been studying the pastoral situation in Medjugorje, says it is in good heart. He also says he thinks the apparitions of Our Lady which appeared in the town in 1981 might be recognised by the Vatican later this year Although he expressed an opinion about the Vatican’s likely Read more
After recent terrorist attacks in Burkina Faso, Spain and Finland, Pope Francis is begging God “to free the world from this inhuman violence”. The world is carrying in its heart “the pain of these terrorist attacks,” Francis told the crowd in St Peter’s Square on Sunday, before leading them in prayer for the victims. Nineteen Read more
Cardinal Raymond Burke, says it’s “necessary” to correct Pope Francis’s teachings in Amoris Laetitia on marriage and the family. Since Francis has not answered the five questions, Burke and three other cardinals put to him last June, he has developed plan to correct Francis’s teachings. “It seems to me that the essence of the correction Read more
We live in chaotic times. If perchance you doubt this, I suggest you view a few episodes of the television comedy, The Simpsons. It is the longest-running American cartoon series ever. It is frequently on our screens also. Like Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, it is primarily written for adults, but it is more especially loved Read more
The former Belgian prime minister, Herman Van Rompuy, has tweeted his rejection of Pope Francis’ authority to ban euthanasia, and says the time when Rome had the final say is “long past.” Van Rompuy, who was prime minister from 2009 to 2014 and is also the first President of the European Council, was responding to Pope Read more