The Sunday after her confirmation, when young people raised Catholic are supposed to embrace their faith for themselves, Ellie Hidalgo’s niece begged her parents to not make her go to church. “She said, ‘I just don’t think this Church is set up for somebody like me,’” Hidalgo recalled in a recent interview. “‘I don’t think Read more
With many of the concrete, hot-button issues removed from the agenda and turned over to study groups, some people wonder what members of the Synod of Bishops on Synodality will be doing when they meet at the Vatican in October. For Pope Francis and synod organizers, though, taking issues like women deacons or seminary training Read more
Pope Francis has encountered criticism throughout his visit to Belgium, with the country’s king and prime minister urging him to take stronger steps to support survivors of abuse by Catholic clergy. Additionally, a rector at another Catholic university called on him to reconsider the Church’s prohibition on ordaining women as priests. The visit underscored the Read more
On Saturday, Pope Francis laid out a template for living the faith in the deeply secular culture of Belgium. Belgium is consistently rated as one of the world’s most secular societies, but Francis insisted that doesn’t mean we can stop trying to follow our template of service, mission and joy. “We have moved from a Read more
Pope Francis made headlines recently when, during an interfaith meeting with young people, he made the following statement: “All religions are paths to God. I will use an analogy, they are like different languages that express the Divine … There is only one God, and religions are like languages, paths to reach God. Some Sikh, Read more
A moral theologian whose views are at odds with Church teaching on the use of contraception in marriage has been appointed as one of 28 new consultors to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. CNA reports that Pope Francis has appointed Fr Maurizio Chiodi to the DDF. Chiodi is known for his view Read more
Pope Francis has urged the release of the ousted leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, and offered her refuge in the Vatican. The Pope’s plea was revealed in a conversation with Jesuits during his trip to Southeast Asia from September 2 to 13. The Italian daily Corriere della Sera published excerpts from these talks Read more
Easter belongs to Christ, not to people deciding where it falls on a calendar, Pope Francis says. Determining which is the correct date to celebrate Christ’s Resurrection has been the subject of ecumenical debate for hundreds of years. The Gregorian calendar points to one set of rules, the Julian calendar points to another. It’s a Read more
About 1,600 years ago, the brilliant Doctor of the Church St. Ambrose admonished those of wealth who clung to their sense of entitlement: “You are not making a gift of what is yours to the poor man, but you are giving him back what is his. “You have been appropriating things that are meant to Read more
The Pope is back in Rome after his visits to Asia and Oceania. Here’s what we learned from his historic trip. Able and willing superstar First, despite rumors to the contrary, Pope Francis is still up to the job. In just 11 days (Sept. 2-13), he visited four countries where the heat and humidity sap Read more