Pope Francis is shaking things up in the Catholic Church to such an extent that many talk about a “Francis revolution.” Yet the single most revolutionary act committed by any pope in at least the last 600 years fell one year ago, and it wasn’t Francis who did it. On Feb. 11, 2013, Pope Benedict Read more
There’s sound reason why one of Britain’s leading ‘cultural thinkers’ would tackle such a weighty topic. As Krznaric writes, empathy (the ‘Golden Rule’) has its foundation in major spiritual traditions including Buddhism, Confucianism, Judaism and Christianity. Empathy, he adds, lies ‘at the very core of human existence’. Most of us like to see ourselves as Read more
Famed theologian Fr. Hans Kung has called for a “peaceful” revolution by world Catholics against the absolutism of papal power. He made the call in a video message on June 10, the first evening of a conference of the American Catholic Council in Detroit. “I think few people realize how powerful the pope is,” Kung said, Read more
A funny thing has happened as the story of a recent Vatican crackdown on a legendary monastery in Rome has made its way into the English-language press. I mean that literally — the story has been turned into a joke, thereby obscuring its real significance. For those with eyes to see, the suppression of the Read more
The profound changes, historical, are not always the most spectacular. What just happened this week in Rome is like a palace revolution unimportant but it is highly significant. Because it confirms the direction taken by the papacy of Benedict XVI and the entire Catholic Church. In a word, Rome has “taken over” a whole sector Read more