The great Jesuit philosopher and theologian Bernard Lonergan once described those nostalgic for the pre-1970 liturgy as a group “that is determined to live in a world that no longer exists”. The phrase came back to me recently when I read of another Jesuit, Pope Francis, who spoke about finding “new languages for handing on Read more
In rich countries, the virus is retreating before the vaccines: Deo gratias. In some places parish life – and celebrations in church buildings are returning to a kind of normality. Many, especially presbyters, are pleased: the familiar is returning. But we settle back into our familiar ways, we should take stock. A new normal might Read more
The pandemic has made anyone who enters a church sensitive like never before to how we are arranged in the building. Two meters apart! No bunching up! Signs on seats where we may sit. Tape on other seats making them off-limits. Signs on doors giving the maximum number that may enter — always a lot Read more