Can humanity survive the digital age? The answer — according to an Institute for Human Ecology panel convened Sept. 17 at The Catholic University of America in Washington — is basically this: It depends. There are “two big questions that hang over human life in digital reality right now,” announced Ross Douthat, a media fellow Read more
During COVID-19, nearly every church utilised technology to keep its congregation engaged. Many viewed the pandemic as just another interruption to their most essential means of discipleship —in-person worship — and planned for communications to return to prepandemic methods after sheltering-in-place mandates ended. However, as the pandemic receded, churches discovered unexpected benefits to their newly Read more
Even during a period when the bombs dropping on American Catholics fall with escalating and increasingly destructive frequency, the publication of an “investigation” of Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill, the now-former general secretary of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, blasts a crater worth crawling down into for a forensic examination. There are reasons to think Read more
I still have a photograph of the breakfast I made the morning I ended an eight-year relationship and cancelled a wedding. It was an unremarkable breakfast—a fried egg—but it is now digitally fossilized in a floral dish we moved with us when we left New York and headed west. I don’t know why I took Read more
In a year when most meetings have switched to an online format, the fall assembly of the U.S. bishops was no exception. The Nov. 16-17 virtual meeting involved about 300 bishops on Zoom and many viewers watching the livestreamed public portions. The two days of discussions went off without a hitch, save for the occasional Read more
A teen has been beatified, a martyr and a missionary will be canonised, a priest and two lay companions recognised as martyrs and three priests’ and an engineer’s heroic virtues as Servants of God have been approved. Venerable Carlo Acutis The teenager, computer geek and leukemia victim will be beatified. The Medical Council of the Read more
In 2016, Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin by fewer than 23,000 votes. This time, a group that favours Trump is trying to ensure a repeat victory. And it’s using something called geofencing to find Catholics at Mass. For All Tech Considered, NPR’s Audie Cornish spoke with Heidi Schlumpf of the National Catholic Reporter Read more
Whenever world-changing episodes in history unfold, new technologies are often in the background. Jesus arrived in history “when the fullness of time had come” (Gal. 4:4), and it was exactly the right time for his good news to catch fire. The new “technology” of Roman roadways made possible the rapid spread of Christianity in the Read more
A coalition of big-tech companies and institutions meeting at the Vatican starting Thursday (Nov. 14) seeks to create a safe environment for children on the internet through cooperation and concrete actions. The international and interreligious conference, “Promoting Digital Child Dignity: From Concept to Action,” was organized to combat the multiplying risks and challenges of the Read more
A growing number of Americans do not follow a religion. But chances are that the details of their lives — from their phones and their politics to their dinner plates and how they raise their kids — are still ruled by some sort of a religious impulse, says author David Zahl. Zahl is the founder Read more