Every summit of bishops called by Pope Francis has been ripe with expectations about the possible reforms — and novelties — that it might introduce in the over 2,000-year-old institution. The pope’s latest effort, the Synod on Synodality, now underway and continuing through the end of 2024, has already fomented ardent debate on some of Read more
The Catholic Church has always been very good at baptising, marrying and burying people. Those who avail themselves of the liturgies that celebrate and solemnise these key moments of our Christian existence are often called cradle-to-grave Catholics. And if you believe the Vatican’s statistical office, we are growing in number. Its latest figures claim that Read more
The question of Sunday church attendance has been raised in Fiji, in the course of a consultation about village by-laws which is taking place there. Responding suggestions some villagers have made for a village by-law stating that everyone living in villages should attend church every Sunday Permanent Secretary for iTaukei Affairs Naipote Katonitabua says no one Read more
Parishioners at an English church say they are being driven out by a traditionalist religious order. In June, Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth assigned St Mary’s, Gosport, to the Franciscans of the Immaculate. Since then, parishioners say people are required to kneel to receive Communion and women are asked to cover their heads at Mass. Read more
The relator of the synod on the family says it is possible to find radical ways to address difficult pastoral problems and not infringe Church discipline. The Crux website reported Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdo saying the synod is a place for an honest discussion over the difficulties families face. The cardinal said that legal and Read more
Two excommunicated traditionalist bishops plan to consecrate a new generation of bishops to spread their movement which is dubbed “The Resistance”. According to Reuters, French Bishop Jean-Michel Faure said the new group rejected Pope Francis and what it called his “new religion”. Bishop Faure and Holocaust-denying Bishop Richard Williamson both incurred automatic excommunications last month Read more
Generally, modernist styles of church design have not served the liturgy well, the Bishop of Christchurch has written in a new document. Bishop Barry Jones has issued “The House of God”, to inform and guide Christchurch diocese in the task of building churches. Aimed at parishes wanting to build or repair and strengthen a church Read more
Student Tyler Dixon is used to being asked about women’s place on the marae. Her pakeha friends ask if the traditional role of women in the powhiri is sexist. “I just try to explain that females have their own type of mana. Traditionally Maori really revered their women, and looked after their women, and I Read more
Giving money to the Church is more important than paying for a child’s education for most Samoans. A study published in the Singapore Journal of Topical Geography “Hard times in Apia? Urban landlessness and the Church in Samoa,” says research suggest that “all five areas surveyed, households prioritise giving to the church as their primary Read more
I read, with a sickening mix of disbelief and recognition, about the mother of a shark attack victim trying to change a flight so that she could cradle her dead son. She encountered an impersonal, inflexible CALL CENTRE. The bereaved woman was left on hold; and finally only offered expensive alternatives. Governed by protocols and Read more