Earlier this month, more than a hundred Catholic parishes in Germany carried out priestly blessings of same-sex couples in defiance of the Vatican and the German bishops. The ceremonies were, in part, a response to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s recent instruction forbidding such blessings and reiterating the Church’s traditional teaching regarding Read more
Pope Francis’ decision to postpone and widen the planned 2022 synod is extraordinary and invites everyone to stop and take a deep breath. The planned subject — “For a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission” — remains the same but the new means adopted are now more intrinsically suited to such a topic. The Synod Read more
Every Christian must preserve the communion of the Church; it does not mean uniformity but rather a way of living with differences. So says Father Sylvain Brison, ecclesiologist, assistant professor at the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic Institute of Paris. Brison unpacks the pope’s comments about schism in the Church with Anne-Bénédicte Hoffner. Are we Read more
Pope Francis has said the Holy Spirit creates movement within the Church, which at first sight might appear to be confusion. Preaching at a Mass on May 8 at his Santa Marta residence, the Pope said if this movement of the Spirit is welcomed with prayer and a spirit of dialogue, it always generates unity Read more
Ryan Craig is walking with a purpose. The Oamaru man is trekking the length of New Zealand carrying a cross to spread a message of forgiveness and unity. The walk will coincide with the double centenary of the first message preached by missionary Samuel Marsden. “I have a heart for this nation and seeing unity Read more
[Sunday]’s canonisation of Saint John XXIII and Saint John Paul II drew 800,000 people to Rome. I spoke with a small fraction of the massive crowd that filled the streets near the Vatican, but every one of them agreed: Two popes, two saints, two more reasons to be happy. Much of the commentariat – and Read more
Since the 6.6 magnitude Grassmere quake on August 16, Catholics and Protestants in the Awatere have been worshipping in the same place. That’s because the Anglicans and Presbyterians had their St Andrew’s Awatere Christian Joint Venture Church, in Seddon, destroyed by the jolt. And, in the spirit of Christianity, the Catholic community opened their doors Read more
Three days after taking office Archbishop Chong has been speaking about the Catholic Church’s role in Fiji. He says the church should not get involved in party politics, but rather communicate through God’s values of love, peace and justice. Chong said the church could help society in a teaching role; helping to form the mind Read more
Catholics cannot hope to achieve unity with other Christians if they cannot be united themselves, Pope Francis has told a general audience. “How can we have Christian unity if we are unable to find unity among us Catholics? To have unity in our families? How many families are fighting? Seek unity,” he urged. Speaking to Read more
Pope Francis and the new Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury have met for the first time, committing themselves to the search for reconciliation and unity between the Catholic and Anglican communions. The Pope gratefully recalled that Archbishop Welby prayed for him during the ceremony when he took possession of Canterbury Cathedral. “Since we began Read more