In an unprecedented move, over a dozen US Catholic bishops convened at St Louis University in January for a private meeting aimed at deepening their understanding of transgender people. The meeting sought to understand the challenges transgender people face. It included discussions with transgender individuals, their families, theologians, medical professionals and church ministry workers. The Read more
Always listen to the pope regardless of who he is, says Cardinal Christophe Pierre. In an address the day before he was elevated to the College of Cardinals, Pierre says it is difficult for Catholics to claim allegiance to the pope while openly criticising the incumbent. Pierre’s reminder always to listen to the Pope comes Read more
A lot has been written about Pope Francis’s goal of making the church more democratic, with less control by the Vatican and more power to individual bishops. In an ideal world, not only would the Vatican have less say in choosing bishops, but priests and laity would have a larger role in the selection of Read more
The American Catholic bishops have proposed seven principles to help lawmakers to take “urgent and necessary” measures to address climate change. “Evidence continues to point toward significant damaging impacts from climate related events in the United States, across the globe, and particularly for the poorest developing countries,” said Bishop Stephen Blaire, who chairs the bishops’ Read more
The Catholic bishops of the United States have endorsed the cause for sainthood of social activist Dorothy Day — who was famously quoted as saying, “Don’t call me a saint. I don’t want to be dismissed so easily.” Day, who died in 1980, established with Peter Maurin the non-violent, pacifist Catholic Worker movement, which claims Read more
Congratulating the re-elected President Barack Obama, the president of the United States Catholic Bishops’ Conference has emphasised that the bishops “will continue to stand in defence of life, marriage, and our first, most cherished, liberty, religious freedom”. “The Catholic bishops of the United States offer our prayers that God will give you strength and wisdom Read more
In the US, it’s an election year, and the atmosphere is toxic. The incumbent president Barak Obama is up for re-election in November. The Republican primaries have taken a lot of airtime. One of the contested policy issues is Obama’s 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA). Many of the US Catholic Bishops have been critical of Read more
Some of our bishops are acting like bullies, abusing the authority of their offices in the name of enforcing orthodoxy. Dealing with U.S. women religious, these bishops’ actions appear governed more by a desire to enforce obedience than to develop fidelity in our sisters. Catholics see through this guise. They are upset, fed up with Read more
I feel like an idiot. When the U.S. bishops came out so strongly against the new government rules regarding contraceptives and health insurance, they said the issue was one of religious freedom. And I believed them. When the bishops argued that it was not the administration’s place to decide whether Catholic hospitals or colleges fit Read more
Religious leaders have long been powerful in US elections, but this year something new is happening. Leading members of the American Catholic clergy have escalated their conflict with the Obama administration, most notably in the new “religious liberty’’ campaign launched by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. The slogan picks up on a long-standing evangelical Read more