In the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, the scientific evidence in favour of vaccination is overwhelming. With this in mind, there are many people who see universal vaccination as the only way to bring the pandemic to an end, often invoking the mantra of “follow the science.” As a slogan it would seem to have Read more
Anyone who has done, and who still does, any gardening, knows that the antithesis of tears and song is not so far off the mark. “Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap. They go out full of tears carrying seed for the sowing; they come back full of song, carrying their Read more
This is a Synod on synodality, we were told. My first reaction was: what is synodality? “Synodality means walking together,” we were then told. But this had to be explained several times, and not only to those less educated. Synodality is a strange word, even for the more literate. So, I have a problem with Read more
When does life begin? Those four words are regularly posed in the current abortion debate, so let’s scan the lines in pregnancy that have been drawn by experts — religious and secular — in the past. Pre-scientific cultures spoke of “quickening,” typically between 16 and 18 weeks, when the mother first feels the unborn child Read more
The worldwide Catholic Church has now officially embarked on the “synodal process 2021-2023”. Pope Francis launched the project at the Vatican on October 10 with a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and bishops around the globe (though not all of them) inaugurated the process at the diocesan level the following Sunday with celebrations in their Read more
It’s a figure that has gone largely unnoticed. In the flood of information and disturbing statistics published earlier this month by France’s Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE), too little attention has been paid to an important detail in the commission’s report – an estimated 115,000 minors and vulnerable adults were sexually Read more
Worries that the COVID-19 vaccine could cause infertility are among the reasons people give for avoiding vaccination. While there’s no evidence any of the COVID-19 vaccines cause problems with fertility, becoming severely ill from the disease has the potential to do so, reproduction experts say, making vaccination all the more important. “There is evidence to Read more
When Pope Francis issued Laudato Si in 2015, media outlets treated this historic encyclical on climate change and the environment as a “game-changer.” One Jesuit priest told National Public Radio that the encyclical would have a “far-reaching impact,” because it would encourage Catholics “to make major changes in what they consume and how they live Read more
This weekend, Pope Francis published a series of tweets that linked environmental and social crises. This connection embodies the “integral ecology” that is a refrain of his 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si’.” The publication of “Laudato Si’” was a landmark moment in the fight against climate change. Secular environmentalists were encouraged to see such a prominent global Read more
Thank you for coming! My name is Bishop Pascal. I am the ordinary in the Diocese of Heartlands, and I need your help. Let me first tell you my situation and some of the options that are being proposed to me for dealing with it. Then I’ll welcome your suggestions or proposals. Our diocese has Read more