There’s a train coming and we’re all on the tracks. We know it’s coming, everybody’s talking about the train and how much it’s going to hurt when it arrives. But no one’s actually doing anything to stop it, or even slow it down. That’s how facing down climate change can often feel. Governments convene, agree Read more
For 14 nights they have marched, enraged by a near-total ban on abortion that has stirred a generation to stage the largest mass demonstrations that Poland has seen since Solidarność toppled the communist regime in the 1980s. Until soaring coronavirus numbers and a looming national lockdown made it almost impossible, up to a million people Read more
In the spiritual realm, crucifixions and resurrections are not separate, and, as Jesus demonstrated, what is resurrected is always greater than what has died. We have all experienced this way of growth in some form or other. We need to be emptied in order to be filled. Ignatian teacher Margaret Silf writes in her book Read more
Not only is the United States a divided country, but the Catholic Church in the U.S. is as divided as the nation. And the presidential election drove home that point. According to a PBS report in CathNews, VoteCast declared that 50 percent of Catholics backed Trump, while 49 percent voted for Biden. Many Catholics, like Read more
In countries like the United Kingdom and across Europe, although a large number of Muslims follow the traditional Islamic way of life, there is concern around the number of Muslims becoming radicalised in their religion. How could this happen in advanced western countries and what lessons can be drawn to avoid this happening in New Read more
The economic downturn caused by Covid-19 has had an uneven impact, in part reflecting the unprecedented nature of the crisis. The housing market and many domestic-orientated industries are doing well. And for many households and businesses, the economic downturn has so far had little impact on job security, incomes, or spending. For some, the increased Read more
President-elect Joe Biden is already being received as a promising ally for Francis’ pontificate. Vatican-U.S. relations have grown increasingly strained in recent years, mainly as a result of the opposing views of Pope Francis and the Trump administration on a wide range of issues, from immigration to the environment. Francis, who has sought to build Read more
The Vatican’s report into ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has raised uncomfortable questions the Holy See will have to confront going forward, chief among them what it’s going to do about current and future clergy who abuse their power to sexually abuse adults. Priests, lay experts and canon lawyers alike say the Vatican needs to revisit how Read more
A new Vatican report’s revelations that Pope John Paul II disregarded reports about ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s sexual misconduct had Catholics on Wednesday debating the legacy of one of the modern church’s towering figures. The report triggered questions about whether John Paul was rushed through the saint-making process, and whether the author of contemporary Catholic teaching Read more
In more than seven years as leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has issued numerous new laws and guidelines for handling accusations of clerical sexual abuse and its cover-up by church officials. He also has insisted that church leaders must take the lead as true shepherds and guardians to protect the vulnerable out of Read more