In the streets of Washington, D.C., we have seen religion used as a political prop and we have seen it exercise its prophetic voice. On June 1, President Donald Trump infamously had the street in front of the White House cleared of protesters so he could use St. John’s Episcopal Church on Lafayette Square as Read more
Gregorian chants, renaissance choral music and incense wafting from a metallic censer. In an era when Kanye West runs gospel-inspired services, and megachurches, like Hillsong, release chart-topping hits, these ancient Christian traditions are, unexpectedly, having a moment. And they’re not just resonating with older generations, either. Younger people are flocking to late-night Latin Mass — Read more
One person recently said, the Virtual Mass was great. “We could lie in bed, go to Mass in London, Florence, Ireland and even Auckland. It would be great if we could keep it”. Another said, “The first week I stood when I should, the second week I felt comfortable knitting and in the third week Read more
Australia’s Catholic bishops seem to have learned little from the sexual abuse scandal and its associated cover-ups. Pushed by a royal commission report to implement reforms, they recently reverted to standard operating procedures of delay and secrecy in suppressing a major report on governance reform. While hoping to delay and control discussion, the bishops were Read more
When Riana H. was 15 years old, she ran away from home. This was not a one-time incident for the willful teenager, who developed a habit of disappearing after her family moved from Austin, Tex., to California in 2010. Whenever Riana clashed with her mother over her restrictive house rules or curfew, she would take Read more
Will people come back? That’s the question on the minds of parish leaders in the 17,000 American Catholic churches as the U.S. begins a return to a new normal post-pandemic life. There are no guarantees, say Marti Jewell and Mark Mogilka, authors of “Open Wide the Doors to Christ: A Study of Catholic Social Innovation Read more
The world is seeing once again the upsurge of a vicious virus that has spread to every corner of the world. This time the virus is that of social, cultural, economic, political, institutional, legal and religious discrimination against people of different skin color, social status and historical origins. Racism is everywhere and people around the Read more
Americans must move past the health-wealth dichotomy that dominates public debate about how to manage the current pandemic to find a way forward, said a panel of Catholic scholars during a webinar June 2. “Either you want to kill Grandma or you want to destroy the economy and leave millions of people unemployed, and people Read more
Matt Fradd is an Australian-born Catholic lay speaker and author who specializes in digital pornography addiction. Founder and executive director of The Porn Effect, where he promotes a pornography accountability smartphone app to young people, Mr. Fradd was interviewed by telephone about his new book and the potential of Marian consecration to help fight pornography Read more
Did you rejoice when you heard we were moving down to Level 1? I wonder if the homeless, temporarily housed during lockdown, felt as positive as they faced losing their brief safe havens? One homeless man, interviewed in his temporary motel accommodation, gratefully acknowledged the help, but worried it would be even harder to resume Read more