Last year I was knocked to the ground and pinned down by an assailant who held his hand over my mouth. I cried out, “I can’t breathe!” About 30 long seconds later he finally let me go. As I reflect on the heartbreaking deadly scene of a Minneapolis police officer pressing his knee into George Read more
Michael and Kelsey Petrany can hardly believe that two months ago they were worried about centrepieces. The restrictions of the pandemic made so many of their initial wedding plans impossible, including the presence of their parents, guests, and a reception. The couple decided they wanted to go through with it anyways. And they are glad Read more
When I was 18, I arrived in Beijing, found my luggage had been lost in Karachi and, needing a change of clothes, bought a T-shirt that said: “You are not a real man if you have not climbed the Great Wall of China.” In subsequent years I not only walked along various parts of the Read more
Psalm 27:12 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will Read more
Loneliness is the feeling of being disconnected, excluded and disengaged from others, an agonizing feeling of emptiness or desolation, a feeling that no one cares. At the same time there is the yearning to belong, a restlessness to make a satisfying relationship, to feel valued. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, loneliness had been identified as Read more
Just over 50 years ago, on April 4, 1968 Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated and across the United States explosive protests broke out all over the country. In stark contrast to today, Robert Kennedy, a Democratic presidential candidate, gave the following speech in Indianapolis. Kennedy’s speech perhaps offers a lesson in leadership and reminds Read more
With the advent of Covid-19, Facebook and similar digital platforms seem to have become liturgical spaces. Every kind of celebration is transmitted through them: “home-made” liturgies are held, retreat houses offer online activities, spiritual assistance is offered through a computer screen and so on. The coronavirus crisis is reinforcing a trend that has been going Read more
History is repeating itself in Hong Kong. In 2003, after the SARS epidemic, attempts were made to introduce a national security law. Similarly, it is happening now as the coronavirus recedes. But this time we fear there will be no happy ending. It is difficult to find words that we have not already written to Read more
It seems that every few months we begin talking again about the chronic shortage of presbyters in the many parts of the Catholic world today. Then someone suggests the ordination of suitable married men, Viri Probati. But after some discussion, a solidly based argument (not based on dubious notions of ritual purity) is presented: how Read more
Twenty-five years ago, St. John Paul II’s encyclical on ecumenism, “Ut Unum Sint,” put the papal seal of approval on a shift in the Catholic Church’s approach to the search for Christian unity. For the 30 years from the Second Vatican Council to the publication of St. John Paul’s encyclical May 25, 1995, official ecumenical Read more