When Father Juan Antonio Guerrero was announced as the new head of the Secretariat for the Economy, a collective ‘huh?’ could probably be heard across Rome. The Spanish Jesuit is not a Vatican veteran and has only been in Rome for about two years, where he oversaw the various Jesuit institutions located in and around Read more
There is a story about Mary, that she was stitching a cloth for the tabernacle when Gabriel visited her. Maybe. Maybe not. She could have been sweeping the floor. Or grinding corn for a meal. Those activities can also be sacred. We are reminded of times when God has been manifest in simple household tasks. Read more
In many ways Pope Francis is following in the footsteps of his great travelling predecessor St. John Paul II in his apostolic visits to Thailand and Japan. The first Asia trip of St. John Paul II in 1981 included Japan, and in 1984 he visited Thailand. But the comparison appears to end right there — Read more
Americans are becoming less and less religious and one New York Times columnist has found the culprit: the religious, conservative “blowhards” who “have entangled faith with bigotry, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia,” or, in other words, the religious, conservative Americans who support President Trump. Churches are empty, in part, because “for some young people, Christianity is Read more
Edwin Chow, 20, a native of Hong Kong, is in his third year of university, where he’s studying government and international studies. But over the past year, has likely learned as much about both subjects in the streets of his home city as he has in the classroom. Since June, Catholics like Chow, along with Read more
Citing encyclicals from the church’s canon of social teachings for authority, Republican Senator, Marco Rubio last week outlined a political economy that he called “common-good capitalism.” Rubio argued from a basis in Catholic social teaching that businesses should be obliged “to act in the best interests of the workers and the country that made their Read more
When Catholic bishops threatened to deny Communion to then-presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004 over his abortion stance, the ensuing media frenzy was described as “haunting” the Democrat’s campaign for months. But this year, when Vice President Joe Biden was denied Communion at a Catholic church in South Carolina for roughly the same reasons, coverage Read more
Saying thank-you and showing your appreciation does more good than you may think. This benefit accrues both to the giver and recipient. Indeed, these types of expressions and acts are powerful forms of gratitude. Yet, while it may seem normal to be verbally appreciative at certain times and with specific people, there’s much more that Read more
I’m often weary these days. These are dark, painful times for our church and country. The White House is occupied by a president who demeans people with rhetoric and hurts those on the peripheries with cruel policies. A former cardinal of Washington, D.C., has been defrocked for sexual abuse. As a Catholic writer and commentator Read more
Naomi Fong’s mum saw she had an interest in Christianity and bought her a beaded wooden necklace with a cross on it when she was 15 years old. At the time, living with her family in New Zealand, Naomi was a believer but unbaptised, wandering the online wilderness through “anti-Catholic” websites searching for “something more”. Read more