It’s not uncommon for science and religion to be framed as two opposing forces. The Catholic church has famously struggled to accommodate scientific research in its past, but recently there has been evidence of a healthier relationship developing. In many ways, Pope Francis has embraced science as a way of learning about the world. Notably, Read more
“We make our own history,” Eleanor Roosevelt said. “The course of history is directed by the choices we make and our choices grow out of the ideas, the beliefs, the values, the dreams of the people. It is not so much the powerful leaders that determine our destiny as the much more powerful influence of Read more
Anitalia Pijachi, (pictured) an indigenous woman from the Amazonian town of Leticia, Colombia, came to the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon bringing a message from the elders of her people to Pope Francis, an elder of the Catholic Church. The first Europeans to arrive in the Amazon were “invaders,” she said. “They never asked Read more
Catholic women attending the summit of bishops at the Vatican on the Amazon region praised the climate of inclusivity and openness ushered in by Pope Francis but insisted that equality demands they also have a right to vote. “As many other religious women, we believe we have come to the point that our superior generals Read more
When Pope Francis canonises Cardinal John Henry Newman tomorrow, the first Briton to be declared a saint in over forty years, it will be a cause of celebration not merely in the United Kingdom, and not merely for Catholics, but for all who cherish the values by which he was inspired. In the age when Read more
Last month I joined with Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR) to speak at a series of public forums around the country to discuss the future for asylum seekers who remain in limbo in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. So far I have spoken in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Hobart and Launceston, Adelaide, Perth and Benalla in Read more
Deep in the Amazon forest, young couples looking to wed or baptize children often turn to Sister Alba, who fills in where Catholic priests cannot be found. But in many remote areas, there are not even enough nuns to go around, and it is laywomen who play a key role in the evangelization of indigenous Read more
When people today hear that John Henry Newman is being named a saint, the first question that likely comes to mind is: What can I take away from the example of a 19th-century priest and intellectual? Not only did he live in a very different time, but his day-to-day existence was quite different from what Read more
It is amazing what a synod can do for a person. German Bishop Fritz Lobinger, a 90-year-old retired missionary bishop in South Africa, has suddenly become the talk of Rome. Lobinger’s idea of ordained elders in order to provide local communities regular access to the sacraments has been the root of discussions about “married priests” Read more
Last week, the Vatican released a mysterious statement acknowledging a raid by Vatican police on the offices of its Secretariat of State and of its financial watchdog agency, saying it was carried out by judicial order by the Vatican tribunal and with permission from unspecified “superiors.” The Secretariat of State is the most powerful department Read more