As a country we’ve been slowly becoming more Americanised over the years – it’s aways been something of a cultural bogeyman that threatens the Kiwi way of life, right from the time American TV shows first started airing here. Some of these changes are small and understandable – we are becoming a much smaller world, Read more
Can you be more Catholic than the Pope? The American arch-reactionary Pat Buchanan clearly thinks so. He has been lambasting Pope Francis for sowing “confusion among the faithful” by refusing to defend “the unchanging truths of Catholicism”. Indeed, says the US Catholic paleo-conservative, the Pope may be “speaking heresy”, which would imply that Francis is Read more
(CNN) — As Catholic bishops in Rome began a major meeting on modern family life two weeks ago, Pope Francis encouraged them to speak candidly and “without timidness.” He certainly got what he asked for. Bishops bickered. Conservatives contemplated conspiracy theories. Liberals lamented their colleagues’ rigidity. Through it all, the Pope stayed silent. Even when Read more
Now that the dust is beginning to settle on the tumultuous Synod of Bishops on the family, conclusions are up in the air as to what it all meant. Given the clear divisions that ran through the summit, it should be no surprise that after-the-fact interpretations are also all over the map. For some, the Read more
The week before our Prime Minister promised to “shirt-front” the president of Russia, I was at the gravesite of a man who hit his wife so hard she went through a door. The man was my grandfather, on my father’s side, and the woman he assaulted was his wife, my beloved Nana. When this man Read more
In the past few months, the world has witnessed the worst outbreak of Ebola since the disease was first identified in 1976 — it has already claimed the lives of more than 3,400 people. But while the first cases in the U.S. and Spain have stirred fears over the past week, we don’t need to Read more
If Francis doesn’t soon make it clear that the synod can’t abandon Catholic teaching, his pontificate could spin out of control. Cardinal Burke is right: the group responsible for reporting the synod is manipulating the presentation of what’s actually happening. The presentation earlier this week of the so-called “mid-term report” of the extraordinary synod of Read more
Let there be no doubt. There is change, and a great deal of uncertainty, in the air in Rome. And it is not just coming from Pope Francis. The Catholic Church retaining some of the attributes of a royal court in its mode of governance provides its senior prelates with every opportunity to emulate the Read more
I have a huge concern that many of Synod Fathers’ are airing views in direct opposition to my understanding of the Church’s teachings. Thankfully there is another year to go before we hear anything official from the Church. The interim Synod document (Relatio Post Disceptationem) states that “Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian Read more
Heading into an Oct. 5-19 Vatican summit of bishops to discuss the family, the single most controversial question was whether Catholics who divorce and remarry outside the Church ought to be allowed to receive Communion. Since the meeting reaches its halfway mark Sunday, it’s logical to wonder where things stand. Alas, the answer is: We Read more