I’ve seen this observation attributed to theologian Paul Tillich and to popular Christian writer Anne Lamott, but it’s been expressed in one way or another by mystics and preachers across the centuries. It says that the opposite of faith isn’t doubt. Tillich, I believe, said doubt is a necessary part of faith. Lamott has said Read more
The Vatican City’s promoter of justice asked judges Wednesday to sentence Cardinal Angelo Becciu to more than seven years in prison, as he made closing arguments in the landmark financial crimes trial. But do prosecutors really have a case against Becciu? In his argument July 26, Alessandro Diddi spent the day focused on Becciu, the Read more
Pope Francis has urged Catholics to reject “the temptation to divide the wheat from the weeds”, a metaphor for acting abruptly and even violently to bring about a “pure society” or even a “pure Church” that simply does not exist. “When we see ‘wheat’ and ‘weeds’ living side by side in the world, what should Read more
The question of women, ministry and leadership echoed loudly in parishes and bishops’ assemblies when Pope Francis called two years ago for a worldwide discussion among rank-and-file Catholics about the Church’s main challenges and issues. The question is resounding more loudly as the summit of bishops and lay Catholics known as the Synod on Synodality, Read more
They’ve done their time, paid for their crime and then they come out and they do another sentence. It’s called a silent sentence.” Tui Ah Loo is talking about the difficulties people face when they’re released from prison. “It is the sentence of judgement, stigma and bias.” As te tumu whakarae or chief executive of Read more
As AI proponents aim to make inroads for language learning models in communities around the world, developers this month announced an AI project they say could be a “game changer for the Church.” The developers of Magisterium AI trained an AI robot on a database of 456 Church documents. These include: Scripture the Catechism of Read more
Europe is currently in the midst of a heatwave.Italy, in particular, is expected to face blistering heat, with temperatures projected to reach 40℃ to 45℃. There’s even a chance that the current European temperature record of 48.8℃, set in Sicily in 2021, could be surpassed. Searing temperatures have spread to other countries in southern and Read more
When I retired from teaching, I decided to try to learn to draw. I bought Betty Edwards’ highly recommended “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.” One of the ways to free the right brain from left brain control, writes Edwards, is to practice drawing negative spaces — the spaces that surround the objects Read more
On any given day millions of people worldwide are victims of human trafficking, forced labour and sexual exploitation. Recent reports from the U.S. State Department, anti-human trafficking groups, and other global leaders focus on the serious problems of trafficking, forced labour, and modern-day slavery. The breakdown In 2021, 27.6 million people worldwide were subjected to Read more
When several hundred Lutherans in Bavaria, Germany, attended a service on June 9, 2023, designed by ChatGPT, the program not only selected hymns and prayers, but also composed and delivered a sermon, delivered by an avatar on a big screen. Indeed, programs like ChatGPT, that can produce a sermon in seconds, might seem attractive to Read more