Setting up the Christmas tree that’s been stored away for 12 months in the top of the wardrobe makes me think, where has the year gone? I actually feel as if I’m back in July somewhere. Putting up the decorations triggers memories of Christmas’ that were either tough or wonderful, and final relief comes when Read more
The pope’s interview last month with America, the Jesuit journal, was a textbook example of why the Vatican does not want the pope doing interviews. The pope poked the Russian bear in the nose, gave a convoluted response to why women cannot be priests and even had a muddled response to a question on racism Read more
Today Australia is awash with politicians who identify or are identified as Catholic. Anthony Albanese is a Catholic. Down the Eastern seaboard, the three state premiers, Dominic Perrottet (NSW), Daniel Andrews (Victoria) and Peter Malinauskas (SA) are Catholics. There are many other high-profile Catholics at ministerial level and as opposition leaders. Others, like Queensland Premier, Read more
Wednesday, May 4, brought devastating news for the Church and Catholic journalism, when Catholic News Service (CNS) announced that they will be shutting down their Washington, DC and New York bureaus at the end of the year and that all of its US-based staff would be losing their jobs. They also announced that their Rome Read more
At the very start of his pontificate nearly ten years ago, Pope Francis distinguished himself from his most recent predecessors by adopting an informal and colloquial way of communicating. He showed early on that he had no intention of merely reciting prepared speeches or sticking to the stodgy old Vatican script pertaining to protocols and Read more
In his Pensées, published posthumously in 1670, the French philosopher Blaise Pascal appeared to establish a foolproof argument for religious commitment, which he saw as a kind of bet. If the existence of God was even minutely possible, he claimed, then the potential gain was so huge – an “eternity of life and happiness” – Read more
Every summit of bishops called by Pope Francis has been ripe with expectations about the possible reforms — and novelties — that it might introduce in the over 2,000-year-old institution. The pope’s latest effort, the Synod on Synodality, now underway and continuing through the end of 2024, has already fomented ardent debate on some of Read more
Two thousand years ago, a family took part in a census. Over the coming weeks in schools, churches, high streets, and venues across this country, the Christmas story that began with Mary and Joseph’s journey for a census will be enjoyed and celebrated by millions of people. But of what story are we a part? Read more
As he describes himself on his now-dormant Twitter account, David M. Cheney is, in some ways, just a “Random Catholic Dude.” He works a full-time computer support job, loves to travel, opens emails with “howdy,” and belongs to the Church of the Holy Cross in Overland Park, a suburb of Kansas City, Kansas. Cheney is Read more
They have become a symbol of China’s recent wave of protests: Blank, white sheets of paper held aloft by demonstrators to signify their opposition to anti-virus lockdowns, censorship and freedom of speech. As videos of crowds holding up paper sheets and chanting slogans flooded the internet last weekend, Chinese-language social media posts have come to Read more