Pope Francis, on returning from Bahrain, shared his thoughts on many of the world’s current human-made tragedies – including today’s numerous armed conflicts. He said the conflicts reminded him of the World War II Allied military landings at Normandy, France. “It was the beginning of the fall of Nazism, it’s true. “But how many boys Read more
If you are my age, then you will probably agree that our childhood coincided with the golden age of television situation comedies — “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “My Favorite Martian,” “Gomer Pyle,” and the under-appreciated masterpiece, “My Mother The Car,” in which Jerry Van Dyke discovers that his beloved mother has been reincarnated as a 1928 Read more
We’re all guilty, at least many of us whose job it is to report or comment on the Catholic Church. Let’s just admit it: we are obsessed with bishops. It seems like they are almost always the main focus or at least a significant part of whatever we write or talk about. And why not? Read more
Among the anti-communist propaganda that spread through Italy in the early years after World War II was the threat that the Cossacks would soon be watering their horses in the fountains of St Peter’s Square. It was a time when some feared for the Church’s survival. But back then, the Vatican enjoyed religious, moral, cultural Read more
The café is a place where I not only find a drink and a croissant but also the convenience of somewhere to write. In so many ways, it has replaced the pub as a meeting place, a stop-off point for anyone and everyone to pause a while over a hot coffee, to read or have Read more
Like any modern Catholic official, Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of France’s Catholic bishops’ conference, realises clergy sexual abuse is a systemic problem, one that calls for serious reform of the church’s uncertain rules and ingrained secrecy. But recent revelations of sexual misconduct by a cardinal and a bishop on Moulins-Beaufort’s watch show how complicated, Read more
The world today is experiencing a new apostolic age, and the Church is rediscovering its primary purpose of mission, says Fr James Mallon, author of Beyond the Parish and Canadian founder of the Divine Renovation Ministry. “The word apostolicos comes from apostolay in Greek, which means ‘to send’ and the Latin translation of that word Read more
Religion News Service spoke to filmmaker and actor Justin Baldoni about masculinity and his faith, childhood and experience on “Jane the Virgin.” This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Your book is about undefining masculinity, not redefining it. What’s the difference? What I learned early on was that redefining masculinity would create the Read more
Just war theory requires that combatants have not only a just cause, but also that they wage their war in a just way. Thus, Catholic teaching about conflict condemns direct attacks on civilians or even the disproportionate killing of civilians as collateral damage in an attack on a military target. In other words, you cannot Read more
Australia’s Covid-19 case numbers are on the rise again, with health officials signalling the arrival of new Omicron subvariants as a new wave begins. It’s the first sustained uptick since the “winter wave” of Omicron subvariant BA.5, University of Melbourne public health researcher Nancy Baxter told RN Breakfast on Friday. “You have things like wastewater Read more