If you are a pilgrim on a journey of faith, you have probably been on retreat. If you haven’t, then here is an attempt to describe what a retreat is, and what you can expect to gain from it. People who travel overseas know that when they return home they will be different. That also Read more
We’ve just turned the page on the month of June, traditionally in some parts of the world, the time for priestly ordinations in many parts of the Catholic world. According to figures from the national bishops’ conference, the Church in France was ordained 122 new priests this summer – 77 diocesan and 45 from religious Read more
There’s a common saying in faith-based community organising: “Nothing about us, without us, is for us.” It’s also a particularly important axiom to reflect on as we continue the journey through the synodal process. Over the last twelve years as a community organiser, I’ve come to see first-hand how an emphasis on building relationships brings Read more
I’m not telling you anything new when I say that one of the most toxic problems facing Catholicism is clericalism. By ‘clericalism’ I mean the tendency to place priests on a pedestal, to accept their pronouncements as gospel, encouraging them to feel, as Pope Francis says, ‘superior to lay people.’ It begins in seminary training Read more
As we slowly to move towards a synodal Church we should expect that there will be many stumbles, confusions, and false starts. The enthusiasm of some for the Synodal Way is one side of the way all human societies make deliberate change. Likewise, the fears of Cardinal Walter Kasper and some other bishops are exactly Read more
It’s universally accepted that life begins at conception. To quote the American College of Pediatricians: “At fertilisation, the human being emerges as a whole, genetically distinct, individuated zygotic living human organism, a member of the species Homo sapiens, needing only the proper environment in order to grow and develop. The difference between the individual in Read more
The US Supreme Court’s recent ruling to throw out Roe v Wade is an issue of relevance to political leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand. The decision was met with enthusiasm by those opposed to abortion here, including opposition National MP for Tāmaki Simon O’Connor. Pro-choice groups such as Abortion Rights Aotearoa (ALRANZ) expressed alarm, not Read more
Where do young Catholics stand? To the right, very right, or very left? It’s a fascinating question. A couple of recent articles in France have contemplated the so-called resurgence of left-wing Catholics, who are identified as young, ecologically sensitive, and – some of them – even very left-wing. They are also distant from their rather Read more
The Vatican-owned L’Osservatore Romano, Wednesday, published the first edition of a street newspaper aiming “to give voice to the voiceless.” L’Osservatore di Strada — in English “The Street Observer” — “is above all a newspaper with the poor,” says a June 28 press release. “Even those who have a cardboard box for a house have Read more
The relationship between the centre and the peripheries has always been critical in Church history. That’s even truer now in the context of the “synodal process”. A number of interesting decisions the Vatican has taken recently shows how delicate this moment is for Pope Francis’ pontificate. The first came on June 2 when Bishop Dominique Read more