“I agree online church is an intriguing idea to include families and individuals affected by disability,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “But I don’t think it can work.” I spoke those words in 2009, in a casual conversation with other inclusive ministry leaders about what it might look like for churches to be Read more
In the history of the papacy, Benedict XVI marks a caesura or a break, something quite ironic, given the fact that many traditionalist Catholics identify his pontificate with the “hermeneutics of continuity”. This caesura is not only tied to his decision in 2013 to voluntarily resign the papal office but even more so to the Read more
I had to go to Wellington last Tuesday afternoon. On the way home, rather than avoid the CBD and take the most direct route onto the Hutt motorway, I decided for no particular reason to go through town. I knew about the protest convoy that had rolled into town earlier that day but assumed it Read more
Islamic State recently staged their most sophisticated attack since 2019 – a prison break to release former IS fighters in an effort to refill their ranks once again. According to Save the Children, hundreds of boys and teenagers were allegedly used as human shields during the fighting. In late January, Islamic State militants attacked the Read more
Every human institution – be it a family, a village, a company or a worldwide Church – must rely on certain virtues that are common to its members if it is to survive. This is the truism that is at the basis of every system of ethics – both those that have been written down Read more
Ever since he was elected pope, Pope Francis has been trying to reform the Vatican Curia, the bureaucracy that is supposed to help the pope in his ministry to the universal church. He has had only limited success — not surprisingly, since every pope since the Second Vatican Council in the early 1960s has also Read more
I admit I am one of those people who divide God’s world according to my notions of comfort. My personal preference is transferred so that I see some things as good and some as not good. Monarch butterflies are lovely, white butterflies are ugly. I admire a porpoise but not a shark. In my garden, Read more
The declining number of believers in Europe, the Church’s struggle to continue playing a role in Western society, the debate over priestly celibacy and new views about sexuality… Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich – the 63-year-old Jesuit who leads the Archdiocese of Luxembourg and who is president of COMECE (the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the Read more
Everyone is sick of the pandemic and tired of hearing about Covid. When I turn on the radio in the morning to National Public Radio (which I now think of as National Pandemic Radio), the first word that I hear is always “Covid,” “coronavirus” or “pandemic.” It is hard to escape. So I am going Read more
The Church does not need more sex abuse reports, but personal and ecclesial conversion. Powerful, pandemic experiences and images have stimulated new respect for first responders who work selflessly to save others from harm, even at personal risk. They have also shown the crucial need for research into the nature and causes of the harm Read more