Many Muslims in Egypt are proud of their country’s heritage of religious pluralism. “So headlines like “Islam’s war on the Cross”, as in one British newspaper this week, fail to do justice to the complexities – and to the goodwill – on both sides,” according to the editorial in the London Tablet. “Egypt has long been an Read more
Limitless Greed + Inequality + Market Volatility + Unemployment = An Occupied Wall Street. The small protest known as Occupy Wall Street has grown over the past 4 weeks. Occupy Wall St protests have spread across the United States and are now going world-wide. There is even a group planning a week-long protest at Civic Square in Read more
The European Union (EU) is a secular organisation but the EU founders were Christian Democrats and at its core are values rooted in the very Christian notion of solidarity. Writing in the London Table Stephen Walls says “its members remain 27 independent countries but with a shared belief in peaceful coexistence, democracy, social justice and responsibility to Read more
In difficult times many people look to religious authorities for help and guidance; and religious authorities, in turn, rarely miss an opportunity to comment on current events. While Pope Benedict said he had not come to Germany “primarily to pursue particular political or economic goals, as other statesmen rightly do but, rather, to meet people and Read more
It was a busy time for Pope Benedict in Germany. Although not without some criticism and protest, Pope Benedict has received an exuberant welcome from his fellow countrymen. In his opening address the Pope said, “I have not come here primarily to pursue particular political or economic goals, as other statesmen rightly do,” he said, Read more
Ever since the spectre of an exploited and exhausting planet has become a visible and ever-growing reality, the Catholic Church has been an advocate for the environment, in the forefront of tolling again and again a tocsin of impending catastrophe unless the greed that ravishes the fragile harmony that unites our earth is contained and reversed, says Read more
Berlin authorities have rejected the erection of large election-type billboards to welcome Pope Benedict to Germany. The billboards are already in use by Chancellor, Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in its Berlin election campaign, and the CDU had been agreed they would hand the billboards over for use to welcome the Pope after the election. Local authorities however Read more
Former leader of the east-German communists, Gregor Gysi, on Friday, praised Pope Benedict for consistently preaching that modern society must have moral norms in order to function properly. “It won’t work without the concept of the good,” Gysi wrote. “But modern science can’t tell us what is good. Its concepts focus on empirical experience. Ideas such Read more
Martin Leung-Wai, a 25-year-old New Zealander who was one of 12 young people to share lunch with Pope Benedict said it “made my World Youth Day experience the experience of a lifetime”. Leung-Wai, a 25-year-old from Auckland, said, “Having lunch with the Holy Father is something you tell your family and friends and future generations about”. Read more