The Pope took this and a number of issues off the agenda because he wanted the synod to focus on synodality and not be distracted by controversial and complicated issues.

Discussions about bishops

The Synod on Synodality is meeting in Rome during October, with bishops and lay people discussing how to make the Church more transparent and accountable and less clerical.

They are looking for ways to encourage respectful listening in the Church so Catholics can discern together where the Spirit is leading the Church.

The delegates, however, understand that synodality will not happen unless it is supported by bishops in their dioceses.

Too many bishops see synodality as a threat to their authority or simply a waste of their time. The transparency, listening and accountability required of synodality are time-consuming and don't allow bishops to do whatever they want.

A debated issue

The selection of bishops has been a debated issue since apostolic times. There is no perfect way to select bishops. Every procedure has its plusses and minuses.

In earliest times, the process was very democratic. When a bishop died, the faithful would gather in the cathedral, look around and ask, "Who will be our leader?"

In ideal circumstances, the people reached consensus in their choice of leader. But if there was no consensus, factions formed to support different candidates. That is an inevitable result of democracy.

Too often, in the early days of the Church, divisions in the community led to disagreements that became violent. In 217, pagan soldiers had to break up public brawls among the Christians in Rome fighting over who would be their bishop.

The soldiers arrested both candidates (Callixtus and Hippolytus) and sent them to the tin mines of Sardinia.

Eventually, to avoid the laity fighting over who would be bishop, the electorate was limited to the clergy or part of the clergy, for example, the cathedral chapter.

Pope Leo I (440-461) said that to have a legitimate bishop, he had to be elected by the clergy, accepted by the people and consecrated by the bishops of the region.

The clergy would meet in the cathedral and elect someone. They would bring him out to the people and if they cheered, the clergy could present him to the regional bishops.

If the people booed, the clergy would have to try again. If the bishops of the region refused to ordain him a bishop, the clergy would need to find a new candidate.

This was a checks-and-balances system that would have been loved by the writers of the Federalist Papers.

As the Church got richer, interference in the selection of bishops by kings and nobles became common. They would use the threat of violence to force clergy to elect their candidate, who could be a relative or political supporter.

The papacy also gave kings the right to appoint bishops in exchange for political or financial support. In a few instances, the kings used their power to reform the Church, but the usual result was a very corrupt episcopacy, which prepared the Church for the Reformation.

The great reform of the 19th century was to take the appointment of bishops away from political leaders and give it to the pope, who would be more concerned about the welfare of the Church than government officials. This was possible because Napoleon had destroyed most of the Catholic monarchies.

Leaving the selection of bishops to the total discretion of the Pope led to its own problems when the Vatican placed its interests over the needs of the local church.

After the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI looked for pastoral candidates in the United States, especially ones who got along with their clergy. They contrasted with earlier bishops who were more like bankers and builders.

John Paul II, on the other hand, was shocked by the rejection of "Humanae Vitae," the 1968 encyclical forbidding artificial contraception, by many theologians and even some bishops.

As a result, he looked for candidates who as bishops would enforce his positions on Church issues. Benedict XVI continued John Paul's policies. Loyalty took precedence over pastoral qualities.

Francis is once again looking for pastoral bishops, especially ones who are close to the poor. He is more comfortable with discussion and debate in the Church.

The current selection process is highly dependent on the nuncio, the pope's representative to the local church and government of a country.

He presents three candidates for an open diocese to the Dicastery for Bishops along with a report on the diocese and a dossier on each candidate. He ranks them first, second and third choice.

The nuncio can consult with whomever he wants about the candidates, including bishops, clergy and lay people. He uses a confidential questionnaire to gather information on the candidates.

The Dicastery for Bishops makes a recommendation, which the prefect, or head of the dicastery, takes to the pope. The pope can choose one of the three candidates or tell the prefect to come back with a new list.

No public discussion of candidates is allowed under this system, which makes it difficult to have much lay involvement in the selection process.

The hierarchy fears that public disclosure of the names of the candidates would lead to lobbying efforts and divisive campaigns, but keeping the laity out of the process is an example of clericalism and contrary to synodality.

The people of the diocese can be publicly consulted on what type of person they want, but they are forbidden to mention names publicly. This consultation is rarely done today, although it was more common in the time of Paul VI.

The description of the ideal bishop by the laity in most dioceses was often unrealistic. As one observer noted, "They wanted Jesus Christ with an MBA from Harvard."

Synodality

Synodality demands there be more transparency and consultation with the laity about the appointment of bishops. The Catholic Church could also learn by studying how leaders are chosen in other denominations. If other Churches can successfully choose leaders in a more public process, why can't the Catholic Church?

Although in many parts of the world (like China), lay and clergy involvement would be exploited for political ends, there are places where the church is free to experiment with new methods.

For example, the nuncio could ask the diocesan priests' council to submit three names to him as candidates for bishop. Or he could share the names of his three candidates with the priests' council and get their response. The same could be done with the diocesan pastoral council to involve laity in the process.

Involving more people in the selection process could be divisive. Those who think more democracy is needed in the Church need to recognize democracy does not always work that well in the political realm, even in America.

But including more people in the selection would result in bishops who are embraced by their clergy and people. There are risks in opening up the process, but they are worth taking.

Since no system is perfect, we need to find something with checks and balances like the system proposed by Pope Leo I that involved clergy, laity and the college of bishops under the leadership of the pope. Whether we have the spiritual maturity to pull it off remains to be seen.

Synodality has shown that if we respectfully listen to one another in a prayerful setting, we are more likely to see where the Spirit is leading the Church. It can also help us see who should be the best synodal leaders as bishops.

• First published by RNS
• The Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a Jesuit priest, is a Senior Analyst at RNS.

Ukraine's Eastern Rite Catholic bishops echoed Podolyak's comments.

Podolyak firmly rejected any notion of the Vatican mediating in the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine and hinted at possible Russian influence within the Vatican bank.

Podolyak's criticism stems from Pope Francis' remarks during a video conference with Russian Catholic youth in St Petersburg, where the Pope praised the legacy of "Great Mother Russia."

Despite the Pope's subsequent clarification that he was referring to culture rather than imperialism, Podolyak remained unconvinced.

He argued that the Pope's position in effect supports Russia's actions in Ukraine, which are causing harm to Ukrainian citizens.

Furthermore, Podolyak suggested that financial considerations may be influencing the Pope's stance, hinting at potential Russian investments in the Vatican bank.

However, no specific evidence was provided to support this claim.

Disappointment and pain

While Pope Francis has expressed solidarity with the Ukrainian people throughout the conflict, he has refrained from directly condemning Russia or President Vladimir Putin.

This approach has not only drawn criticism from Ukrainian officials but also disappointed members of his Catholic flock in Ukraine.

The bishops of Ukraine's Greek Catholic Church, the largest of the Eastern churches in communion with Rome, have voiced concerns about the Pope's statements. They expressed disappointment and pain over the Pope's remarks.

The bishops believe the comments are being exploited by Russian propaganda to justify its actions in Ukraine.

The bishops' statement said they told the pope that certain statements and gestures of "the Holy See and Your Holiness are painful and difficult for the Ukrainian people, who are currently bleeding in the struggle for their dignity and independence."

The statement quoted the pope as telling the bishops: "The fact that you doubted whom the pope is with was particularly painful for the Ukrainian people. I want to assure you of my solidarity with you and constant prayerful closeness. I am with the Ukrainian people."

Sources

Crux Now

AP News

Reuters

CathNews New Zealand

Although hospitalized since July 4, when he underwent a three-hour surgery on his colon, Pope Francis is still the supreme pontiff and fully in charge.

Some news outlets, like the Italian agency ANSA, reported that with the pope in Rome's Gemelli hospital, "the cardinal camerlengo," or chamberlain," has the task of administering the temporal goods of the Holy See."

The current camerlengo is U.S. Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life.

Read More

Francis, who has been coughing during several recent appearances, cancelled public events and his attendance at a week-long spiritual retreat to mark the start of each Lenten season.

The Vatican has confirmed, however, that the pope has been tested and does not have coronavirus.

However, Europe begins to reel under the threat of the Coronavirus.

Two people tested positive to the virus in Rome in January, but there have been no reported cases since then.

In Italy, 3,000 people are confirmed as having the virus and 107 have died. Most of the cases so far have been in the northern part of the country.

In Lombardy and Venice, 50,000 people are quarantined and numerous parishes and dioceses have cancelled public Masses and Lenten services.

Several US Catholic universities are recalling students who are currently studying in Rome.

Many of these universities have a policy to bring staff and students home when a country reaches level three of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention risk factor chart. Italy reached level three last Friday.

In Switzerland, the first Catholic Mass to be celebrated in Geneva's St. Peter's Cathedral since the Reformation has been postponed until May.

In France, there have been 130 confirmed cases and two deaths.

One of those infected is a priest who recently returned from France's national church in Rome.

On Friday last week the French Embassy to the Holy See quarantined the church's 24 resident French priests.

On Monday, however, the Embassy said "any risk of possible contagion by the priest" had been ruled out and the precautionary measures had been revoked.

In France, where the Louvre has been closed and the government has banned indoor gatherings of over 5,000 people, Archbishop Michel Aupetit of Paris has told priests not to distribute the Eucharist on the tongue and to empty their church's holy water fonts.

The French Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes is still welcoming pilgrims but the healing pools the sick bathe in are closed.

Speaking in relation to the measures to keep the virus at bay in Rome, a woman who spends most of her days taking groups through packed museums, says the reaction "seems extreme."

"While liability issues and worry of quarantine make sense, I wonder about the wisdom of frightening people into isolating themselves," she said.

If society falls into "social and financial free fall for flu-like symptoms, what happens one day if the threat is truly serious?" she wonders.

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• La Croix
• Crux Now
• The Times of Israel
• Worldometer
• Image: Catholic Herald

Over time the pope has gained many different titles that reflect different aspects of his ministry. Read more

The resignation is best interpreted as Benedict XVI's act of generosity toward the church.

The graciousness Francis has displayed toward his predecessor is equally an act of generosity.

Increasingly, however, Francis must also be calling on the virtue of patience to deal with the interference of a predecessor whose retirement has gone from a promised "life dedicated to prayer" to a life of backseat pontificating.

The most recent - and perhaps most unfortunate - intervention was Benedict's letter theorizing on the causes of the sexual abuse crisis and, of course, defending his role in dealing with it.

That the latest was not a one-off, but part of a pattern that was pointed out by NCR Vatican Correspondent Joshua McElwee in reporting on the letter.

In November 2016 a book-length interview was published in which Benedict defended his eight-year papacy, saying he didn't see himself as a failure.

In March of that same year he inserted himself into a Francis initiative when he did an interview in which he expounded on God's mercy while Francis was in the midst of an Extraordinary Jubilee Year, with mercy as its central theme.

These interventions may appear anodyne to some, but they set a terrible precedent, making the perception or reality of a rivalry between the former pope and his acolytes and the incumbent pope and his supporters more likely.

Benedict's latest interjection landed within shouting distance of a recent and first-of-its-kind international gathering of bishop leaders from around the globe to discuss the abuse crisis and seemed, unlike previous interventions, an act of sabotage, intended or not.

The growing consensus that characteristics of the secretive hierarchical culture are at the heart of the current crisis was given expression forcefully and repeatedly at the meeting.

It has taken the hierarchy of the global church nearly three and a half decades to reach that level of honesty about itself.

Benedict's theology and exegesis in his latest letter aside, his analysis of the causes of the crisis — the turbulent 1960s, the sexual revolution, the various forces of modernity, the deficiencies in seminary training — would, if made the basis for understanding the scandal, turn the church back decades. Continue reading

• Image: Vatican News

His invitation is for young people all over the world.

Their views will add to those of young Catholics meeting in Rome next month. Read more

I won't bore you with the details of the innumerable battles, disagreements, and ecclesial crises that followed upon this text.

Suffice it to say that this short, pithily argued letter became a watershed in the post-conciliar Catholic Church and one of the most significant points of contention between liberals and conservatives.

Its fundamental contention is that the moral integrity of the sexual act is a function of the coming together of its "procreative and unitive" dimensions.

That is to say, sexual intercourse is ethically upright only in the measure that it is expressive of love between married partners and remains open to the conception of a child.

When, through a conscious choice, the partners introduce an artificial block to procreation—when, in a word, they separate the unitive and procreative finalities of the sexual act—they do something which is contrary to God's will.

Again, within the context of this brief article I won't detail the arguments for and against this position.

But I would like to draw particular attention to a remarkable passage in Humanae Vitae, namely section 17, in which Paul VI plays the prophet and lays out, clearly and succinctly, what he foresees as consequences of turning away from the Church's classic teaching on sex.

Though he is convinced that artificial contraception is morally bad in itself, he's also persuaded that it would, in the long run, adversely affect general societal attitudes regarding sex.

Here is a first observation:

"Let them consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards.

"Not much experience is needed to be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings—and especially the young, who are so exposed to temptation—need incentives to keep the moral law, and it is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break that law." Continue reading

Sources

• The Catholic World Report, article by Bishop Robert Barron, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
• Image:

Read 13 humorous Papal quotes.

Those who will be looking up on the path of totality, where the eclipse is best visible, will watch as the light turns gradually dimmer, until suddenly it will be night.

The stars will once again be visible and birds will roost, animals will think it's nighttime and the air will get cooler.

Even colors will change, adopting an eerie quality because the light will be coming from the sun's corona, the aura of plasma that surrounds stars, which has a different spectral distribution from normal sunlight.

"It's really an extraordinary sight," said Jesuit Father Paul Mueller, administrative vice director at the Vatican observatory, one of the oldest astronomical research institutions in the world.

"You can see why - at a time when people did not understand the cause of an eclipse - to suddenly and unpredictably have darkness come in the middle of the day was a frightening and disturbing thing," he told Crux.

The movements of celestial bodies have long fascinated and frightened humanity, and people have often tried to decipher hidden messages in the sky.

Over the centuries, astrologers and fortunetellers were in high demand in the courts of emperors, kings and even popes. I

t's also part of the Christ story, as it was a prophecy by astrologers foretelling the birth of a new king that led Herod to launch the massacre of the innocents.

As far as eclipses are concerned, they're also part of papal history.

In 1628, Pope Urban VIII was staying at the Quirinal Palace near the Vatican with one main concern on his mind: His imminent death. Continue reading

Sources

• Crux article by editorial assistant Claire Giangravè
• Image: timeanddate.com

"The boys' willingness to come in the first place is a sign of a certain interior disposition to follow a path of faith," said Monsignor Joseph Murphy, spiritual assistant for the association.

The Allievi Group, started in 2010, belongs to the Association of Saints Peter and Paul, which was formed by Pope Paul VI in 1971 after the Palatine Guard of Honor was dissolved.

The association, located in the Apostolic Palace, answers directly to the Secretary of State and was assigned to serve and give life to young people.

"This is a new departure for the Vatican," said Msgr. Murphy.

There is no other group like it inside the Vatican. It offers a complete integral formation for the human person after confirmation.

Their mission is to educate young men, ensuring spiritual, intellectual and human formation, and to cultivate service in their daily lives with the unique opportunity to serve the pope.

"We are not a school, we are a spiritual path," says Andrea Barvi, vice supervisor of the Allievi group and former student.

Every Sunday starts with Mass at 9:00 a.m. in the chapel of the association. From there they have two hours of classes related to religious formation, liturgical service and cultural formation.

"I'm surprised to see the pilgrimage of men my age come to the Vatican and to see this faith in them," said Lorenzo Fantori, 19, a second-year student.

The group gives equal importance and time to catechesis, sports, cultural excursions and most importantly, service. This is emphasized as the first and critical step for the young men to learn the value of service in life.

"We don't teach a class, we teach how you can live your life, with our first example being Jesus Christ," said Barvi. Continue reading

Source and Image

• National Catholic Register article by Rachel Lanz, who currently teaches English at a K-12 Catholic school in Valencia, Spain.

One example is the idea of papal infallibility. Many assume the doctrine requires Catholics to hold that the Pope makes no mistakes.

But the actual terms of papal infallibility is narrowly defined. So much so that it hardly ever applies. In fact, there are only two papal statements that all theologians agree meet the criteria.

One is the Immaculate Conception of Mary. The other concerns her assumption into Heaven.

Without getting into a theological debate, there are other statements that might qualify. But these are subject to debate. And, despite the papacy being 2000 years old, there are precious few of them.

So if the Pope predicts good weather for the weekend, it's no sin to pack an umbrella just in case.

Nor are Catholics obliged to go along with the Pope's musings on economics or science. In such matters, he works from imperfect knowledge (as do we all).

The socialist playwright George Bernard Shaw seems to have understood this. Though no fan of the Catholic Church, he characterised the doctrine as relating only to "certain historical matters on which he has clearly more sources of information open to him than anyone else".

He observed that, compared to "our infallible democracies, our infallible medical councils, or infallible astronomers, our infallible judges, our infallible parliaments the Pope is on his knees in the dust confessing his ignorance before the throne of God…"

If he was writing that today, Shaw would have added "fact check" websites to his list of modern infallibles. The events of last week show why.

As we know, the United States fired around 60 missiles into Syria as retaliation for the Assad regime's bombing of Khan Shaykhun.

The World Health Organisation and others say the regime used sarin gas in the assault on the town. The US government says the use of chemical weapons called for a military response.

But how can this be? After all, Syria agreed to surrender its entire stockpile of chemical weapons in 2013.

A year later John Kerry, then Secretary of State, claimed that "we struck a deal where we got 100 percent of the chemical weapons out". Continue reading

• Liam Hehir is a Senior Associate practising law, and writes opinion pieces for Fairfax Media.

The talk - a surprise for all in the audience - recapitulated the key themes of the Argentinian pope's view of the human person: We are all related and interconnected; scientific and technological progress must not be disconnected from social justice and care for the neighbor; and that the world needs tenderness.

I am a scholar of modern Catholicism and its relations with the world of today. From my perspective, there are two essential elements of this talk that are important to understand: the message of the pope and his use of the media.

Emphasizing Catholic social teaching
The message of the pope delivered in nontheological language for a larger audience comes at a time of extreme individualization of our lives. What the pope focused on is the Catholic social teaching of the "common good."

The principle of common good, as described by the Vatican, indicates "the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily."

This principle proposes a society "that wishes and intends to remain at the service of the human being at every level," to have its primary goal in the "good of all people and of the whole person."

For the human person cannot find fulfillment in himself, that is, apart from the fact that he exists "with" others and "for" others."

In fact, there is nothing new about what the pope is teaching, except that he is talking among others to Catholics who have lost the sense of the common good and its importance.

The recent debates among Catholic politicians about the repeal of health care reform is an example of this.

The plan to repeal "Obamacare" included the undermining of the Affordable Care Act's essential benefits, requirements and protections for people with preexisting conditions: a proposal of the Republican Party under the leadership of House Speaker Paul Ryan, a politician who has never hidden his Catholic faith. Continue reading

• Massimo Faggiolini is Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Villanova University.

But something has largely been neglected. It is the reception of the pope's focus on synodality and its importance for the Church in the world today.

The day after Easter marked one-and-a-half years since Francis gave one of his most important speeches to explain the need for a synodal Catholic Church.

"The world in which we live, and which we are called to love and serve, even with its contradictions, demands that the Church strengthen cooperation in all areas of her mission," the pope said on October 17, 2015.

"It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium," he insisted.

Then the pope described the three levels of synodality. The first level is that of the local Church. The second is the level of ecclesiastical provinces and regions, particular councils and, in a special way, conferences of bishops. And the third level is that of the universal Church.

Francis concluded the speech by emphasizing the relevance of the synodal dimension of the Church for today's world.

"Our gaze also extends to humanity as a whole," he said.

"A synodal Church is like a standard lifted up among the nations (cf. Is 11:12) in a world which - while calling for participation, solidarity, and transparency in public administration - often consigns the fate of entire peoples to the grasp of small but powerful groups," he stressed.

"As a Church which ‘journeys together' with men and women, sharing the travails of history, let us cherish the dream that a rediscovery of the inviolable dignity of peoples and of the function of authority as service will also be able to help civil society to be built up in justice and fraternity, and thus bring about a more beautiful and humane world for coming generations," the pope added. Continue reading

Sources

• La Croix International article by Massimo Faggioli, a Church historian, Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Villanova University (Philadelphia).
• Image: National Catholic Reporter

Four years later, "La Croix" asks four individuals to give their perspectives on what changes the Pope has brought about in their particular domains.

"A real encouragement of our activities"

Sylvie Bukhari-de Pontual, president of the French NGO, CCFD (The Catholic Community against Hunger and for Development) - Terre Solidaire

At the beginning of November, we had some wonderfully worthwhile discussions with Pope Francis during the Third World Meeting of Popular Movements in Rome.

What I found particularly striking was how at ease and happy he is with poor people. He evidently feels at home among them. He is convinced that the poor must be agents of their own destiny.

We have worked for years to bring about profound changes in society. The Pope's actions - his writings, for example - are truly encouraging for us.

We feel that we are being heard within the Church, especially since his encyclical Laudato si'.

This is the first time that we have felt so supported and encouraged since the encyclical Populorum Progressio, which was the source of CCFD's creation in 1961.

Laudato si' brings new elements to the social doctrine of the Church, re-conceptualizing the link between nature and the creation.

For the Pope, what matters is not only the concern for future generations but also the dignity of each person.

The Holy Father frequently and severely criticizes the free market economic system. He warns against corruption. He speaks strongly against Europe's increasing resistance to the acceptance of migrants.

In his Ash Wednesday homily, the Pope asks us to be joyful. We hold this dear to our hearts. Continue reading

Sources

• La Croix
• Image: Crux

The big deal was the under-reported U.S. Regional World Meeting of Popular Movements (WMPM) that recently gathered (Feb. 16-19) in Modesto, Calif.

Drawing together hundreds of faith-based and social justice organizers from across the United States and the world, the WMPM focused on the themes of "land, labor and lodging," along with immigration and racial issues (http://popularmovements.org/).

Sponsored in part by the Vatican's department of Integral Human Development and U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the WMPM in California was the first such regional gathering to follow three previous international meetings.

In 2014 Pope Francis convened the first-ever World Meeting of Popular Movements at the Vatican to address the basic need of everyone for adequate land, housing and work (http://bit.ly/2mdiMnK).

In a letter read to participants at the recent U.S. Regional WMPM in California, Pope Francis said, "It makes me very happy to see you working together towards social justice! How I wish that such constructive energy would spread to all dioceses, because it builds bridges between peoples and individuals. These are bridges that can overcome the walls of exclusion, indifference, racism and intolerance."

In Francis' call to dioceses to build bridges that overcome societal and economic injustices, it's important to note that those bridges need to be built on the solid foundation of Catholic social teaching - unfortunately our best kept secret.

Sadly, many Catholics - clergy and laity alike - view Catholic social teaching as a minor sub-topic of Catholicism. On the contrary, the social doctrine of the Catholic Church is nonnegotiable. It is an extremely important, absolute central part of Catholic teaching (see: http://www.catholicsocialteaching.org.uk/principles/).

Therefore, it is essential for every diocese and parish to finally make a firm commitment to learn about, pray over, and live out Catholic social teaching.

Then the essential bridges between peoples and individuals Pope Francis is calling us to construct, will be built on solid rock like that of the wise man in the Gospel whom Jesus praises for building his house on firm ground, so that when the storms came, the house stood strong.

And make no mistake about it, when we courageously stand with the poor and vulnerable, the evil one together with the violent forces of "the world" will mount a powerful storm against us. But if we are anchored firmly in the Gospel, and Gospel-based Catholic social teaching, we too will stand strong within the invincible armor of God!

Continuing his remarks to the U.S. Regional WMPM the Holy Father said, "I am speaking of a system that causes enormous suffering to the human family, simultaneously assaulting people's dignity and our common home in order to sustain the invisible tyranny of money that only guarantees the privileges of a few."

No mere window dressing will fix this immoral mess. The entire money-hungry, greed-driven system needs to be dismantled and replaced with an economic system that places human beings - every human being - above money and things.

Turning to the environment, Pope Francis warns that "The ecological crisis is real. A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system. … Let us not fall into denial. …

"There are fundamentalist and violent individuals in all peoples and religions - and with intolerant generalizations they become stronger because they feed on hate and xenophobia.

"By confronting terror with love, we work for peace."

• Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated social justice and peace columnist. He is available to speak at diocesan or parish gatherings about Catholic social teaching. His keynote address, "Advancing the Kingdom of God in the 21st Century," has been well received by diocesan and parish gatherings from Santa Clara, Calif. to Baltimore, Md. Tony can be reached at tmag@zoominternet.net

A youthful pope is in the job because the other cardinals hope to manipulate him, particularly the superficially cheerful Secretary of State.

But Pius XIII, Lenny Belardo, makes it clear early on that he will be his own man.

He brings in the nun who raised him, played by Diane Keaton, to be his primary aide and proves himself to be a fearsome and Machiavellian figure.

"Some Catholics may find elements of the show too edgy, but I was gripped by what I watched," said he Catholic Herald reviewer.

When the first episode aired on Italian television, it was a huge hit, and received the highest rating ever for the first episode of a Sky drama.

The series has received five-star reviews, in the USA and in the UK Read Catholic Herald review

Many Catholics are rightly upset about the scandalous anti-Catholic new HBO show called "The Young Pope."

But Hollywood has been attacking the Church for years. I went back and looked up some movies in which the pope and the Church were portrayed. What I came up with was not encouraging. Continue reading

Last month, Pope Francis had an inspirational message for the laity, "Dare to dream!". I am energised by his words because they reminded me why I left everything to follow Christ.

Five years ago, I asked myself, "How can I help ensure that the next generation of Catholics find the Church in a stronger, more dynamic and vibrant state than it is in now?"

I was shocked by what my generation had inherited. I was in my late 20s, and throughout those first three decades of my life, it seemed like I had grown up in a Church blighted by one crisis and scandal after another.

Also, with each passing year, I had seen the number of Mass attendees dwindle, while the majority of my friends no longer practicing the faith. I was usually the youngest adult attending Mass on Sunday, and, looking at the average age around me, I wondered what I could do.

After much prayer and reflection, I quit my comfortable job in technology consulting, along with all its benefits, to work for the Catholic Church in London as a fundraiser. Fundraising seemed like a good fit for me, as I was already comfortable with topics such as money, finance and budgets.

I also had a deep affinity for how young Jesus was when he started his mission. He left his work as a carpenter to carry out the mission of spreading the Good News.

Since then, there have been days when I have struggled with my new career as a fundraiser. It is hard to operate within a branch of the Church (money-gathering) which has frequently been riddled with greediness, mismanagement and bad press. I, however, do not regret my decision for one moment.

During my time as a Catholic fundraiser, I have learned what it takes to follow a vocation as a layman within the Church, and I am ecstatic to have left my career to take the narrow path. On this road, I have been successful at raising funds for dioceses, parishes, charities, individuals and religious orders, helping them grow in zeal and prominence. Continue reading

• Brice Sokolowski is a Catholic Fundraiser, Development Officer, and Trainer.

As usual, this upset a few Catholics who have been muttering that this upstart Argentine Jesuit is selling the family silver. Amongst some malcontents, you might even hear demands for his resignation, so exasperated are they with press reports in which he appears to contradict or weaken traditional Catholic teaching.

And this is just the latest controversy. The long list of surprises that the Pope has sprung on his faithful began in 2013 with his comment in an airborne press conference: "If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, well, who am I to judge them?" Those words have been quoted so often that they have defined his Papacy.

Well, I'm a fan of Pope Francis and I don't think that there is anything to worry about. Perhaps he should get a new press secretary, but his Catholic critics shouldn't get their knickers in a knot. Here are seven reasons why.

1. THE POPE IS often badly misreported. Take his recent comment about gays.

We Christians have to apologize for so many things, not just for this [treatment of gays], but we must ask for forgiveness. … I think that the Church not only should apologize … to a gay person whom it offended, but it must also apologize to the poor as well, to the women who have been exploited, to children who have been exploited by [being forced to] work. It must apologize for having blessed so many weapons."

He clearly said "we Christians", meaning us individuals, not the Catholic Church as the teacher of truths revealed by Christ. Doesn't that make sense? If I have ever slighted a homosexual, I ought to apologise for my lack of charity. But what the Pope did not do and had no intention of doing was apologising for the Catholic view that homosexual acts (not persons) are "intrinsically disordered". Continue reading

• Michael Cook is the editor of BioEdge, a newsletter about bioethics, and MercatorNet.