With church leaders slated to meet in October for the next phase of the Synod on Synodality, the bishops conferences of the U.S. and Canada released a report summarizing the virtual meetings conducted with lay and ordained Catholics earlier this year.
Dispatches
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Recap: Joe Biden goes to Ireland for serious diplomacy—and a family reunion
Mr. Biden’s visit is not just a symbolic endorsement of the Good Friday Agreement. The future of the accords has been thrown into doubt by the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union via its Brexit vote.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
A new Catholic ministry brings the Eucharist to survivors of sexual abuse
Starting in March 2023, victims of sexual abuse in Saint Paul-Minneapolis who still wish to receive the Eucharist but find it too traumatic to enter a church can have the sacrament brought to them.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
When a Catholic diocese goes bankrupt, does it help or hurt sex abuse survivors?
Defenders of bankruptcy say it gives organizations a fair way to distribute assets to those seeking compensation. Some critics argue that the process allows church leaders to hide assets, especially real estate.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Looking toward holy days, turmoil in Israel over Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul causes concern
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have been coming out into the streets for the past three months in escalating pro-democracy protests against the most politically and religiously extreme right-wing government Israel has ever had.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Trump chose Waco for his first major 2024 rally. The author of the Waco siege report sees disturbing parallels.
Former Missouri senator John Danforth said he has revisited his 1999 report since learning about the Trump rally in Waco and noticed similarities between the rhetoric of Mr. Trump and the conspiracy theorists of the 1990s.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Report from Honduras: Protest over suspected murder stops traffic in femicide capital of Latin America
The protest was organized by women’s advocates and the family, friends and neighbors of Ana Lizeth Hernández, a 33-year-old woman who died of a gunshot wound to the head in her home on March 19.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Nancy Pelosi talks abortion, health care, women’s ordination and prayer at Georgetown University
Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi cited the Gospel of Matthew as the motivation for her focus on social justice issues and said that U.S. bishops have focused too narrowly on abortion at the expense of other societal challenges.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Report from Honduras: Catholic agencies work to fight climate change and a hunger crisis
In Honduras, persistent drought can devastate crops and unexpected rains can flood fields and produce landslides.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Do Catholics care about climate change?
A recent Pew survey found that overall Catholics show a higher degree of worry about the impact of climate change than other Christian denominations, but the issue appears to divide U.S. Catholics along the same political and racial lines as within the wider public.