Celestine V resigned from the papacy in 1294, the last pope to do so voluntarily before Benedict XVI. Francis, in his homily, praised him for this gesture of humility.
Dispatches
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Popes rarely intervene in authoritarian politics. Nicaraguans want Pope Francis to make an exception.
For critics of the first Latin American pope, Francis’ recent expression of concern about the crackdown on Catholics in Nicaragua was too little too late.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
In Asia and the Amazon, the synod gives voice to Catholics on the margins
As the diocesan phase of the synod ended on Aug. 15, America touched base with some well-informed sources for insight into how the synod has gone so far in the Amazon region and Asia.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Jesuits pledged $100 million in reparations for sale of enslaved persons. Descendants say progress has been too slow.
Last year, the Jesuits pledged to raise $100 million to support the work of the Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Foundation. Yet, according to Joseph M. Stewart, the president of the foundation, progress has been far too slow.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Catholic Relief Services C.E.O. on the alarming signs of our times: hunger, drought and war
Sean Callahan, president and C.E.O. of Baltimore-based Catholic Relief Services, returned last month from tours and consultations with C.R.S. partners in Ukraine, Ghana and Ethiopia.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
‘Beyond Bad Apples’: A new report explores how clericalism is shaped by sex, gender and power
“Rather than describing clericalism as an individual reality—a problem of ‘bad apples’—this study maps clericalism as a structural reality shaped by the interaction of three forces: sex, gender, and power,” the authors write.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
In South Africa’s synodal process, lay enthusiasm is often met with gatekeeping from priests
Bruce Botha, S.J., said one notable achievement of the synodal process was that many people who experienced themselves on the margins of the church felt that they were heard.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
While Pope Francis apologizes in Canada, tribal leaders suspend Christian missions at Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota
After a brochure that demonized traditions of the Oglala Lakota Sioux people was handed out to young people, tribal leaders took action, approving an ordinance that curtails Christian missions at Pine Ridge.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Newfoundland church sales bring justice to abuse victims—and leave longtime parishioners in need of a new spiritual home.
A group of elderly survivors of abuse at Newfoundland’s Mount Cashel Orphanage are finally receiving compensation ordered by a landmark ruling in 2020 that went against the Archdiocese of St. John’s.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Are Latino Catholics really becoming more pro-choice?
A new poll found that 75 percent of Hispanic Catholics say abortion should be legal in “most or all cases.” But interviews with community and faith leaders suggest more nuance, and more ambivalence, among Latinos.