The Good Word

The First Readings for the Thursday and Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter continue with Acts 15 7-31 The issue of whether all Christians including Gentiles should follow the Mosaic Law was raised in Acts 15 1-6 Only ldquo after there had been much nbsp debate 15 7 rdquo did Peter state t

Today rsquo s first reading details a moment in the early days of the young church in a way both vivid and stylized Those reading the daily lectionary will have an even sharper sense of the unfolding of events from Acts of the Apostles The material is action-packed easy to appreciate Among its f

I raised the issue of institutional change in the Church in a recent post The major problem with respect to change is the tensions it raises at the level of Church teaching – is this an issue where change can be envisioned or is this a part of the sacred deposit of faith a revealed truth a doctri

The readings for the Fifth Sunday of Easter wake us up once again to the perennial truth and current application of Scripture nbsp Acts 14 21-27 takes place just after Paul and Barnabas had left Lystra and Derbe if ldquo left rdquo is the proper description of how Paul was escorted out of Ly

There is an important article by Joseph Bottum at The Weekly Standard com on the recent ldquo odd hysteria rdquo that is the media rsquo s response and role in the recent and revived claims regarding sexual abuse by priests and cover-ups of this abuse by some in the Church rsquo s leadership Th

Last week I posted excerpts of Father Robert Beloin s homily on the sexual abuse crisis in hopes that the resources of Scripture could be a fruitful resource for reflecting on the church s problems today This week we offer another homily for your reflection this one from Father Michael Ryan of th

3 How do we allow the Church to meet the standards that Jesus set for it in the treatment and reception of children All I can do as an individual Catholic is propose ideas imperfect though they may be for change that will serve the most vulnerable amongst us as Jesus intended I should be clear

2 We need to return to the source The mission of the Church was outlined by Jesus and we must listen to Jesus with renewed care The elements of the Church rsquo s mission with which I am concerned are a Jesus rsquo teachings on how his disciples should utilize power and authority b the partic

Some of you may be aware of the Talking Heads song ldquo Once In A Lifetime rdquo in which David Byrne sings the refrain ldquo same as it ever was same as it ever was same as it ever was rdquo over and over nbsp I sometimes get the sense that many members of the Church clerics and laity

When we launched The Good Word a few years ago we hoped it would be a place to meditate on events in the news in light of Scripture For Catholics the news these days focuses largely on the church itself so it seems fitting to take up the issue of the sexual abuse crisis on this blog as John W