“Having the most powerful political leader in the world and the greatest moral voice of our time talking together about climate change is extremely powerful.”
Dispatches
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
‘My gut tells me you can’t negotiate with these people’: Cardinal Dolan has concerns about Vatican-China dialogue
Dialogue is always preferable to confrontation, Cardinal Dolan said. ”[But] my gut also tells me that you can’t negotiate with these people. It could be extraordinarily counterproductive.”
Posted inDispatches, Faith
We contacted every diocese in the U.S. about their synod plans. Here’s what we found.
A team of America Media reporters contacted all 196 “particular churches” in the United States and was able to confirm the appointment of 62 local synod coordinators.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
The president of Ireland won’t attend a service marking 100 years of partition. Why not?
Even Queen Elizabeth II is expected to attend this week’s ecumenical “Service of Reflection and Hope.” So why has the president of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, turned down his invitation?
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Report: Many women serve as ‘de facto deacons.’ Does the church recognize their gifts?
Even though women make up more than half of U.S. Catholics and 80 percent of lay ecclesial ministers, a new report found that Catholic women still struggle to have their contributions recognized.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
El Salvador’s death squads have new targets but continue their bloody work
El Salvador’s contemporary death squads do not engage in political liquidation. Their targets have largely been criminal suspects or innocent bystanders caught up in the violence.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Joe Biden to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican on Oct. 29
Biden’s Vatican meeting comes just a couple of weeks before U.S. bishops are expected to vote on a controversial document that could take aim at pro-choice Catholic politicians.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
A Franciscan sister joins the fight for Indigenous rights in Brazil
In a region of vast distances, weak infrastructure and a relatively small number of priests, religious and laywomen like Sister Laura are the mainstay of Catholic spirituality.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
The pandemic has made Americans more aware of others’ needs. The result? More charitable giving.
A likely increase in 2021 charitable giving is being driven by two factors: increasing financial security and a “heightened sense of people’s needs in the philanthropic marketplace” because of the continuing Covid-19 crisis.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Engaging the next generation of Catholic philanthropists will mean leaning into the church’s social justice tradition
Catholic ministries face an uncertain financial future as religiosity decreases among younger Americans—including, perhaps, descendants of prominent Catholic philanthropic leaders.