A new wind is blowing at the extraordinary synod of bishops on the family nbsp A wind that is bringing back lsquo the spirit rsquo and even lsquo the letter rsquo of the Second Vatican Council several synod fathers said nbsp It rsquo s a wind that reveals a clear desire for the Church to dia
Politics & Society
Posted inDispatches
Pope, in Unprecedented but Significant Decision, Adds Six Synod Fathers to Team that Writes Final Report
As the synod on the family reached the midway stage on a positive note Pope Francis took the unprecedented and highly significant decision to add six highly qualified synod fathers to the team that will write its Final Report nbsp That decision could prove to be a game changer At almost all of th
Posted inFeatures, Politics & Society
Our Bleeding Hearts: Seeking more mercy from the media
During my year in the United Kingdom I kept up obsessively with news of home. It is not a habit that is encouraged among students abroad, but I expected with the sort of headlines I followed I would not be missing much. How is it possible, I then reasoned, to read about controversial or troubling ev
Posted inDispatches
Three Ways to Streamline Annulment Process
One of the Vatican rsquo s top canon lawyers at the Synod of Bishops on the Family says the current process for the annulment of marriages in the Catholic Church could be streamlined and expanded to the benefit of very many people whose marriages have broken down This could be one of the positive f
Posted inDispatches
Synod Hears Calls for Church to Change its Language
The synod has just begun but there are already early signs that many aspects of church teaching and praxis are coming under scrutiny with demands for change including a change in the language it uses Seventy synod fathers spoke in the first 24 hours raising many issues including the need for the
Posted inDispatches
Pope Gives Bishops a Synod ‘Bill of Rights’
In a major break with past praxis almost 50 years after Paul VI first established the synod of bishops Pope Francis has given the synod fathers the key elements for synodality something akin to a bill of rights that creates a climate of freedom He did so at the start of the synod rsquo s first pl
Posted inDispatches
Marriage, Violence, the Synod and “Gone Girl”
This week the church rsquo s Extraordinary Synod on the Family begins its deliberations on ldquo the pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelization rdquo nbsp Coincidentally the weekend also saw the opening of ldquo Gone Girl rdquo one of the most provocative and disturbi
Posted inPolitics & Society
Paul Ryan: We can do better in the fight against poverty
Paul Ryan: There is a lot of untapped potential in this country; I have seen it firsthand.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Regensburg Redux: Was Pope Benedict XVI Right About Islam?
Eight years ago this Friday Sept 12 Pope Benedict XVI delivered a lecture at the University of Regensburg in Bavaria in which he seemed to diagnose Islam as a religion inherently flawed by fanaticism It was an undiplomatic assertion to say the least.
Posted inInterviews, Politics & Society
Israeli Jesuit Father David Neuhaus: The first step to peace in the Holy Land is ending the occupation
Escalating violence between Israel and Palestine has left at least 213 Palestinians and 12 people in Israel dead since the outbreak of hostilities on May 11. In 2014, we spoke to Israeli Jesuit Father David Neuhaus on the more than six decades of conflict in the Holy Land.