“In a time when the globalized economic and political order is crumbling—especially exposed during the Trump era—the church may well be one of the last stubborn institutions that still holds a truly global character.”
Asia
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Catholic Relief Services responds to Myanmar earthquake disaster
“Hospitals are overwhelmed, and people are sleeping out on the streets, anywhere they can, in fields and playgrounds and religious compounds.”
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Cardinal ‘Ambo’ David: ‘We’re not Catholic if we believe that God wants to save only Catholics’
“I think the synod is Francis’ way of concretizing his challenge to get [us] out of self-referentiality in the church, that we don’t just stick to our churchy language and deal only with fellow Catholics,” Cardinal David tells ‘America.’
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Interview: Why Cardinal ‘Ambo’ David received ‘a lot of death threats’ in Duterte’s Philippines
In an exclusive interview with Gerard O’Connell, Cardinal Pablo ‘Ambo’ David describes serving the poor in the Philippines during President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly war on drugs.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Exclusive: an interview with the cardinal-elect archbishop of Tokyo
When Archbishop Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi receives the red hat and cardinal’s ring from Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 7, he will be the seventh Japanese cardinal in the history of the Catholic Church.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Cardinal Chow: What the synod means for the church in Hong Kong and China
“In Hong Kong, we have our wounds that we need to heal,” Cardinal Stephen Chow, S.J., the bishop of Hong Kong, told America’s Vatican correspondent in this exclusive interview.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Does charitable giving have benefits for your health? This nonprofit is trying to find out.
The charitable nonprofit Unbound is currently seeking participants for a study on the health benefits of charitable giving.
Posted inPolitics & Society, The Weekly Dispatch
Sudan, Haiti and Myanmar suffering continues—but not on the front page
Focus on the fate of Israel, its hostages in Gaza and the people of Gaza and south Lebanon means that little attention is being paid to other continuing crises around the world—Sudan, Haiti, Myanmar among them.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
What Pope Francis’ visit meant to the people of Indonesia—Catholic and not
The people of Indonesia believe in gotong royong, literally, “joint bearing of burdens,” carrying something together, shoulder-to-shoulder. This ethos was lived to its fullest in the days of this holy visit.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis talks Gaza war, China deal, sex abuse and more on flight back to Rome
Will he visit Argentina? Why didn’t he denounce the death penalty in Singapore? Is he satisfied with the results of the Vatican-China deal? Pope Francis answered these questions and more on the flight back to Rome.