The prime minister’s speech at the start of Pope Francis’ visit was one of the most pointed ever directed at the pope during a foreign trip and underscored just how raw the abuse scandal still is in Belgium.
Europe
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis praises Luxembourg’s culture of welcome, ‘open doors’ to migrants
During a brief visit to Luxembourg, Pope Francis recalled the nation’s painful history and lauded its welcome to immigrants, encouraging its people “to be faithful to this legacy.”
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
What to expect during Pope Francis’ visit to Luxembourg and Belgium
Pope Francis is expected to speak about war and peace, the migrant crisis, ecology, secularization and the sexual abuse of minors by clergy.
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
How Jacques Maritain went from antisemite to Catholic champion of the Jewish people
The intertwined stories of Jacques Maritain and ‘Nostra Aetate’ underscore the need for Christians, now more than ever, to repudiate and combat antisemitism.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
The E.U. migration crisis’s latest challenge: the plight of unaccompanied children
On Spain’s Canary Islands, arrivals of unaccompanied migrants are on track to reach a historic high this year, and caring for the migrant youth has become politically contentious.
Posted inPolitics & Society, The Weekly Dispatch
U.K. Catholics denounce anti-migrant violence following deadly attack on Taylor Swift-themed dance class
Rioting was sparked by a knife attack at a dance studio in Southport on July 29. Three children were killed and other children and adults injured and seriously wounded.
Posted inArts & Culture, Dispatches
Reclaiming faith’s place in culture: A celebration of sacred art joins Edinburgh’s festival season
The Edinburgh Festival of the Sacred Arts seeks to reclaim a place for Christian faith in human culture and put faith back into the festival season.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
The Paris Olympics ‘Last Supper,’ the French Revolution and punching down on a Catholic minority
The display at the Olympics was not innocent fun gone too far or Europeans just being artsy. It was bullying a minority.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
I sympathize with the Olympics Last Supper outrage. But save some for the world’s more serious Christian persecution.
The half-hearted “sorry if people were offended” apologies have been Olympian exercises in gaslighting, but I find myself wishing that the Christian community reserved some of that righteousness for more legitimate experiences of persecution.
Posted inFaith, News
Paris Olympics opening ceremony denounced by bishops and Catholics globally for mocking Christianity
The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games—a sports festival aimed to unite all nations of the world—created shock and disbelief instead as Catholics around the world felt offended by the parody of the Last Supper, which was part of the opening ceremony.