Cathedrals and basilicas have become a part of urban culture and are fertile ground for creatively sharing the faith, as seen in Montreal’s Basilica of Notre-Dame.
Evangelization
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis urged priests to limit homilies to 10 minutes in a speech to religious in Slovakia
On his second day in Bratislava, Pope Francis called Slovakia “to be a message of peace in the heart of Europe” and the church to evangelize with “freedom, creativity, and dialogue.”
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
The Catholic Church wants air time in Zimbabwe. But the government is (still) saying no.
Zimbabwe’s broadcasting authorities promise to liberalize national media, but those concessions have not been extended to religious broadcasters at Catholic dioceses.
Posted inEditorials, Politics & Society
The Editors: Is it time for the U.S. to hold a plenary council?
What if we followed the example of the bishops of Germany, Australia, Ireland and elsewhere and called for a regional gathering of Catholics—from all corners of the local church—to discuss the flaws and future of evangelization?
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Remembering Janice McLaughlin, the Maryknoll sister who found freedom in the struggle for African liberation
Even as a child she sensed that Africa was her destiny, the roots of her mission vocation found in a fourth-grade geography textbook that pictured giraffes loping across the plain
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Catholics in Quebec are leaving the church in droves. Can reinventing parish life save it?
“A prophetic church like [the one sought by Pope Francis], highlighting social justice and solidarity with the destitute and the persecuted, has the potential of closing the chasm between the church and the modern, secular culture of Quebec.”
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis will miss three events this week due to painful sciatica
A flare-up of sciatica has caused Pope Francis to cancel several appearances in the coming days.
Posted inFaith, GoodNews
Pope Francis meets with the missionary priest freed after two years of captivity
Recalling his abduction and two-year captivity, Father Maccalli told Vatican News that during that time, “tears were my bread for many days and were my prayer when I didn’t know what to say.”
Posted inFaith, Features
The church is losing touch with working-class Catholics
Mass attendance and Catholic affiliation have been eroding steadily since the 1970s for all income brackets, but the sharpest decline has been among the two bottom economic quartiles.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Town rejoices as Italian missionary, other hostages freed in Mali
Archbishop Protase Rugambwa, secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, said the release of Father Maccalli as the church is preparing to celebrate World Mission Sunday Oct. 18 “is a great sign of hope for us, for Africa and for the universal church.”