I am left to wonder if national identity leads many to put country before God, and to see papal teaching as pious sentiment rather than an authentic expression of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the world today.
War and Peace
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Palm Sunday: Cardinal Pizzaballa blocked by Israeli police from Holy Sepulchre as Pope Leo denounces war in Rome
For the first time in centuries, the Christian leaders in Jerusalem, including Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch, were prevented by Israeli police from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem to celebrate the Palm Sunday Mass.
Posted inShort Take
Praying for good news about the war in Iran
Since the war began nearly four weeks ago, I have found myself checking headlines hourly. I brace for bad news, but hope for something good.
Posted inShort Take
Bombing civilians in Iran to spare soldiers violates moral and international law
The principle of sparing civilian lives is a cornerstone of international law. And the hatred caused by the killing of noncombatants jeopardizes long-term peace.
Posted inCatholic Book Club
‘Your homework is to tell someone you love them today’: Colman McCarthy’s lessons in peace
Colman McCarthy, who died on Feb. 27 at the age of 87, had a well-deserved reputation for seeking out the underdogs in life—as well as for his determined lifelong stands against war, capital punishment, homelessness and the other seamy sides of contemporary capitalism.
Posted inPodcasts
Pope Leo is using every way possible to advocate peace
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Gerard O’Connell and Colleen Dulle discuss Pope Leo’s consistent statements pushing for peace and an end to armed conflicts worldwide. In the second part of the show, Colleen and Gerry unpack a few brief stories including Pope Leo receiving the Liberty Medal from the National Constitution Center, his new home in the apostolic palace and the Vatican’s appeals court’s decision for a partial re-trial in the “Trial of the Century.”
Posted inShort Take
The Trump administration treats war like a video game
Crude memes about attacking Iran hint at a deeper connection between video games and the desensitizing features of modern warfare.
Posted inNews
Cardinal Pizzaballa: Using God’s name to justify war is ‘the gravest sin’
Speaking via video link from Jerusalem at a March 15 webinar organized by the International Oasis Foundation, Cardinal Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, warned against what he described as “pseudo-religious language.”
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo to warring nations in the Middle East: ‘Cease fire!’
In an address to thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square at midday on Sunday, March 15, Pope Leo called for a ceasefire in the war in the Middle East.
Posted inThe Weekly Dispatch
Archbishop Warda on Iran war: A refuge for Christians in Iraq is now under threat
A painful irony today is that Erbil—once a refuge for displaced Christian families—has become one of the Iraqi cities most frequently exposed to missile and drone attacks as war between U.S.-Israel and Iran continues.