Religion
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Things hoped for
Today’s readings: Acts 1, 1-11; Ephesians 1, 17-23; Luke 24, 46-53. The ascension of our Lord points to the hope his call holds for us and to the rich glories he has promised. Till this is verified, we have to journey a long way and clouds of all...
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Blast of death
On his election, Pope Francis said in no uncertain terms that the Church must not forget the poor. He also stressed the responsibility of Christians to protect the natural environment. Both are intimately interlinked. Even a casual or indifferent...
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Quotes and news
Ireland’s bishops are strongly opposing proposed legislation aimed at legalising abortion in cases when it was considered that the health of the mother could be at risk. The bishop said the Protection of Life during Pregnancy act was a “dramatic...
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Pope to visit Brazil slum on first trip
Pope Francis will visit the poor in a favela and meet young prisoners when he travels to Brazil on his first international trip as pontiff in July, the Vatican said yesterday. Pope Francis, who has said he wants to make concern for the poor a...
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Ability to surprise
Today’s readings: Acts 15, 1-2.22-29; Apocalypse 21, 10-14.22-23; John 14, 23-29. Very often we speak of the need to go back to the sources and to the early Church. The reason is not nostalgia but the need to rediscover the Church as it was meant to...
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Great things happening
The God of surprises seems to have been very much at work during the last conclave. The surprises were of two kinds: the person who was chosen as Pope – Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio seems to have been on nobody’s shortlist, and the style of the...
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Quotes and news
As the city council of Toronto, Canada, debated whether to approve a major new casino, a pastoral letter by Cardinal Thomas Collins was published in which he wrote: “Gambling is inherently based on illusion – on promoting the fantasy that it is an...
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God’s project
Today’s readings: Acts 14, 11-27; Apocalypse 21, 1-5; John 13, 31-35. Very often today we feel lost as to where our identity as Christian believers stands. We readily acknowledge that we live in a pluralist society and culture, we believe in the...
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Living fraternally as one Maltese family
The Labour Party’s victory in the general election augurs well not only for the smooth democractic running of the country but also because it was a decisive step towards recognising that we Maltese are, before everything else, brothers and sisters...
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Quotes and news
Archbishop Ramon Arguelles of Lipa, The Philippines, plans to inform voters which political candidates the archdiocese favours in the country’s May 13 elections. He said people were asking for guidance. This will not be given in the form of...
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New pastures
Today’s readings: Acts 13, 14.43-52; Apocalypse 7, 9.14-17; Jn 10, 27-30. The real decline of the Church is not when the numbers of those who attend Mass or belong to it goes down but when it becomes a closed entity, with secure boundaries and rigid...
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Life: a gift and an option
Life is a gift. But, once received, it becomes an option. As Easter people, Christians are called to make life a joyful option. Because they love it, they choose it. Because it is fragile, they defend and protect it. Because it is precious, they...
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Quotes and news
An item in this column last Sunday referred to Archbishop of Detroit Allen Vigneron’s statement that Catholic politicians in favour of legalising same-sex marriage should not receive Communion. Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, a retired auxiliary bishop in...
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Resourceful people
Today’s readings: Acts 5, 27-32.40-41; Apocalypse 5, 11-14; John 21, 1-19. Resurrection is the opposite pole of a fatalistic conception of life. Even as believers, we often behave as fatalists when trapped in the unfolding of adversity in life. It...
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Pope Francis and a faith that does justice
The period from December 1974 to March 1975 were crucial times for the Society of Jesus. More than 230 Jesuit delegates from around the world met in Rome for a General Chapter, called by the charismatic Superior General of the Jesuits Fr Pedro...
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Quotes and news
“It is our presumption that they wish to draw out some financial assistance from abroad without conceding their pride or self-esteem.” This is how Bishop Peter Kang U-Il, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, described North...
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Pope Francis to review Vatican bureaucracy, scandal-ridden bank
Pope Francis, who wants the Catholic Church to be a model of austerity and honesty, could restructure or even close the Vatican’s scandal-ridden bank as part of a broad review of its troubled bureaucracy. Having inherited a Church mired in scandals...
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Sensing his presence
Today’s readings: Acts 5, 12-16; Apocalypse 1, 9-13.17-19; John 20, 19-31. On this Sunday immediately following Easter, the Scriptures narrate how in the early stages of the development of the Christian faith, believers in Jesus Christ continued to...
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Ratzinger’s legacy
When interviewed by Peter Seewald on August 15, 1996, Joseph Ratzinger said: “The words of the Bible and of the Church Fathers rang in my ears, those sharp condemnations of shepherds who are like mute dogs; in order to avoid conflicts, they let the...
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Quotes and news
In a series of decrees approved by Pope Francis, the Vatican has proclaimed 65 new martyrs, all from the 20th century. The martyrs come from Spain, Romania, Germany, Hungary and Italy. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints also approved a...
