Religion
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We’re all – homosexuals included – created for greater things
In November the Church invites us to look at the bigger picture – life as we know it on earth is only part of a journey leading us to life everlasting. Faith helps us read events and situations from a different perspective, thus helping us face...
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Quotes and news
At the end of the 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, 58 concrete proposals were submitted by the bishops to Pope Benedict. These are an abridged version of some of them. Proposition 5: New Evangelisation is a time of awakening,...
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Pope urges return of ‘lukewarm’ Catholics
Pope Benedict, closing a gathering of bishops who discussed how to win back lapsed and lukewarm Catholics, on Sunday said the Church had to develop new ways of reaching out to those who had drifted from the faith. Pope Benedict, 85, said a solemn...
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Thirst for vision
Today’s readings: Jeremiah 31, 7-9; Hebrews 5, 1-6; Mark 10, 46-52. Scripture narrative always lends itself to symbolic interpretation. This means that although it was written centuries ago with specific reference to what Israel was going through at...
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Hildegard, recognition of a wise woman
Last May, Pope Benedict XVI canonised St Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) and earlier this month he declared her to be a doctor of the Church. Who was Hildegard, when did she live, what role did she play in the Church in her day? Why does it matter...
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Quotes and news
Excerpts from reports presented by the working groups of synod fathers of the 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. Parish and family The German working group reported: “The parish – or the ecclesial community – is the first...
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The alternative
Today’s readings: Isaiah 53, 10-11; Hebrews 4, 14-16; Mark 10, 35-45. Suffering was always portrayed in our catechisms and theologies as the outcome of sin and it fitted squarely in a logical framework which saw it as the price to be paid for sins...
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Anonymous letters
I received a phone call from a man whose heartbroken voice clearly showed me he was in pain. We arranged to meet so he could give vent to whatever was making his life a hell on earth. When he came he unexpectedly took out of his pocket a copy of my...
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Quotes and news
More quotes from the Synod of Bishops being held at the Vatican on The New Evangelisation for the Transmission of the Christian Faith. State’s Trojan horses Bishop Enrico Dal Covolo, rector of the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, said:...
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Lily of the Mohawks set to become a saint
The extraordinary story of a 17th-century Native American girl who cared for the elderly and sick and is now being honoured by the Pope A Mohawk woman tomorrow will become the first Native American to be canonised a Catholic saint, in a ceremony in...
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Facing interiority
Today’s readings: Wisdom 7, 7-11; Hebrews 4, 12-13; Mark 10, 17-30. Today’s readings should convince us all that we need an overhaul in our understanding of what Christian living is about. Many of us may still think Christian life in terms of...
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My wish list for the Year of Faith
The Year of Faith, which began last Thursday, can be a unique opportunity for us to rediscover the great gift of faith that has shaped our identity as Christians and as a nation. Some projects to celebrate it have already been publicised. I wish to...
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Quotes and news
The 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops was opened by Pope Benedict last Sunday. The synod’s theme is New Evangelisation for the Transmission of the Christian Faith. The following are extracts from different speeches delivered...
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Bishops blame ills for decline in believers
Top Catholic leaders have blamed a drop in believers on the Church’s closed and bureaucratic ways and hypocrisy in its ranks, as well as a hostile secularist society. Bishops gathered for a synod aimed at boosting the flagging Church and met Pope...
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Our true nature
Today’s readings: Genesis 2, 18-24; Hebrews 2, 9-11; Mark 10, 2-16. The statement in today’s gospel that Moses had allowed something simply because the people were un-teachable is very intriguing, to say the least. In his dispute with the Pharisees...
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In whose hands?
The newness brought about by Vatican Council II was very real. In last Sunday’s article I referred to Pope Paul VI’s address to the Roman Curia on the subject. The fortress model of the Church gave security. The windows opened on the world by the...
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Quotes and news
The Vatican’s semi-official newspaper L’Osservatore Romano has stated editorially that the Coptic papyrus fragment which seems to indicate that Jesus was married is “a fake”. The papyrus fragment was introduced by Karen King of Harvard University...
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Going global
Today’s readings: Numbers 11, 25-29; James 5, 1-6; Mk 9, 38-43.45.47-48. Celsus was a second century Greek philosopher and opponent of early Christianity. For him, the error of the Christians concerns not only what they think, but how they live.
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Hope for the Church
On October 11 the people of God will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s opening. Fifty years is a long time. Those old enough to have witnessed the event are getting fewer. Many younger people, including a number of...
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Quotes and news
Speaking to leaders of the Christian Democrat International Pope Benedict said: “The commitment to respecting life in all its phases from conception to natural end – and the consequent rejection of abortion, euthanasia and any form of eugenics – is,...
