In a recent meeting in Rome with the International Theological Commission, Pope Francis spoke in an impromptu fashion, stating that “one of the great sins we have witnessed is ‘masculinizing’ of the Church... The Church is woman, and if we cannot understand what a woman is… we will never understand the Church... This is the job I ask of you, please: demasculinize the Church.”
When Pope Francis in 2019 declared the late Hungarian Cardinal József Mindszenty venerable, a step on the path to recognized sainthood, it marked long overdue recognition of the near-forgotten 20th-century shepherd’s Christian virtue. Earlier this year, Ignatius Press republished the Cardinal’s out-of-print Memoirs. This would be a worthy addition to reading lists over the holidays or in the coming new year.
Verbatim: Statement on the persecution of Christians from the CCCB
A statement on the persecution of Christians from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace.
Pope Benedict XVI resigned the papacy in a state of nervous exhaustion. Cardinal Pell died during routine surgery after imprisonment for a crime he did not commit. Cardinal Zen is languishing in a prison in Communist China. Bishop Strickland was stripped of his governance of Tyler, Texas.
The Vatican’s surprise — some might say bombshell — declaration that “irregular” domestic partnerships can be blessed by Catholic clergy will be welcomed like a Christmas gift by advocates and beneficiaries.
It’s Advent — that special time of year when sleighbells ring, chestnuts roast and Christians of different persuasions argue about when to begin celebrating Christmas. Many Catholics adhere to the idea that one ought not decorate or sing Christmas carols before the Christmas liturgical season begins on Dec. 24. There’s only one problem with this: it presumes we ever stopped.
I have been sitting in my living room in the dark evenings lit up by the Christmas tree. I am fumbling with a fiddle, coaxing my fingers to play the notes of folk tunes and Christmas carols. This fall, the world seems particularly weary, beauty weighted with a complicated mix of war and worries. And I sing quietly along in my head one of my favourite lines: “A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.”
Learn to do good; seek justice.
Isaiah: 1: 17
I am not a social justice scholar. Nor am I an expert in the field of health care. I was invited recently, however, to be part of a forum on Catholic health care to define the concept of social justice, especially as it emerges within the Catholic intellectual tradition and Catholic social teaching. This tradition, not surprisingly, heavily informs the values and practices that we see manifested in the health care system.
Verbatim: The Gospel according to Luke
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. And everyone went to their own town to register.
Based on his letter criticizing The Catholic Register article about Fr. Tom Rosica, which was welcomed by so many, it is obvious Lou Iacobelli is not open to listening to views discussed at the Synod, that is views other than his own.
Through the spring and fall of 2023, The Catholic Register and our partners at The B.C. Catholic, Catholic Conscience and the Religion & Journalism Project taught on-line classes in Catholic journalism.