Vatican says no movement (yet) on sainthood for Oscar Romero
VATICAN CITY - Despite fevered speculation in the media and across Latin America, the Vatican says Pope Francis has not advanced slain Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero toward sainthood — at least, not yet.
Pope Francis will take rabbi and Muslim leader with him to Holy Land
VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis will be accompanied on his first visit to the Middle East by Argentine Rabbi Abraham Skorka and Muslim leader Omar Abboud — two friends from Buenos Aires.
True followers have Jesus’ guidance
Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year A) May 25 (Acts 8:5-8, 14-17; Psalm 66; 1 Peter 3:15-18; John 14:15-21)
The proclamation of the Gospel took hold in a very powerful way in Samaria. The Samaritans received the Word enthusiastically. Exorcisms, healings and miracles were the order of the day. This doesn’t make much of an impression on us now — we have heard it so many times, so what is the big deal?
A pilgrimage through nature, desire and soul
Nature, desire and soul, we rarely integrate these well. Yet they are so inextricably linked that how we relate to one deeply colours the others; and, indeed, spirituality itself might be defined as what we each do in terms of integrating these three in our lives.
Vatican official voices opposition to automated weapons systems
VATICAN CITY - No matter how sophisticated and how many algorithms are programmed to help a drone or other machine make calculations before firing on a target, autonomous weapons systems could never comply with international human rights law, a Vatican official said.
Pope Paul VI to be beatified this fall
VATICAN CITY - After weeks of speculation, Pope Francis made it official on May 10 that Pope Paul VI could become the latest pope poised to become a saint after a miracle was accredited to Paul’s intercession.
Nuns say they will continue dialogue despite Vatican criticisms
The American nuns who were publicly scolded by the Vatican’s top doctrinal official for disobedience and promoting unorthodox beliefs have rejected the criticisms, and say their “attempts to clarify misperceptions have led to deeper misunderstandings” between Rome and the organization representing most of the 50,000 sisters in the U.S.
Jesus is the way, the truth and the life
Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year A) May 18 (Acts 6:1-7; Psalm 33; 1 Peter 2:4-9; John 14:1-12)
Tension between various groups has been a fact of life in the Christian Church right from the beginning. Human nature is fairly constant.
Accepting truth, whatever its cloak
When I was a student in the seminary, I had two kinds of teachers: One kind, precisely because they were fiercely loyal to all that is Christian and Catholic, would have us read great secular thinkers but always with the intent of wanting to help show where these thinkers were wrong. Our intellectual task as Catholic seminarians, they would tell us, is to be able to defend Catholicism against the kinds of criticisms found in the writings of these secular, sometimes anti-Christian thinkers and to keep our own faith and teaching free of their influence.
Vatican calls for release of kidnapped Nigerian girls
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican issued an urgent appeal today for the release of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.
'Pope’s theologian’ downplays Vatican blast at U.S. nuns
NEW YORK - The German cardinal who has been called the “Pope’s theologian” said fresh Vatican criticism of American nuns was typical of the “narrower” view that officials of the Roman Curia tend to take, and he said U.S. Catholics shouldn’t be overly concerned.