As the rattle of gunfire and the spirited sloganeering raged on in the streets, Gen Zers opened a new theater in this fight: training their rage on the church for allegedly working with the state. They have accused church officials of being subservient to the political class.
Read MoreSome of the greatest writers ever to put pen to paper were deeply influenced by their religious beliefs. Take JRR Tolkien, for instance. He didn't merely craft a fantasy epic with “The Lord of the Rings,” but he filled it with the depth and richness of his Catholic faith. Through characters like Gandalf, Frodo and Aragorn, Tolkien explored themes of sacrifice, redemption and the struggle between light and darkness, good and evil, heaven and hell.
Read More(ESSAY) In one theme of this summer's travels, the history of Japanese Christianity, I found a different issue. This is the ignorance not only amongst foreigners but also amongst Japanese themselves of that history, particularly the long history of persecution. Some of this, especially the dire persecutions of the early seventeenth century, is better known through Shusako Endo's gripping 1966 novel “Silence.”
Read MoreLocal residents and the Catholic order have engaged in a years-long court battle after the church tried to evict them from their ancestral land on the outskirts of the capital Harare. The more than 1,000 families, however, were relieved when a court agreed to halt, for now, a move by the Jesuits to evict them from their land that the church wants to turn into an urban residential area.
Read More(ANALYSIS) These debates raged on and on because few combatants could agree on what took place, in part because that scene in the opening ceremonies were quickly removed from the official Olympics YouTube and NBC Universal accounts.
Read More(ANALYSIS) On July 25, a Hong Kong court dismissed Jimmy Lai’s defense’s mid-trial submission of “no case to answer” and adjourned the trial for four months until the end of November 2024, when Lai is expected to give evidence.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Catholic history is full of childless women respected for their work, many of them members of religious communities. They often contributed to lasting social and cultural change. In fact, the very existence of women’s religious communities is a testament to the value Catholicism puts on childless women’s lives.
Read MoreSplinter Catholic movements within Kenya have gradually found their voice in the country’s religious scene and have maintained a steady following despite strong opposition from conservative voices in the local Catholic Church. The rise of the breakaway Catholic churches traces its roots to the May 2006 wedding of ex-Catholic priest Godfrey Shiundu to a former nun.
Read MoreEquatorial Guinea has a history of infringing on religious freedom dating back to the 1950s. The country is at it again using legislation to forcefully close numerous churches and deny thousands the freedom to worship. Six Pentecostal and evangelical churches were shut down by the government last year alone due to their failure to abide by registration regulations.
Read MoreFallout from the “Last Supper” scene during the Opening Ceremony at the Paris Olympics spilled over into a second week after bishops from around the world — and even the Vatican — issued statements calling out the display as offensive to Christians everywhere. The Holy See said ir was “saddened” by the display, while others called on the IOC to “repudiate this blasphemous action.”
Read MoreMore than two decades ago, a veteran Catholic priest and educator explained some ecclesiastical math to me. The late Father Donald Cozzens was talking about one of the biggest religion-news stories of the past half century — the growing shortage of priests at Catholic altars. To understand the problem, he said, you need to view it through the eyes of mothers and fathers.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Why rake muck? For one thing, it’s biblical. Recall Scripture’s narratives about the venerated King David’s adultery and homicide or St. Peter’s multiple denials of Jesus Christ. It encourages healthy reflection on the forgiveness of sins, the ways power is misused, the dangers of celebrity worship, the ongoing impact of racial evil and the value in continually taking fresh looks at our own attitudes rather than remaining captive to the cultural assumptions in which we were born and raised.
Read More(ANALYSIS) As a specialist in medieval Christianity, I know that Catholic views on the morality of killing have evolved over time. And while Christianity eventually came to defend the idea of warfare for self-defense and the common good, it has also emphasized the value of forgiveness of enemies.
Read MoreThe Holy See’s secretary of state visited the Ukrainian city of Odessa and said that the pope is following the situation there “with so much attention, with so much worry and so much pain.”
Read MoreThe theme of the conference, which took place at the school’s campus in South Bend, Indiana, was “Depolarizing Religious Liberty,” which still depends too much on one's race, faith or nationality. The highlight of the summit was an awards program and gala where the Religious Liberty Clinic was named after Lindsay and Matt Morun, who have supported such efforts financially since its inception.
Read MoreIn accepting the invitation to be Donald Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance could become the nation’s second Catholic vice president, after Joe Biden, should the GOP win the White House this November. Vance is also only the second Catholic GOP veep nominee after Barry Goldwater chose William Miller in 1964. Here’s a deeper look into Vance’s faith and how it has influenced his evolving political philosophy.
Read More(ANALYSIS) As the sporting world and fans await the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Paris Olympics and the Paralympic Games, eight Catholic dioceses in Greater Paris have already ignited their own Olympic flame by organizing the “Holy Games.” The project is a collaboration between the Archdiocese of Paris and the French Bishops Conference.
Read More(ANALYSIS) After he decided to kick heroin, the young Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tried to think about daily life in a totally different way. Rather than trusting his willpower to do the right thing for a whole day, he began dividing each day into 40 or more decisions. After 14 years of addiction, Kennedy said he tried to act as if each decision was a moral test. This was a leap of faith, since his addiction attacked the Catholic faith of his childhood.
Read MoreThe government of Uganda officially recognized the Muslim martyrs who were killed on the orders of a local king starting in 1874 — and allocated $52,926 to organize this year’s Muslim Martyrs’ Day commemorations. This is the first time Muslims in Uganda organized an official commemoration for the Muslim martyrs. In the past, only Catholics and Anglicans participated in official celebrations.
Read MoreThe Vatican on Friday excommunicated the outspoken Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, its former ambassador to Washington, finding him guilty of promoting schism after repeatedly questioning Pope Francis’ authority. The Italian prelate had in recent years become one of Francis’ harshest critics.
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