On March 15 an Indian court upheld a state “hijab ban” that prevents Muslim girls from wearing the head covering at schools. The ruling could set a precedent for other states governed by the ruling Hindu-first Bharatiya Janata Party.
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(ANALYSIS) We interrupt your reading about the war in Ukraine with a very important post about the global Catholic Synod on Synodality. Synod on Synodality? Say that three times fast. For some Catholics, it’s kind of a Zen thing.
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From Oklahoma to New Jersey to Nairobi, faith communities are taking up collections, helping refugees and voicing opposition to the military invasion of Ukraine. Many recognize that part of the motivation is for the Russian Orthodox Church to gain power in the Orthodox world. And Putin, at age 70, is making a desperate move to regain territory Russia once held during the Soviet Union. Both motivations create waves of anger, fear and the will to resist such totalitarian behavior.
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Following days of rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Pope Francis called on Christians around the world to fast and pray for peace this coming Ash Wednesday. Before ending his general audience at the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall, the pontiff said believers should fight “the diabolical senselessness of violence” that has engulfed the Russian-Ukraine border.
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(OPINION) Yes, baptism-gate has been all the rage. News coverage of it, however, has not been so good. The specifics of the doctrines surrounding baptism are often too difficult for many journalists to write about fairly. When they do tackle these issues, they tend to assume the Vatican is wrong and rigid. After all, the experts they consult agree with that very notion.
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This week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights the parallels to American-style Christian nationalism in Canadian truckers’ Freedom Convoy protests against COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Plus, catch up, as always, on the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
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(ANALYSIS) The focus the past few weeks has been on Germany and the involvement of Benedict XVI in the handling of some abuse cases, decades before he became a key church official in Rome and, eventually, pope. This was also long before the church adopted stricter policies on how to handle cases of clergy sexual abuse.
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(OPINION) There’s nothing pious about the modern Olympic Games. The modern version, organized by the International Olympic Committee, is more spectacle than spirit. The looming Winter Games, however, have triggered a reaction among some that has large moral implications — are you a bad person for watching the Olympics?
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(OPINION) The many cases of anti-Catholic vandalism have been documented by me here in recent years. Also well-documented has been the number of professionals in the mainstream media who keep overlooking such criminal activities.These incidents just keep happening, yet they continue to be given little to no mainstream news coverage.
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(REVIEW) Popes are famous for many different things. In the case of John Paul I, he’s best known for being pope for just 33 days. Thanks to an Italian journalist, her access to never-before-seen Vatican documents and 2017 book (now available in English), the former pope could very well be on his way to being made a saint.
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(ANALYSIS) As 2021 comes to a close, everyone is looking toward 2022. The news cycle over the last two years has been dominated by COVID-19, and that doesn’t seem to be subsiding given the rash of recent omicron infections. The Catholic world, meanwhile, had in 2021 one of its busiest years. Expect 2022 to be just as busy.
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It was another tough year for many people around the planet. The pandemic, just as it seemed to be subsiding this fall, rages on thanks to the omicron variant. Aside from COVID-19, issues such as climate change and the plight of migrants continues to plague nations, and international conflicts continue to rattle millions around the globe.
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Desmond Tutu, who fought tirelessly for the end apartheid in his native South Africa and won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts, died Sunday at the age of 90. Religious and political leaders in his homeland and across the world sent stirring tributes in the hours following his death.
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The 2022 World Cup, which will be held in the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar, will test the majority-Muslim country in several ways — primarily when it comes to religious mores around public intoxication and homosexuality, both of which are illegal there.
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(OPINION) We are currently in “the most wonderful time of the year,” as the popular Christmas song by Andy Williams goes. For many Christians, however, the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day are marked by Advent, a time of prayer in preparation for the birth of Jesus. In Eastern churches, this season is called Nativity Lent.
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The number of Roman Catholics across Africa and Asia continues to grow, according to a new report, while it has dropped in Europe. The Vatican report serves as a statistical snapshot of the church’s global population and institutions, comparing 2019 — the last year for which data is available — with the previous year.
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Pacquiao, 42, announced his retirement from boxing on Sept. 28, weeks after announcing he will run for president in the Philippines election scheduled for May 2022. He has often spoken of his born-again evangelical faith in a country that’s nearly 90% Catholic.
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Pope Francis is no fan of press criticism — especially when it comes from Catholic news outlets on the doctrinal right. In a candid moment during his recent trip to Slovakia, the pontiff’s comments sparked a Catholic media war that again highlights just how polarized Roman Catholics are in the Francis era.
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(OPINION) The three-time governor leaves behind a mixed legacy among Roman Catholics. Like his father Mario (who also served three terms as New York governor and was for years on the short-list of lawmakers who could be president), Cuomo represented a new generation of liberal Catholic politicians in this country.
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(ANALYSIS) The gymnast’s actions put a spotlight on athletes’ mental health, but also highlighted the inability of the mainstream press to delve deeper and ask pertinent questions regarding her faith. You see, Biles is a Roman Catholic, something written about leading up to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. You wouldn’t know it from the news coverage of the past few weeks.
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