Argentine football star Diego Maradona died at age 60 last week, but his legacy and devotion lives on. The footballer is a symbol of humility and hope, having risen to the top of global sports from a childhood in the slums, and attracted a religious following that formed a church in his name.
Read More(OPINION) That Pope Francis would put his name on a book — written by a British author — criticizing the United States, its media and politics without understanding the First Amendment is a major shortfall of the project. There is also more to this book that the mainstream secular press did not highlight — like the pope’s staunch opposition to abortion.
Read MoreCardinals, archbishops and other clerical leaders of the Catholic Church from around the world have penned a flurry of letters and official statements in the wake of the ground-breaking McCarrick report that concludes while many in the Vatican hierarchy had known for years about sexual abuse allegations against ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick and not removed him, Pope Francis was not complicit.
Read More(OPINION) The Chilean government has told citizens not to visit cemeteries on All Saints Day, when Christians visit deceased friends and family. They have not advocated for similar measures for voting and other recent political celebrations.
Read More(ANALYSIS) "The only church that illuminates is a burning church,” one protester said, pictured with an altar in flames on a social media account. The recent arson on two Catholic churches in Santiago was not random but as much a referendum on the Catholic Church, where sexual abuse cases in Latin America are topped by only Mexico, as on the country’s constitution that sparked the protests against economic inequality.
Read More(OPINION) Why is the faith of soccer superstar Lionel Messi so often ignored?
Read More(REVIEW) While 83-year-old Pope Francis is in good health, that hasn’t stopped speculation over who will come next. In his new book, author George Weigel examines the problems affecting the church and what the next pope will need to do in order to address them. Think of it like a very long to-do memo for the next head of the Catholic church.
Read MoreThese evangelical women say their faith called them to action to help end child-family separations of migrant families in immigration detention. The COVID-19 pandemic created an opportunity for some to engage with legislators in the nation’s capital via Zoom.
Read More(REVIEW) The Next Pope: The Leading Cardinal Candidates by the National Catholic Register's longtime Rome correspondent Edward Pentin delves into the lives of the cardinals most likely to follow Francis.
Read More(OPINION) Pope Francis, who has consistently drawn the ire of Catholic media on the doctrinal right, gave his view of what the religious press should look like in the United States.
Read More(OPINION) As Italians gained in power, Columbus Day officially became a U.S. federal holiday starting in 1968. Amerigo Vespucci, however, is barely mentioned in American classrooms.
Read More(OPINION) The chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed governments across the world the liberty to heighten existing religious persecution. Many religious minorities are discriminated against in healthcare provision and some are even being blamed for the spread of the virus.
Read More(OPINION) Go with heavy material. Certain translations of holy books offer valuable insights into our world and this era. Thomas Paine’s skewering of biblical religion is a worthy read, along with classics like “Lord of the Flies.”
Read MoreMonday marks the centennial birth of Karol Wojtyla, who became Pope John Paul II and was canonized a saint following his death. John Paul II was one of the longest-serving pontiffs in church history, the first non-Italian elected pope in 455 years and spent much of the 1980s ending communism in Eastern Europe.
Read MoreThe main duties of a priest are to administer the church’s sacraments — which include baptism, confession and holy communion — while also visiting the sick and providing pastoral care to parishioners. How does all that work during the COVID-19 pandemic when most priests are in the high-risk age category for contracting the deadly virus?
Read More(OPINION) With proper precautions, religious traditions can and have continued. For priests, a pandemic is not only an impediment to their duties but is central to their calling.
Read More(OPINION) Argentina is a case study of the dwindling influence this pope has — even in his home country — when it comes to trying to influence the outcome of an issue that the Catholic church has seen as important for decades.
Read MoreIn a remote part of the Guatemalan highlands, Israeli businesses are creating jobs and wealth for Guatemalan youth. The Israeli-Latino alliance relies on the prominence of evangelical faith in Guatemalan politics and culture that sees Israel as an important ally, even as locals worry whether Israeli backpackers are a bad influence on their kids.
Read More(OPINION) Pope Francis — a week after the dust settled from his decision not to create an Amazonian rite that would have allowed married men to serve as priests and women as deacons — continues to garner news coverage as Catholic progressives and traditionalists debate what it all means.
Read More(OPINION) In a surprise move, Francis rejected a proposal on Wednesday that had called for married men in remote areas of the Amazon to serve as priests, a decision widely seen as a victory for conservative Catholics who feared such an exception would eventually lift the celibacy requirement of clergy around the world.
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