News in Articles

Mirror, mirror on the wall’: Narcissism and spiritual worldliness

The myth of Narcissus tells the story of a young man who falls in love with his own image reflected in the water. This is fruit of a punishment and a vendetta. In fact, the young hunter had rejected a goddess who had fallen in love with him. Ovid and Pausanias tell the story. The tale concludes in a woeful manner because by endeavoring to embrace his own image Narcissus pines away and dies.

Saints for a New Situation

Everywhere in church circles today you hear a lament: Our churches are emptying. We’ve lost our youth. This generation no longer knows or understands the classical theological language. We need to announce Jesus again, as if for the first time, but how?

Mission in Secularized Japan

Analyzing the Japanese words used to indicate the concept of “mission” may help to better facilitate understanding of what mission should be, the perception of which has become even more acute over the last 50 years. In fact, every definition entails a model or a paradigm of how to carry out a missionary activity.

The Discovery of the ‘Hidden Christians’ of Japan

After the arrival of St. Francis Xavier in Japan (1549), the Catholic Church grew rapidly, and the faith was accepted by people of all states of life. Those who ruled were displeased and responded with persecution, leading to tens of thousands of martyrs giving up their lives. Many Christian communities chose to go underground to preserve their faith.

Kakichi Kadowaki: The inculturation of Christianity in Japan

The inculturation of Christianity in Japan has not been an easy process. Its history is full of encounters and contrasts, conflicts and compromises. Among the reasons for this difficult history is the complexity and uniqueness of Japanese culture.

Living out a Vocation

What does it mean to have a vocation? The term gets batted around both in religious and secular circles and everyone assumes its meaning is clear. Is it? What’s a vocation?

Faith and Dying

We tend to nurse a certain naiveté about what faith means in the face of death. The common notion among us as Christians is that if someone has a genuine faith she should be able to face death without fear or doubt. The implication then of course is that having fear and doubt when one is dying is an indication of a weak faith. While it’s true that many people with a strong faith do face death calmly and without fear, that’s not always the case, nor necessarily the norm.

The Renewal of the John Paul II Theological Institute

The entire journey of the John Paul II Theological Institute therefore expresses the commitment to respond in the best possible way to the insistent request of Pope Francis “to have light and flexible structures that express the priority given to welcoming and dialogue, to inter- and trans-disciplinary work and networking.

Governing in a Disordered Age

International collaboration on global issues has become a faint memory, hardly a possibility under current conditions.The Liberal World Order that was put in place after the Second World War and came to maturity in the quarter-century following the revolutions of 1989 has suffered severe shocks from the rise of populist nationalism and revanchist authoritarianism.

The Frustrating Struggle for Humility

It’s hard to be humble, not because we don’t have more than enough deficiencies to merit humility, but rather because there’s crafty mechanism inside of us that normally doesn’t let us go to the place of humility.

The West and Russia: A comparison of their cultural roots

After the end of the Soviet Union, both the pro-Western Russian elite and the vast majority of the population had the hope of becoming part of the Western community, or rather, of becoming once again part of Europe after having travelled a different path since the October Revolution. It was thought that Russia would naturally follow this route.

The Agreement between China and the Holy See

It is helpful to understand this agreement as a true harmony of notes. That is to say, the beginning of a composition that has yet to be developed. This is not, then, the conclusion of a process, but it is a real starting point that needs to be implemented through instruments of control and improvements to the text.

Fake News and the Bible: Which word is credible?

The internet allows us to access a wealth of information that was unthinkable a few decades ago. On the web and on social networks this information is created and exchanged in real time. A user may be disoriented when faced with such a quantity of news and data that corresponds to multiple points of view, each of which attempts to establish itself as truth.

The Grase within Passivity

A friend of mine shares this story. She grew up with five siblings and an alcoholic father. The effect of her father’s alcoholism was devastating on her family. 

The Web of Gambling

The Arrival of Refugees, Old and New

The religious congregation to which I belong, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, has had a long relationship with the indigenous peoples of North America. Admittedly it hasn’t always been without its shortcomings on our side, but it has been a sustained one, constant through more than one hundred and fifty years. I write this out of the archives of that history.

To find the holy, minister across generations

How ministering with a parish's youngest and oldest members reveals the mystery of God. When I first started going to my parish about four years ago one of the things I was looking for, other than a schedule of Masses in English (I live in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood in Upper Manhattan), was community—though I freely admit I hadn’t a clue what community meant. 

A very different Chinese republic turns 70

Seventy years ago, Chinese communists ended a long-running civil war with victory over the Kuomintang, charted a course that secured China's borders but turned the country inside out and wrought havoc across the region as successive leaders sought to impose their will.

Jesus Christ - The Person and the Mystery

We quite naturally tend to think of the word “Christ” as Jesus’ second name. We think of the name “Jesus Christ” like we think of names like “Susan Parker” or “Jack Smith”.  But that’s an unhealthy confusion. Jesus didn’t have a second name.

How to Communicate in a Polarized Society

How do we communicate in a polarized society? How do we promote unity, encounter and reconciliation while remaining faithful to diversity? What is the attitude, the mindset required to be good communicators in a context where polarization seeks to impose itself on every public or private discussion?