News in Church Issues

Is the secularized West witnessing a religious revival?

 A Church historian skeptical of recurring talk about revivalism admits that new forms of religiosity are appearing, but wonders if we're using the right indicators to observe them. Isn't this talk of revivalism, which comes up about every twenty years, a kind of recurrent journalistic theme that is based on only a few spectacular, but not really significant, facts? Surveys show that the secularization curve continues to move upward and religious institutions continue to disintegrate.

Parrhesia: Freedom of Speech in Early Christianity

 The philosopher Michel Foucault defines parrhesia as “the frankness, the openness of heart, the opening of word, the openness of language, the freedom of speech.” However, this does not mean saying what one wants in the way one wants, for by its very nature parrhesia reflects an ethical attitude in that what one has to say is said “because it is both necessary and useful, as well as being true.” Therefore, parrhesia is connected to the truth and to the good, and so excludes calumny, defamation and disinformation, while satire is admissible.

How could the Catholic Church develop its teaching on artificial contraception?

As rumours grow that Pope Francis is considering a new document that may soften the Church’s ban on artificial contraception, The Tablet’s Rome correspondent meets the advisor seeking to knit together and refresh the Church’s approach to ethical issues. The protection and nurture of human life from conception to natural death is at the heart of the Church’s mission.

'This Sacred Council' – Vatican II at 60

Its purpose was to renew the Church, to evangelise, and to engage with the world rather than to excoriate it. There were shortcomings and unintended consequences, but 60 years on, Vatican II’s achievements can be seen ever more clearly. There is a story that sometime in the 1950s, Archbishop Angelo Roncalli, the future Pope John XXIII, picked up Yves Congar’s True and False Reform in the Church. Roncalli appreciated the boldness and vision of this French scholar-priest, but had to ask himself: “A reform of the Church: is such a thing really possible?”

The ‘Catechism of the Catholic Church’ is 30 Years Old

John Paul II had entrusted its preparation in 1986 to a Commission of 12 cardinals and bishops, chaired by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, following the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops of 1985 convoked by the pope for the 20th anniversary of the conclusion of the Council. 

Education – Reformation history and Oxford's lost college

St Mary’s College, which was recently unearthed by construction workers in Oxford, was not a victim of Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries, as was widely reported. Like so much of the long Reformation, its story is more complicated. There has been excitement in Oxford over the discovery (during the building of the Frewin annexe to Brasenose) of the remains of St Mary’s College. 

The Bible in Evangelization Today

 “The sacred Scriptures are the very source of evangelization” is the statement Pope Francis uses in Evangelii Gaudium (EG) to conclude the section dedicated to the proclamation of the Word. It is a page that is simple and at the same time complex. Simple, because there can be no true evangelization without the Scriptures; complex, because it is necessary to explain why the Church has “lost” the Bible during its history.

The ‘Catechism of the Catholic Church’ is 30 Years Old

On October 11, 1992, on the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the Second Vatican Council, John Paul II signed the Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum, with which he presented the new Catechism of the Catholic Church to the clergy and “to all members of the People of God.”

The women who have a deep love for the Church while feeling alienated, hurt and frustrated

Women, the Church and reform. The women who have a deep love for the Church while feeling alienated, hurt and frustrated Tina Beattie dialogue with a far more diverse range of voices is needed if those who speak for women in the Vatican truly represent what it means to be a Catholic woman in the modern world.

The Prosperity Gospel: Dangerous and Different

 The “prosperity gospel” is a well-known theological current emerging from the neo-Pentecostal evangelical movements. At its heart is the belief that God wants his followers to have a prosperous life, that is, to be rich, healthy and happy. This type of Christianity places the well-being of the believer at the center of prayer, and turns God the Creator into someone who makes the thoughts and desires of believers come true.

By the grace of God, Queen

Elizabeth II, the Queen of eight popes

The Queen of England, Elizabeth II, died Thursday September 8 in Balmoral (Scotland, United Kingdom). She lived through eight pontificates and met five popes.In her 70-year-reign, Elizabeth II will have crossed paths with more popes than any politician of the contemporary era. The monarch with the record longevity within the British monarchy died on Thursday September 8 in her Scottish residence of Balmoral, at the age of 96.

Elizabeth II, the Queen of eight popes

 In her 70-year-reign, Elizabeth II will have crossed paths with more popes than any politician of the contemporary era. The monarch with the record longevity within the British monarchy died on Thursday September 8 in her Scottish residence of Balmoral, at the age of 96.

The head of the Church of England, appreciated in the Catholic world, has "crossed" since her birth in 1926, eight pontificates -- from Pius XI (1922-1939) to that of Francis (since 2013).

Declining priests and congregations lead to church closures

Churches in the dioceses of Northampton and Nottingham are facing closure because of of declining congregations and a severe shortage of priests. In the Diocese of Northampton, the closure of St Bernadette’s, Rockwell and St Patrick’s, Corby was announced following a review led by Bishop David Oakley. The diocese said in a statement: “It is important for us to exercise prudent stewardship in the way we allocate our limited resources to the maintenance of diocesan properties.”

Stubborn opposition to Vatican II ‘not Catholic’ says cardinal

 England’s new cardinal says those who are “stubbornly opposing” the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council are in danger of adopting a position that is no longer Catholic. Cardinal Arthur Roche, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, became the third English cardinal to be created by Pope Francis after he received his red hat during a ceremony in St Peter’s Basilica on 27 August. 

India’s first Dalit cardinal opens path for egalitarian Church

 On Aug. 27, Pope Francis will create 21 new cardinals at a consistory at the Vatican. The new cardinals include the first Indian cardinal from the socially poor Dalit community – Archbishop Anthony Poola of Hyderabad. His appointment is seen as historical as it recognizes the Dalit Christian community, which continues to suffer caste discrimination within the Catholic Church.

Ukraine may cast shadow on papal visit to Kazakhstan

 In the capital of Kazakhstan at the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, Pope Francis, who has repeatedly condemned Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine, may also meet Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who used Christianity in defense of the war in Eastern Europe.

Anglican bishops must 'dream together' says cardinal Tagle

The Filipino prelate Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle encouraged Anglican bishops to “dream together” as he addressed the Lambeth Conference on Saturday. Cardinal Tagle quoted extensively from Pope Francis on the need to be a “pilgrim church”. 

Anglicans recognise Pope as 'father of the Church' says Archbishop

 The world’s Churches require a fresh impetus to escape the present “ecumenical winter”, the Archbishop of Canterbury said yesterday, as he admitted that he is “not proud” of the progress on Christian unity over the past nine years.

Why is the Pope Going to Canada?

In the days between March 28 and April 1 of this year, a delegation of representatives of the indigenous peoples of Canada traveled to Rome with some of their bishops for several meetings with Pope Francis. He promised to travel personally to Canada later this summer to continue the dialogue in their “indigenous territories.”During the concluding meeting, the pope said, “it is my hope that our meetings during  these days will point out new paths to be pursued together.