News in Church Issues

The US bishops continue to ignore Pope Francis' vision for a renewed Church

The pontificate of Pope Francis has now surpassed that of Benedict XVI in terms of duration. And Benedict has now been a "former" pope longer than he was actually the Roman Pontiff.The latest milestone comes during the eight-day Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the "octave" when Christians ask God to guide them in healing the divisions that keep their various separated Churches and communities from realizing full communion.

Towards a Synodal Church

When we apply the term “synodality” to the Church, we do not intend to designate a more collaborative decision-making process that merely leads to choosing an option, deliberating on  a measure, or issuing an instruction. Rather, it is something that makes clear a fundamental aspect of ecclesial identity: its primary communal dimension, its essential evangelizing mission under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Mission of the Church and Proper Economic Administration

Once again, in light of some widely reported decisions taken by the Holy Father, many people are questioning and discussing the economic resources available to Vatican institutions and their proper administration in the service of the Church’s mission. This article intends to place recent events in a wider context, so that the Holy Father’s guidance and decisions may be better understood.

Desacralized Myths: Crisis of narrative and narrative of crisis

 The discomfort of fragmentation. A peculiar characteristic of today’s so-called “Postmodern” era is the absence of global narratives. This is the basic hypothesis of the famous book by Jean-François Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, published in 1979.

The people should choose their bishops again

Once the office of bishop was clearly established in the early Church as the unitary head of a diocese (a Roman administrative unit), that office was filled by someone chosen by local people and priests, then ratified by the neighboring bishops, as a sign of the unity of the Church. Even the unbaptized were eligible, as we know from the oft-told story of St. Ambrose, whom the clergy and people of Milan chose as their bishop while he was still a catechumen.

Can those who are not baptized in Christ be saved?

"Anonymous Christian" is a term that's most often credited to the influential 20th century Jesuit theologian, Karl Rahner (1904-84).Rahner used it to try to explain how people who have never been baptized or have never known of Christ could still be saved.

The Guardian of the Species: Genesis 1:28 and Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic and other recent outbreaks of infectious diseases of animal origin have shed a new light on one of the most famous passages of Genesis, the story of the creation and the relationship between human beings and the animal world.

Popular religiosity in Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s, Pope Francis,formation

Global Catholicism vs. Anglobalization

The words politics, political, and politicians occur more than 100 times in Pope Francis' new encyclical Fratelli tutti. Chapter Five is titled "A better kind of politics". It's an indictment of populism, individualism and trickle-down economics. It laments the crisis of nation states and of the United Nations.And it calls for a new model of social, political and economic participation that is inspired by subsidiarity and solidarity, making possible a globalization of the most basic of human rights.

Social friendship according to Pope Francis

What exactly is social friendship? Pope Francis gives several indications in Fratelli tutti to help define the term. "A love capable of transcending borders is the basis of what in every city and country can be called 'social friendship'. Genuine social friendship within a society makes true universal openness possible," he writes (FT, 99).

An Overview of the Enclyclical FRATELLI TUTTI

The Encyclical “Fratelli Tutti” aims at promoting a universal aspiration toward fraternity and social friendship. This papal document focuses on human solidarity and charity, following the model of Good Samaritan, towards one’s own neighbour, who is in global health emergency. The encyclical calls for more human fraternity and solidarity, and is a plea to reject wars. 

Vatican reaches new agreement with China

The Holy See and China have renewed their deal over the appointment of bishops for a further two years. In a statement, the Vatican explained that “both parties agreed to extend the experimental implementation phase of the Provisional Agreement” which was signed in Beijing and came into effect on 22 October 2018.

Grieving for the lost parish

The church as institution is in trouble but not the Church as the People of God. Some Church groups are pressing for a post-pandemic opening up, others, who have already opened up, are sounding a lament as they find it is not business as usual. There are signs of grieving for the parish – an institution on its knees.

The Catholic Church and modern science

In a letter to the Prime Minister on August 20th, co-signed by the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Glenn Davies, and the Greek Orthodox Primate, Archbishop Makarios, Archbishop Fisher suggested that the projected use of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine might cause a crisis of conscience for some potential recipients because cell lines derived from a 1973 aborted foetus were involved in its production.

From Distraction to Dedication: An Invitation to the Center

Some years ago, during the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, Father General Adolfo Nicolás sketched points for a possible letter to the Society. Although he never wrote the letter, he did share these points with a few friends. The following text, while still rough and informal, expresses clearly the direction of his thinking. With the permission of Father Nicolás, we share it now.

New encyclical on human fraternity: the pope's "cri de coeur"

It was not hard to imagine the new papal encyclical on fraternity and social friendship would provoke criticism in certain quarters. Pope Francis released Fratelli tutti on October 4 and some have begun to accuse him of interfering in politics and the economic sphere, being naïve about human nature and overreaching his authority as a religious figure.

Five keys to understanding the encyclical "Fratelli tutti"

"Fratelli tutti" calls for fraternity and "social friendship"; this relatively long magisterial document is a summary of Pope Francis's thoughts. The new magisterial document from Pope Francis -- the encyclical Fratelli tutti -- opens with a rather bleak assessment of the current state of the world.

Church Numbers in the World

Pope pays tribute to 'martyred' Italian priest

The priest, Fr Roberto Malgesini, a priest of the diocese of Como, was murdered on 15 September, whilst on his usual morning routine, distributing food to the homeless of his parish.

Women and Men in the Church

We should be grateful to Anne-Marie Pelletier for her recent book L’Église, des femmes avec des hommes, which collects and develops several lines of reflection on the relationship between women and men in the Church that she had already initiated in previous writings.