The experience of Christian communities, Catholic and otherwise, confirms that making no plans for growth results in little or no growth every time and such complacency even places communities at risk of decline as the surrounding culture changes and becomes less open to the offer of faith.
I think he wants Catholics not to be more Protestant, but more Catholic. In other words, he wants Catholics to return to the zeal and passion of the saints and martyrs. He wants Catholics to re-learn the simple life of the apostles and take joy in the most elemental levels of the faith -- a life full of the Holy Spirit in a day to day relationship with Jesus Christ.
In this week’s Catholic Herald Bishop Alan Hopes of East Anglia talks about the biggest challenges facing Catholics in the next five years and what it was like to lead British pro-lifers in the biggest showdown with abortion supporters for years. Here is a sneak peak at the interview.
The Church of England's decision to consecrate women as bishops marked a "difficult moment" that will "sadly" harm relations with the Catholic Church, the archbishop responsible for ecumenism has warned
Chris Patten, former chairman of the BBC Trust and former chancellor of the University of Oxford, will serve as president of the commission. The 70-year-old British public servant is a Catholic and was co-ordinator of Pope Benedict XVI’s trip to the United Kingdom in 2010.
The International Catholic Film Festival. The aim of the festival is to give space and visibili The aim of the festival is to give space and visibility to producers and directors of feature films, documentaries, docu-fiction, television series and short films, to promote the "positive models and universal moral values” which are therefore consistent with Christianity.
In absolute terms, the number of Spanish Catholics attending Mass weekly grew by an astonishing further 23 percent between 2012 and 2013, according to CIS. Meanwhile, between 2007 and 2013 the number of Spaniards contributing part of their taxes to the Church rose from eight to nine million.
Pope Francis and the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians prayed together Sunday inside the Holy Sepulcher church in Jerusalem, calling their historic meeting a step toward healing the centuries-old Catholic-Orthodox schism.
Five steps local churches can take to save marriages and prevent divorce. In Metro Washington where I live, there were 15,800 divorces compared to only 24,600 marriages, for a divorce rate of nearly two-thirds. Does marriage matter? Isn’t it a private issue concerning two people? No. I’d argue that every divorce is the destruction of a small civilization.
A Dutch priest who had refused to leave the besieged Syrian city of Homs in solidarity with its residents, was on Monday beaten and then shot dead in his monastery by a masked gunman. During more than three years of war, Jesuit Father Francis Van der Lugt, 75, had insisted on remaining in Homs, risking starvation and near constant shellfire, until every last civilian could be evacuated from the district.
Some women already hold prominent positions in the offices of the Holy See. While there are presently canonical impediments (which could be changed, since they are man-made), the possibility of appointing women as prefects (heads) of some Roman congregations (departments) might be further explored.
In this exclusive interview, Pope Francis speaks about Christmas, hunger in the world, the suffering of children, the reform of the Roman Curia, women cardinals, the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), and the upcoming visit to the Holy Land.
At today’s General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, Francis said: “Never gossip about one another, never argue. Uniformity kills life” Finally,the Pope said: “the Church is Catholic because it is the “House of Harmony”, where unity and diversity merge together to become a strength.” The Pope used the image of a symphony to illustrate the meaning of harmony. In a symphony, different instruments are played simultaneously; each musician has their own unique timber and the notes of their particular instrument are composed for one common piece of music.
The reform of the Curia and the attribution of of more incisive role to the laity were among the principal themes considered in the meeting of the Council of Cardinals, instituted by the Pope to assist him in the governance of the Church, said the director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J., in a briefing with journalists.
In 2006, after midweek evening Mass I found myself - through a chance conversation - attending an evening to introduce parishioners to the parish Landings group, whose aim is to welcome back those who have been 'away' for a time and want to return.
Cardinal O'Brien was told to leave Scotland by the Vatican following his resignation. "There would be a number of reasons for that, and looking around myself I think it would probably be wiser and more helpful for the future of the Church here if he were not to be back in the country."
Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian, who died on 27 April aged 96, revived the Catholic church in Shanghai after years of Maoist persecution. His death leaves one of China's largest and wealthiest dioceses deeply unsettled, riven by tensions generated by the Communist Party's insistence on tightly controlling all organised religions.
No doubt, also in dealing with this delicate matter the new pope will be inspired by the spirit of his patron Saint Francis who, in the history of the Church was a pioneer of dialogue. Communism has been the staunch opponent of the Church in China. Pope Francis will have to deal with this matter. He will find inspiration in the way his predecessors approached China.
Justin Welby warned against “severing the roots” of more than 1,000 years of Christianity in Britain as he was enthroned as 105th Archbishop of Canterbury.
Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, 70, began the spiritual reflections Feb. 17 by describing Pope Benedict’s future role in the Church after his resignation as being a presence “like that of Moses, who climbs the hill to pray for the people of Israel.”
