If you want to understand Pope Francis, it helps to know tango, soccer lingo, and colloquial Argentinian Spanish. Making sense of Francis, I propose, also requires an ability to think in hyperlinks. In other words, what he says opens paths to multiple references that further enrich and expand possibilities for interpretation. Francis plays with language and space.
About 5000 books survive from English monasteries, and I’m the proud owner of two of them. Don’t get too excited. They’re not luscious manuscripts with glorious illuminations but humble paper printed books. But they’re treasures nonetheless, especially as both volumes provide priceless insights into the last phase of English medieval monasticism before Henry VIII brought it to an abrupt end.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's infant son has been baptized Catholic. The Archdiocese of Westminster has confirmed that the baptism of Wilfred Johnson took place in London's Westminster Cathedral on September 12. That private ceremony was attended by both parents and a limited number of guests.
On Ash Wednesdays, Joe Biden’s forehead carries a tell-tale smudge. If he wins in November, he will be the second Catholic President of the United States, after John F. Kennedy. Yet his pro-choice position aggravates those who see abortion as the pre-eminent issue in public life.
The excusable doesn’t need to be excused and the inexcusable cannot be excused. Michael Buckley wrote those words and they contain an important challenge. We’re forever trying to make excuses for things we need not make excuses for and are forever trying to excuse the inexcusable. Neither is necessary. Or helpful.
Charles Dickens, who died 150 years ago, was loved for storytelling that embraced justice, compassion and redemption. He was also a brute to his loyal wife. The author of a new biography suggests that great holiness and artistic genius might both be sometimes driven by a divided personality.
What kinds of things help induce mysticism in our lives? I was asked that question recently and this was my immediate, non-reflected, answer: whatever brings tears to your eyes in either genuine sorrow or genuine joy; but that response was predicated on a lot of things. What is mysticism? What makes for mystical experience?
It comes as many churches have resumed Sunday and weekday services, with social distancing measures in place, and ceased live-streaming of Mass. But the return to a new “normal” is now once again under threat with the announcement today of what is trending as “lockdown 2” on social media, after prime minister Boris Johnson announced a ban on social gatherings of six or more starting next Monday.
So it is perplexing to me as a relatively young Catholic that the Diocese of Hong Kong has reportedly banned a prayer for the city and its freedoms. They are concerned, it seems, that this particular prayer could be seen as a criticism of an “oppressive” government. But isn’t it the Church’s duty to speak out against oppression?
In a statement last night, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the result was discovered after Cardinal Tagle, 63, was administered a swab test upon his arrival in Manila on Thursday. “His Eminence does not exhibit any symptoms and will remain in self-isolation in the Philippines, where he is located,” Bruni said.