News in Articles

Cosmopolitics: Global common goods and new international institutions

Cosmopolitics: Global common goods and new international institutions

by: Gaël Giraud, SJ - La Civiltà Cattolica in Articles,

Health is therefore a universal good, but a fragile good, because its privatization destroys it. It is a global common good, which we all aspire to share and whose care requires the cooperation of all. It requires a cosmopolitics. What kind of institutions will allow us to manage this kind of situation? The UN has become a very fragile body. The institutions of the European Community have not fared much better. The World Health Organization has not been listened to. Therefore, we have to think of something else.

The Temptations of the Good Person

The Temptations of the Good Person

by: Ron Rolheiser, OMI in Articles,

Many of us are familiar with an often-quoted line from T.S. Eliot; The last temptation is the greatest treason; to do the right deed for the wrong reason. This, he suggests, is the temptation of the good person. What’s the temptation?

Coping with our own Souls

Coping with our own Souls

by: Ron Rolheiser, OMI in Articles,

We have many photographs of Therese of Lisieux. Her sister Celine loved using a camera and took many photos of Therese, but there’s an interesting thing to note in those photos. The British Carmelite Ruth Burrows once did a study of those photos and commented that in all of them, Therese is always somehow alone, by herself, even when in a group photo-

Timothy Radcliffe OP explains why to be fully alive is to hope and to forgive

Timothy Radcliffe OP explains why to be fully alive is to hope and to forgive

by: Timothy Radcliffe - The Tablet in Articles,

To be fully alive is to be able to hope, and to forgive. The Eucharist is an audacious expression of hope in defiance of a world that seems bent on its destruction. But to live fully with hope now, in this doom-laden time, we need also to forgive. We begin every Eucharist by remembering our sins and asking for forgiveness.

To Believe is to be Vulnerable – The ‘disadvantages’ of being a believer

To Believe is to be Vulnerable – The ‘disadvantages’ of being a believer

by: Joseph Lobo, SJ - La Civiltà Cattolica in Articles,

In this article we will try to reflect on the “vulnerable” dimensions of faith in the contemporary conflictual context. Obviously, it is not always easy to distinguish between genuine faith and fundamentalist fanaticism, the latter being either sadistic and violent, or masochistic and non-violent. Therefore, our reflections will go beyond this specific issue. We will also explain the ways a believer’s vulnerability can come to be seen as his or her true strength.

The Emergence of Religion in Human Evolution

The Emergence of Religion in Human Evolution

by: Johan Verschueren, SJ - La Civiltà Cattolica in Articles,

The last 20 years have seen significant progress in the fields of bioscience and neuroscience. Particularly interesting is the question of when and how “religious capacity” evolved in hominids, and how it should be understood from the biological point of view. A new volume, The Emergence of Religion in Human Evolution, tries to give an initial answer to this question.

OUR FELLOW BELIEVERS – FRIENDS NOT FOES

OUR FELLOW BELIEVERS – FRIENDS NOT FOES

by: Ron Rolheiser, OMI in Articles,

Denominational identity in me runs deep. Born, baptized, and raised a Roman Catholic, Roman Catholicism is my second nature, like a brand on my skin. I have no regrets about the congenital grip this has on me, even though now I think of it more as a foundation than as an endpoint in my faith journey.The Roman Catholicism in which I was raised inserted me into the mystery of Christ – Jesus, the church, the sacraments, the Sermon on the Mount. For this, I couldn’t be more grateful.

Mahatma Gandhi: The Power of Truth and Nonviolence

Mahatma Gandhi: The Power of Truth and Nonviolence

by: Giancarlo Pani SJ - La Civiltà Cattolica in Articles,

 A century ago, in March 1922, Mahatma Gandhi was arrested. He was accused of sedition because of three articles published in his weekly magazine, Young India. In the first he had written: “The British Empire, built on the systematic exploitation of the physically weaker races of the earth and on a deployment of brute force, cannot last, if there is a just God who rules the universe.” In the third article he openly proclaimed, “We want to overthrow the Government. We want to compel its submission to the people’s will.”

Cheap Grace

Cheap Grace

by: Ron Rolheiser, OMI in Articles,

There’s a tension among Christians today between those who would extend God’s mercy everywhere, seemingly without any conditions, and those who are more reticent and discriminating in dispensing it. The tension comes out most clearly in our debates concerning who may receive the sacraments: Who should be allowed to receive the Eucharist? Who should be allowed to marry inside a church? Who should be allowed a Christian burial? When should a priest withhold absolution in confession?

Women, Inequality, and Feminism

Women, Inequality, and Feminism

by: Ron Rolheiser, OMI in Articles,

 There are still people everywhere who believe there’s no longer any issue regarding the status of women. Widespread is the belief that today, at least in democratic countries, women enjoy full equality with men. As well, for many, feminism is a bad word, politically charged, representing a radical liberal ideology whose agenda is at odds with traditional family values. What’s to be said about this?

 
What does Catholic Social Thought teach us about leadership?

What does Catholic Social Thought teach us about leadership?

by: Susanne Jennings - The Tablet in Articles,

In the popular mindset Catholicism is equated with clergy abuse scandals and a hierarchical, manifestly undemocratic style of leadership. Some see its diocesan bishops as the equivalent of middle managers positioned beneath a top-heavy, pyramidal structure – veritable “yes men” whose job it is to prop up the institution at the expense of those at the bottom (i.e., the lay faithful) whom they are (at least theoretically) called to serve. The Church is increasingly seen as out of touch, indifferent, painfully wanting.

GOD’S SENSE OF HUMOR

GOD’S SENSE OF HUMOR

by: Ron Rolheiser, OMI in Articles,

If we genuinely trust scripture, our own experience, and our own sanity, we can only conclude that God has a sense of humor, and a robust and sneaky one at that.  Where’s the evidence?  A generation ago, Peter Berger wrote a remarkable little book entitled, A Rumor of Angels. Unlike Aquinas, Anselm, Descartes, and a number of renowned philosophers, he didn’t try to “prove” the existence of God through logic and argumentation. Rather, he simply examined a number of very ordinary human experiences and pointed to what’s hidden inside and behind the walls of those experiences.

 
What's in a Farewell?

What's in a Farewell?

by: Ron Rolheiser, OMI in Articles,

Farewells can be hard. When we love someone who is going away, there’s always a sadness, and a particularly heart-wrenching one when that loved one is going away in death. Yet, we know from experience that at the end of the day farewells are not so much a death as a transition. One way of being present to each other is ending and giving way to another that is just beginning and will better serve love in the long run.

Naming the Present Moment - Some Metaphors to Digest

Naming the Present Moment - Some Metaphors to Digest

by: Ron Rolheiser, OMI in Articles,

 Not everything can be fixed or cured, but it should be named properly. Richard Rohr said that. James Hillman suggests something similar when he wrote that a symptom suffers most when it doesn’t know where it belongs.

 
Love, not Excuses, Moves things Forward

Love, not Excuses, Moves things Forward

by: Ron Rolheiser, OMI in Articles,

 The excusable doesn’t need to be excused and the inexcusable cannot be excused. Michael Buckley wrote those words commenting on Peter’s triple betrayal of Jesus. Here’s the context. Peter had betrayed Jesus in his most needy hour, not out of malice, simply out of weakness. Now, facing Jesus for the first time since that betrayal, Peter is understandably uncomfortable. What do you say after betraying someone?

The World Economy Emerges From Covid And Goes To War

The World Economy Emerges From Covid And Goes To War

by: Fernando de la Iglesia Viguiristi SJ - La Civiltà Cattolica in Articles,

We are going through a time of great uncertainty. For more than two years, the pandemic has been shaking the foundations of the world economy. No one could have foreseen or anticipated the impact on the production of goods, as well as on transport. In addition, in recent months there have been continuous tensions in energy markets, which are going through a difficult and costly transition to carbon neutrality, as well as with raw materials, whose prices are soaring due to increasing  demand.

Spirituality - A Place Where all Believers can Come Together

Spirituality - A Place Where all Believers can Come Together

by: Ron Rolheiser, OMI in Articles,

Where can all of us believers come together beyond the divisions created by history, dogma, denomination, and religion? Where is there a place all people of sincere heart can find common ground and worship together? That place is found in the ecumenical and inter-religious pursuit of spirituality, and our theology schools and seminaries need to create this place within their academic vision and structures.

Maneging an Ascension

Maneging an Ascension

by: Ron Rolheiser, OMI in Articles,

A friend of mine, somewhat cynical about the church, recently remarked: “What the institutional church today is trying to do is to put its best face on the fact that it’s dying. Basically, it’s trying to manage a death.”

Progress and Collapse

Progress and Collapse

by: Giandomenico Mucci, SJ- La Civiltà Cattolica in Articles,

 Among the Enlightenment’s legacy there is an idea that spanned the centuries and penetrated deeply into the mentality of people in the West. It is the idea of progress, the idea of moving toward our cultural, moral and material best, especially thanks to the successes of science and technology. This idea shaped much of modern European history; it nourished hope and political ideologies; it spread trust in the future.

Fear of Missing Out

Fear of Missing Out

by: Ron Rolheiser, OMI in Articles,

 It’s hard for a child to have to go to bed in the middle of an evening when the rest of the family is still celebrating. Nobody wants to go to bed while everyone else is still up. No one wants to miss out on life.