"One of the most formidable obstacles to our pastoral mission is ignorance of the content of faith. Indeed, this is a dual form of ignorance: the ignorance of Jesus Christ as a person and ignorance of the sublime nature of His teachings, of their universal and permanent value in the search for the meaning of life and happiness.
The media has depicted the Church of England as being on the verge of collapse because of the rejection of a General Synod Measure permitting the appointment of women as bishops. It was seen as a triumph of obscurantism over progress, a refusal to recognise the right of women to equal treatment with men. But there is more to it than that.
Even friends of an Established church like myself – though I’m a Catholic – should think twice about the wisdom of the idea after the naked political interference in the affairs of the CofE in the Commons. The Speaker, who is non-religious/agnostic, was among the most overt in encouraging MPs to overturn the church’s decision not to approve women bishops.
We all know that the Roman Catholic Church is run exclusively by men who jealously guard their own interests. They persist in maintaining an 'equal but different' doctrine according to which women are conveniently made by God to do all the jobs that men would rather not.
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has warned George Osborne against a “foolish” attempt to use marriage as a “political football”.
The general synod of the Church of England has voted against the appointment of women as bishops. The decision came at the end of a day of debate by supporters and opponents - and a 12-year legislative process.
The Archbishop of Westminster has said that the Church of England will move further away from "the Catholic tradition" if it decides to ordain women bishops. Archbishop Vincent Nichols said the Catholic Church was following the process "with some concern."
The Church of England's governing general synod is due to vote on whether to allow women to become bishops. Twenty years after the introduction of women priests, the issue continues to split traditionalists and liberals.
The future of faith schools was safeguarded today after a bid to block two new Catholic schools was dismissed by the High Court. Local parents and the British Humanist Association have lost their High Court bid to block the opening of two new faith schools.
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Ralph Martin attributed the loss of Catholic missionary zeal to a widespread misunderstanding of some of Vatican II's most distinctive teachings. As he argues in a new book ("Will Many Be Saved?
The synodal assembly took place from 7 to 28 October and examined the theme: "The New Evangelisation for the Transmission of the Christian Faith". An English-language summary of the text, issued by the Synod, is given here.
Rights group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) today urged the UK government to use Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s state visit this week as an opportunity to discuss religious intolerance in his country.
The phrase "New Evangelisation" was coined to refer to the situation in mainly European countries that have long been Christian at least nominally, but where the practice of the faith is in decline and the future may belong to various types of secularism, either neutral with regard to faith or hostile to it.
A SENIOR cardinal has said that bishops in the English-speaking world have been too accommodating in their proclamation of church teaching.
"As members of the college of bishops, you must always have particular care for the universal Church, especially by promoting and defending the unity of the faith. ... This is a particularly important in our own times, which call on you courageously to invite mankind of all degrees to meet Christ and to strengthen the faith".
The Catholic Church’s commitment to dialogue and a growing common witness with others churches and ecclesial communities must also serve the new evangelization. Authentic dialogue promotes the conversion of heart that opens us to a relationship with others where the message of the Gospel can be more clearly expressed and more fruitfully received.
Dr Rowan Williams has told Pope Benedict XVI and the Synod of Bishops that evangelisation is not a project, but the natural “overflow” of an experience of Christ and his Church that transforms lives, giving them meaning and joy.
I took part in last week’s launch of the much-anticipated “Catholic social networking site” Aleteia. The event took place at a bookshop a stone’s throw away from the Vatican – a far cry from the original venue announced for the event, the HQ of Vatican Radio.
Evangelisation is not the work of a small number of specialists but of the entire People of God under the guidance of their pastors. Each member of the faithful, with and within ecclesial communion, must feel the responsibility to announce and bear witness to the Gospel".
Creating wealth is a noble calling but many businessmen feel pressurised to adopt different moral values at work and home. Four years or more after the crisis broke, we are still talking of the lessons to be learnt – but not much nearer identifying what exactly they are, let alone applying them.
