News in Church Issues

The Future of the Parish: Pastoral Conversion to the Gospel

The Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation. […] The parish is not an outdated institution; precisely because it possesses great flexibility; it can assume quite different contours depending on the openness and missionary creativity of the pastor and the community.”

Why people are tempted to leave the Church

Why people are tempted to leave the Church and what can be done to help them stay. Read almost any article over recent years concerning statistics on Church membership and participation, and you're sure to be told that the largest number of people fall into the category of "nones".They are people who have given up their prior affiliation with any Church denomination. And among them the largest number are "former Catholics".

Pope Francis institutes new catechesis ministry

Pope Francis has instituted a new ministry of “catechist” describing it as a “stable form of service” carried out by lay people. In an apostolic letter setting out the change, Antiquum ministerium (Ancient Ministry), the Pope says the role is open to men and women who have a vocation to teach the Christian faith. 

Catholic Bishops reflect on post pandemic challenges for Church

The Love of the Lord for the Lowly

Psalm 136 recalls the Lord’s mercy in the actions of the Creator and the Savior as the sacred psalmist raises a joyful acclamation of praise for the eternal goodness of God. As we listen to the voice of God, our prayer must accompany every meditative path even when we approach biblical texts that are not actually formulas prepared for liturgical recitation.

Joseph loved Jesus with a Father’s Heart

“With a father’s heart […] Joseph loved Jesus”: so begins the Apostolic Letter Patris Corde, which commemorates 150 years since Pius IX proclaimed Saint Joseph “Patron of the Universal Church” on December 8, 1870, to emphasize “his central role in the history of salvation.”

Evangelical Imbalances: Francis Writes to the People of God in Germany

From Francis to Mozi: ‘Social Friendship’ and ‘Inclusive Love’

We would like to present here the thought of a Chinese author who, 2,500 years ago reflected on the way to establish just and fraternal relationships between individuals, communities and nations. He did so with a different logic from that followed by Christian theology. But his way of dealing with the issue provides a stimulating counterpoint to the quest we are pursuing today to live fraternity more intensely and more broadly.

The Ministry of Women in the Liturgy: ‘Sound Tradition’ and ‘Legitimate Progress’

On the occasion of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Pope Francis promulgated a document by which he recognized the possibility for women to exercise the instituted ministries of lector and acolyte. It is well known that earlier legislation, established by Paul VI with a similar measure, reserved these ministries to male laity.

Pope Francis' "attitude adjustment program" is gaining traction

The widespread negative reaction to the latest pronouncement by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) -- that the Church does not have the power to bless same-sex unions -- clearly surprised many people. Pope Francis was probably among those who were taken back a bit, especially by the fact that more than a few bishops voiced displeasure with the CDF text.

Reality is Superior to the Idea

When speaking of evangelization in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (EG), Pope Francis addresses the topics of the common good and social peace (EG 217-237). He speaks of four principles in this regard: time is greater than space (222-225), unity prevails over conflict (226-230), realities are more important than ideas (231-233), and the whole is greater than the part (234-237).

Justin Welby on the power of renewal

Starting a community here was about ensuring that Lambeth Palace, which has its own rich tradition of housing religious communities, was committed to collaborating with the renewal that God so clearly longs for. When praying communities are supported and flourishing, their gift to the Church is beyond measure. In them, the broader Church finds inspiration and challenge, and is held in wise and loving prayer.

Vaccines: Making responsible decisions

To ensure universal access and equitable distribution, it has also been proposed to remove patents, although this measure could reduce the speed of research and the number of companies involved. However, it is possible to imagine forms of limitation and the granting of regulated licenses at the international level, also introducing financial instruments for the recovery of resources invested (for example, vaccine bonds).

Luther’s Excommunication: 500 Years Later

Why return after half a millennium to this excommunication? Unfortunately, its consequences continue to be felt and to generate suffering. As a matter of fact, in Canon Law excommunication ceases with the death of the person condemned, but in this case the effects have been much more lasting, for almost five centuries. It seems that the Bull “excommunicated” not only Luther, but also condemned the Reformation.

Christians in the Caliphal Empires

In order to understand the challenges Christian communities in the Middle East face, it is necessary to understand the ways in which, through centuries of history, Islam institutionally organized its relations with the different religions – in particular with Christianity – across its vast territories.

Being a priest doesn’t mean you can’t have fun

The nice thing about the film It’s a Wonderful Life is that it shows a man how much he is valued while he’s still around to take pleasure from the knowledge. It’s been a little like that since Mark Langham, until lately chaplain at Cambridge, let it be known to the chaplaincy that he’s very unwell and receiving palliative care; Westminster Cathedral, where he was administrator, did the same.

Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and Religions

Interreligious Dialogue in Asia: A look at the past to understand the future

Over the last decades interreligious dialogue in Asia has faced some tough challenges. Even though many religious leaders, organizations and thinkers have been working constructively and efficaciously, at the popular level religions often limit themselves to coexisting rather than engaging in dialogue and collaboration. Besides, tensions and conflicts, both short- and long-term, continue to be all too frequent.

Protestantism is beginning to outpace Catholicism in Mexico

More and more Mexicans are identifying as Protestants, as the Catholic Church watches people slowly walking away. Between 2000 and 2020, the proportion of Catholics in Mexico fell by ten points (from 88% to 77.7%), in favor of Protestants and Evangelicals. 

Religious Freedom Facing New Challenges: 55 years after ‘Dignitatis Humanae’

To whom should religious freedom be granted: to individuals who follow their own consciences, or to religions as communities operating in the public sphere? In 2019 the International Theological Commission presented a study on this topic: Religious Freedom for the Good of All. Theological approaches and contemporary challenges. In this article I present an analysis of the document.