Five hundred years after the death of Leonardo da Vinci (May 2, 1519), there are still many mysteries to be unveiled related to this protagonist of the Italian Renaissance and the history of humanity. He represents the emblem of “universal man,” a formula that echoes the universalis genius of the ancient Romans.
During the Cold War the dominant strategic doctrine was MAD—Mutually Assured Destruction. The irony of the English acronym was grimly acknowledged by proponents and critics alike. You would have to be crazy to initiate a nuclear war that would bring destruction on a global scale.
In today’s modern world overshadowed by extravagant globalization, materialism and consumerism, it is very common for people to forget about people who are less fortunate. These people with relative fortune and comfort might get a jolt if asked what they think about slavery and slaves. In most cases, the answer is likely to be simple: slavery was abolished in the 19th century.
But 12 December 2019 might also represent another historical way station of huge import. For it could be the last time MPs from Scotland are returned to the Westminster Parliament. The Scottish question was vividly put in The Guardian last month by Neal Ascherson when he claimed that “Brexit has delivered the United Kingdom to the hospice of history”. I hope it hasn’t – but I fear it has.
Pope Francis has revealed more about his lifelong passion for Japan, telling Emperor Naruhito how much his parents cried when he was nine years old in 1945 when they learned about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki when more than 100,000 people were instantly killed.
Chernobyl is a television mini-series co-produced by HBO and Sky about the very serious nuclear accident at the V.I. Lenin Nuclear Power Plant, located 18 kilometers northeast of the city of Chernobyl and 16 kilometers from the border between Ukraine and Belarus.
All these proposals are to be found in a broad and mature vision of the Church, alien to clericalism, aware of the fact that the laity already have in fact in many situations the task of teaching and supporting ecclesial communities.
In a joint declaration at the Vatican on Oct. 28, they promoted palliative care with comprehensive physical, emotional, social, religious and spiritual care for dying patients and appropriate support for their families.
The teaching of the Church has evolved from a conditioned acceptance of nuclear deterrence in the 1980s, to rejection of deterrence as an unacceptable moral rationalization for nuclear armament in the 2000s, to strong support for nuclear disarmament in recent years, leading to approval for the Ban Treaty in September 2017. Catholics have the right to ask, “Which position should I take?”
The challenges currently facing the European Union are more dangerous than ever before in the time since the signature of the Treaty of Rome. The first is an external threat that is linked to the new geopolitical situation in the world and around Europe. The second threat comes from within the EU and is linked to the growth of anti-European, nationalist and increasingly xenophobic sentiments. The third threat is represented by the attitude of the pre-European elites who show that they have less trust in political integration and who passively accept populist arguments and doubt the fundamental values of liberal democracy.
How one activist's faith inspired an act of nonviolent resistance against a power company. “If there is a building on fire with a child trapped inside, but outside the building there’s a ‘No Trespassing’ sign, anyone in their right mind would go in to save the child,” says Brenna Cussen Anglada, a Catholic Worker who resides at St. Isidore Catholic Worker Farm in Cuba City, Wisconsin and is an environmental activist.
In the summer of 2015, three-year-old Alan Kurdi was found dead on a Turkish beach. His Syrian family had fled their war-torn homeland. The image of that drowned child in the arms of a soldier disturbed us all.
In the fall of 2018, seven-year-old Amal Hussain died of a deadly disease: hunger. Her photograph appeared in The New York Times: undernourished, she lay waiting for death, without even the strength to cry.
In their ancient rituals the Amazonian natives seek a harmonious connection with Mother Earth – Pacha Mama – and her spiritual world. For them, there are spirits in the forest who can be allies or opponents, who can help or hinder, heal or cause disease, who must be appeased or instigated.
The results of an international sociological research project were recently presented in Rome. It looked to explore what young people think about their own personal futures and how they view the outlook for their families and for the local and national communities in the countries where they live.
The Bishops of England and Wales have declared an unprecedented ecological crisis and called on Catholics, their parishes and dioceses, to change their lifestyles to tackle climate change... “We need a more considered relationship with our God, our neighbour and the earth through the way we manage our resources as a Church,” they write.
We are told of further rumours about how many MPs are prepared to vote against their party whips to assert their own political positions in the coming parliamentary struggle next month, of the uncertain outcome of a vote of confidence, or a vote of no confidence, either of which might predicate an early general election of no certain outcome.
Bishops in Latin America have called on the governments of the Amazon region, the United Nations and the international community to "take serious measures to save the lung of the world" as thousands of fires continue to devastate the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.
Brexit discussions, especially in recent months, have led to an atmosphere of great uncertainty in Northern Ireland, the Bishop of Derry, Donal McKeown told domradio.de, in a long interview. He said that "even the Unionists, that is those (in Northern Ireland) who feel they are rather more English" believe that from an economic point of view it would be better to remain part of Ireland rather that be an English colony.
A recent survey carried out for the BBC showed that the most popular world leader in the Arab world was not the President of the United States or of Russia – or any Arab leader – but none other than President Erdogan. This embrace of a nationalistic, authoritarian, interfering non-Arab in Arab affairs might, at first glance, look odd.
Even today’s dominant religions have continually evolved throughout history. Early Christianity, for example, was a truly broad church: ancient documents include yarns about Jesus’ family life and testaments to the nobility of Judas. It took three centuries for the Christian church to consolidate around a canon of scriptures – and then in 1054 it split into the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches.