Brendan Butler
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Leo’s slavery teaching opens door for women’s ordination
In “Magnificent Humanity,” Pope Leo describes the Church’s condemnation of slavery as a genuine development in doctrine, not a clarification of existing teaching. That admission, echoing Cardinal Newman, creates a powerful precedent for revisiting the supposedly final ban on ordaining women as priests.
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Does the Bible give Israel divine rights over Palestinian land?
Genesis texts promising land to Abraham’s descendants are frequently cited to justify Israeli occupation. But modern biblical scholarship and Paul’s letter to the Romans challenge any claim that God permanently favours one people over another.
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God is not a weapon
Pope Leo XIV’s Palm Sunday homily quoted Isaiah directly at those prosecuting the Iran offensive, saying God does not hear the prayers of those whose hands are full of blood. It was among the sharpest papal condemnations of an active military campaign in recent memory.
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A ‘rupture in the world order’
If today’s moral disorder is embedded in political, economic, and religious structures, then individual repentance alone is insufficient. The response must be equally structural — public, organized, and sustained.
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The young women the Church is losing — and why
Young Catholic women are abandoning institutional religion for direct action—caring for the homeless, demanding equality, and fighting for human rights. They embody the Beatitudes’ values but reject religious identity, motivated instead by humanitarian concern and compassion.
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From first witness to fallen woman: the rewriting of Mary Magdalene
Names like Mary Magdalene and Photini, the Samaritan woman known as the first Evangelist, reveal a deep yet suppressed tradition of women leaders. Their stories challenge a Church that still struggles to welcome women as full partners in ministry, governance and proclamation.
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Beyond rest: envisioning eternal growth
What if eternity isn’t a pause, but a beginning? If heaven is movement, not stillness — a journey deeper into God’s light? Newman’s wisdom still stirs: to live is to change. Perhaps death simply opens the next chapter of transformation.
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Absolutely Right
Two voices echo across time: one calling for battle, another for God’s kingdom on earth. Between them lies the clash of worldviews shaping our age, where populist leaders and faithful dreamers compete to write the story of tomorrow.
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Where is God?
The search for God never ends. When confronted with images of cruelty and suffering, humanity questions God’s presence. Traditional theology insisted God could not suffer. Yet the Gospels portray a God of compassion, revealed through Jesus. In this vision, God is not immune to pain but responds with love that transforms suffering into solidarity.
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Becoming the message
A serious examination of Church practices and power structures is overdue. Only with an honest review can it genuinely promote the rights of women and those long marginalised.
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