Thomas O’Loughlin
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Foot washing: not a mime, but a model for the Church
Sarah Mullally’s words challenge the Church to rediscover its radical core. By placing service before status, and compassion before ceremony, she offers a model of leadership that could yet transform the Church from within.
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Joyful liturgies are what we are about as Christians – reflecting on Sancrosanctum Concilium
Joy is not decoration but central to Christian worship. Every liturgy carries a note of joy, even in the face of suffering. It is the abiding flavour of faith, an expression of hope in the risen Christ and the victory of life over death.
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The need for creeds—reimagining Nicaea
Creeds are not museum pieces. Without reinterpretation, their power wanes. Francis’ short statement reminds us that doctrine isn’t just preservation—it’s proclamation, shaped anew by every generation that dares to believe in a God still active in human history.
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Mistake: Blaming Vatican II for the Sexual Abuse Crisis
A 1939 meeting between Hitler’s envoy and Pope Pius XII revealed troubling Vatican awareness of clergy abuse. The envoy hinted abuse trials could stop if cooperation followed. Pius XII acknowledged the problem but later ordered abuse-related archives in Vienna destroyed.
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City streets to Vatican suites: But Leo is not just another pope
In contrast to popes whose cultural identities overlapped entirely with Catholic tradition, Leo XIV represents a shift. He belongs to a generation where being Catholic doesn’t necessarily mean being culturally dominant, and where faith must engage with difference rather than assume uniformity.
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