Analysis and Comment

  • Pope challenges narrow ‘pro-life’ view

    Cardinal Blase Cupich’s decision to honour Sen. Dick Durbin drew criticism over the lawmaker’s abortion stance. Bishop Thomas Paprocki opposed the award and has denied Durbin Communion since 2004. Following the backlash, Durbin declined the honour, prompting Cupich to express sadness but respect.

    Pope challenges narrow ‘pro-life’ view
  • Pope Leo a careful canon lawyer

    Pope Leo is slowing beginning to reveal himself, not through dramatic gestures but through cautious, lawyerly responses; most of which is scripted.

    Pope Leo a careful canon lawyer
  • Ten takeaways from Pope Leo’s first interviews

    Pope Leo XIV’s first interviews reveal a leader who listens carefully yet holds firm lines. Women leaders will be promoted, but ordination to the diaconate is not on the table. LGBTQ Catholics are welcomed in Pope Leo XIV’s Church, but doctrine on sexuality and marriage remains unchanged.

    Ten takeaways from Pope Leo’s first interviews
  • Gaza ‘disaster’ — two-state solution ‘less and less real’

    Palestinians need more than humanitarian aid, said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, they seek dignity and recognition as a people. He still sees the two-state solution as ideal, though increasingly less realistic given today’s circumstances.

    Gaza ‘disaster’ — two-state solution ‘less and less real’
  • Never again

    For decades, Israel was seen through the prism of the Holocaust. Today, Gaza reshapes that perception. The atrocities committed under political self-interest risk burdening Jewish communities worldwide with a legacy they never authorised and must now carry.

    Never again
  • Selective Catholicism: contradictions of faith and politics

    Catholic social teaching on immigrants, the poor and creation finds little space in the Catholic right. While bishops accompany immigrants to hearings and teach about environmental stewardship, many Catholics dismiss such concerns as “radical left politics,” narrowing faith to partisan agendas.

    Selective Catholicism: contradictions of faith and politics
  • 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.

    Joyful liturgies are what we are about as Christians – reflecting on Sancrosanctum Concilium
  • Live as if every life matters

    Empathy begins with recognition. Violence thrives on dehumanisation, but radical listening restores compassion. Gene Knudsen-Hoffman captured it simply: “An enemy is one whose story you have not heard.” To hear another’s story is to rediscover our own humanity and expand the boundaries of care.

    Live as if every life matters
  • Why organized religion has lost relevancy

    Millennials and younger generations, Smith argues, grew up seeing religion as discredited or irrelevant. For them, faith didn’t add up. This generational shift has accelerated the cultural disengagement that left organized religion looking more like an antique than a necessity.

    Why organized religion has lost relevancy
  • Heart and spirit respond differently to virtual church

    Religious attendance has long been linked to better health and happiness. But researchers are now asking whether virtual services, increasingly common since COVID-19, offer the same benefits. Duke University’s small study suggests the online experience falls short on several personal and communal measures.

    Heart and spirit respond differently to virtual church

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