Analysis and Comment

  • Faith in the factory: Keeping belief alive in the city

    Nearly four million Vietnamese Catholics have migrated internally, leaving rural parishes behind. Far from home parishes, they whisper prayers in dorm rooms before shifts. The Church faces the challenge of helping them sustain belief in busy, fragmented urban life.

    Faith in the factory: Keeping belief alive in the city
  • Influence is Not Enough — Religion in the age of algorithms

    The sacred hasn’t vanished; it’s migrated. Today, technology is not just a tool—it’s a spiritual context. Can we hear the soul through the machine? Faith in a digital world must learn to speak a new language without losing its mystery.

    Influence is Not Enough — Religion in the age of algorithms
  • Global South pushes back on Canterbury pick

    Critics cite Mullally’s openness to blessing same-sex relationships as a flashpoint. GAFCON leaders say the Church of England ignored their views when choosing a new archbishop.

    Global South pushes back on Canterbury pick
  • Hope and resistance greet Anglican Communion’s new leader

    Kenya’s Bishop Emily Onyango called the appointment “very significant,” saying women bishops are thrilled by the chance for change. Conservative Anglican leaders in Africa say Mullally’s appointment undermines doctrine. Rwandan Archbishop Laurent Mbanda accused her of promoting “unbiblical teachings” on marriage and morality, warning the decision could deepen existing divisions and alienate millions of believers…

    Hope and resistance greet Anglican Communion’s new leader
  • Pope Francis’ liturgical legacy

    When liturgy is done well, it teaches. People recognise reverence, beauty, and community. Through prayer, song, and gesture, the assembly experiences Christ alive and active. The celebration itself becomes formative, shaping believers in faith and unity.

    Pope Francis’ liturgical legacy
  • 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

Get Flashes of Insight

We respect your email privacy

Donate

All services bringing Flashes of Insight are donated.

Significant costs, such as those associated with site hosting, site design, and email delivery, mount up.

Flashes of Insight will shortly look for donations.