Flashes

  • When power writes the peace

    The Gaza plan bears the handwriting of the powerful: America’s interests, Israel’s security, Gaza’s disarmament. Its language of goodwill hides the imbalance beneath. True peace will depend not on signatures, but on the justice that follows.

    When power writes the peace
  • The room preaches louder than the ritual

    We are shaped by space. Decades of reflection have revealed the limits of the traditional church layout. The long, narrow design of ancient basilicas survives today, shaping behaviour and focus. Instead of gathering around a shared table, congregations sit like audiences at a concert.

    The room preaches louder than the ritual
  • The burden borne by poor women

    Women, Leo points out, suffer disproportionately from poverty, violence, and exclusion. Quoting Pope Francis, he affirms their dignity and heroic witness. Yet, the exhortation raises questions about whether the church’s actions match its words on gender equality.

    The burden borne by poor women
  • 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.

    Foot washing: not a mime, but a model for the Church
  • 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.

    Beyond rest: envisioning eternal growth
  • When violins argue like world newsfeeds

    Bach’s Goldberg Variations stirred unexpected reflections on justice, war, and the chaos of public discourse. The music became a mirror for inner conflict, revealing how struggles for justice may sometimes mask deeper personal unrest.

    When violins argue like world newsfeeds
  • Ritual exile — modern stigma

    Who do we cast out today—those we fear, those we blame, those who differ from us? The ancient story still asks how far we go to preserve purity, and what kind of holiness demands exclusion.

    Ritual exile — modern stigma
  • Romanticising the past risks the future

    The risk of nostalgia lies not in tradition itself but in romanticising fragments as the whole truth. If Germany builds on a dream of GDR life, or Catholics cling to an imagined golden age, both risk turning truth into museum relics.

    Romanticising the past risks the future
  • Carlo Acutis: saint of the internet or symbol of conservatism?

    The rise of Christian influencers – “Christfluencers” – has shaped how faith is presented online. Their emphasis on miracle healings, biblical literalism, and sexual morality mirrors the spirituality many link with Carlo Acutis, raising concerns about his image being appropriated by right-wing groups.

    Carlo Acutis: saint of the internet or symbol of conservatism?
  • Reform without an imprimatur

    Though it lacks official endorsement, the Bristol Text offers reassurance that reforms can be both faithful and lawful. Its authority rests on theologians and pastors who shaped it, rather than on hierarchical approval.

    Reform without an imprimatur

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