Flashes
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Society’s critique may reflect the Church’s true image
Society reflects back what the Church projects. Critical voices from outside often echo our own internal dissonance. That’s why listening — even to discomfort — is essential for self-understanding and rebuilding credibility.
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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.
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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.
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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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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.
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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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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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