A new publication by the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life has drawn criticism over contributions from some theologians arguing for a distinction between moral norms, such as the Church’s condemnation of artificial birth control, and the pastoral application of those norms in concrete circumstances. Basically, the suggestion seemed to be that in some limited circumstances,…
Despite the popular appeal of Pope Francis, the vast majority of Irish Catholics ignored the synodal consultation process, writes Fr Andrew McMahon Appreciation is due to this newspaper for its recent Synodal Times, outlining the contents of the various diocesan synodal syntheses. From figures contained within the summaries, the participation/response rate per diocese appears to…
Pope Francis said all the speeches he has prepared for his trip to Canada “begin and end” with asking forgiveness. In an early July interview, he acknowledged the “cruel way” the Catholic Church collaborated with the Canadian government in “colonisation” by uprooting Indigenous children from their families, cultures and spiritualities and forcing them to attend…
Many of us are familiar with an often-quoted line from T.S. Eliot: “The last temptation is the greatest treason; to do the right deed for the wrong reason.” This, he suggests, is the temptation of the good person. What’s the temptation? In John’s Gospel, Jesus asks his listeners this question, “How can you believe who…
It was bound to happen. After over two years scrupulously taking every precaution to avoid infection, it caught me out: Covid visited me. And it took me over. It happened on a Saturday, the worst day for a priest in a one-priest parish. I woke with all the symptoms. An antigen test duly showed two…
Marilyn Rodrigues The second assembly of Australia’s plenary council closed at the weekend after two days of catching up and passing almost all of the motions in its guiding document, including a revised version of the section on the equal dignity of women and men in the Church. Members were noticeably tired after a long week,…
It wasn’t his opponents but his chaotic, rule-breaking nature that pulled him down in the end, writes David Quinn When Bill Clinton was American president, the issue of character loomed large. Was a man with such an obviously flawed character a suitable person for arguably the world’s most important job? The answer came to depend…
The second assembly of Australia’s plenary council ran from July 3-9. A plenary council has wide-ranging power, and Australia has gone through an extensive process to get to this point. Here are some key questions and answers. Q. What was the plenary council? A plenary council is a gathering of the local Church; it has…
Shannon Campbell The View “Nemo dat quod non habet.” That was the advice of our Chaplain, Fr Dominic McGrattan, when I first took up my position as chaplaincy director. As a former lawyer he’s known to throw out the odd legal maxim. Not being a Latinist myself, he thankfully supplied a translation and “no one…
Christians are enjoined to love one another, and to love their enemy as well. But that doesn’t mean that everyone has to like everyone else. It’s a simple fact that not everyone can like everyone else. The accord that is struck between two people can depend on that intangible element known as ‘personal chemistry’. As…
John L. Allen Jr.
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
David Quinn
Mary Kenny