Q: I have a question about appeals to Rome of the declaration of nullity process. The metropolitan tribunal of my local archdiocese has completed their review of the case and stated that it has been proved that there is sufficient ground to find the marriage invalid (“decision in the affirmative”). However, my former spouse has…
The Anglican bishop N.T. Wright once contrasted the preaching of the Gospel by St Paul and his own efforts to do the same. “When Paul preached the Gospel, they tried to stone him. When I preach the Gospel, kind ladies make me tea!” Here he was pointing to the contrast between the effect of preaching…
Let us run with perseverance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:1–2). Some words never leave us. They return in quiet moments, in struggle, in grief, in temptation, ‘Keep your eyes on the goal.’ Simple words. Because our life journey is…
Love of country is not nationalism, but a Christian duty rooted in gratitude, responsibility and charity, writes Fr Chris Hayden Is there a love of country that occupies a sensible, reasonable, humane space, away from the extremes of unbridled nationalism on one hand, or nation-dissolving globalism on the other? For Catholics, the answer is a…
During most of the two thousand years that Christianity has existed it has not been friends with science, and science has not been friends with it. From the Church condemning Galileo, to the Enlightenment thinkers declaring faith ‘a spent project’, science and Christian faith have been more foe than friend. Happily, this has changed. Today…
‘Sé is brí le Féile na Deascabhála ná go gcaithfidh scaoilfimid le rudaí agus glacadh le saol nua. Nuair a bhíonn cuairteoir ag fanacht leat ar feadh tamaill agus ansin imíonn siad braithimid go mbíonn sé deacair orainn dul ar ais go dtí an gnáthshaol nuair atá siad imithe. Bíonn brón orainn go mbíonn siad imithe…
Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47 (46); Ephesians 1:17-23; Matthew 28:16-20 And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age The Gospel Matt. 28:16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. Matt. 28:17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Matt.…
Joseph does not draw attention to himself. He listens, and he acts, exemplifying the disciple as one who hears “the word of God and acts on it” (Lk 8:21). Whenever we turn to Joseph, we are led, through him, to discover the God he obeyed and the mission he served. The Litany of St Joseph…
Authority as service lies at the heart of Pope Leo XIV’s Augustinian formation, writes Fr Barry White We are marking the first anniversary of the election of Pope Leo XIV on May 8 2025, when Robert Francis Prevost stepped onto the loggia of St Peter’s Basilica. He appeared calm, if visibly moved, introducing himself simply…
Family life is hard. In case no one has affirmed that for you lately, let me be the one. Whether you’re in the stage of diapers and bottles, wiping faces and losing sleep or whether you’re worrying about the children who have grown, the now-adults making their stumbling way through a suffering world, families will…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Fr Barry White