On April 28th this year, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna dropped some remarks in a news conference that hit made headlines around the world. He called for deep reform of the curia, he criticized a colleague (Cardinal Sodano), and suggested…
Monthly Archives: June 2010
A “Secularized” West – Or a Secularized Church?
Pope Benedict has created a new Vatican office to “re-evangelize” the West, aiming to combat it’s “secularization”. My immediate reaction on reading this was to wonder if by “secularization”, he is truly concerned about a loss of faith, or the…
Faith at Pride, London Version.
The “Pride Month” of June is almost over, but Pride continues regardless. As always, London pride will be in July, not June – this Saturday, July 3rd. As always, there will be a range of faith -based groups participating. There…
Slovenian Violence at Pride – Condemned by Church Justice & Peace Commission!
Two news items from Slovenia appear to be worth noting. Unfortunately, as they are both from the same subscription service, I cannot access more than just the headline and first paragraphs. From these it appears, however, that Slovenia’s Pride Parade…
The Social Value of Gay Marriage
The standard pseudo-religious argument against same-sex marriage is that “conventional” marriage between a man and a woman offers value to society that same sex marriage does not. Quite the most impressive counter to that argument, written by a straight woman,…
“Uniting Church” Disunity Over Sacred Unions
In Australia, a church ceremony that was not a gay wedding has attracted the ire of gay marriage foes. In doing so, it has highlighted many of the challenges, tensions and achievements facing the churches over LGBT inclusion. On one…
Background to the “War on the Church” in Belgium.
The Vatican, and many Catholic apologists around the world, have reacted with shock and anger to the Belgian police raids on the bishops’ headquarters and the residences of leading churchmen. Two useful background pieces at NCR offer some perspective on why,…
St Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles.
There is much that is paradoxical in the figure of Paul. In his dual persona as Saul / Paul, he is renowned as both a one-time feared persecutor of Christians, and as the greatest of all the early missionaries, who…
Can You Sue the Vatican? SCOTUS Says “Yes”.
“Can You Sue the Vatican?” was a headline I was seeing for a time on my Google News pages, referring to a lawsuit in Louisville, Kentucky, in which an abuse victim is seeking legal redress directly from the Vatican. The…
The Saints & Martyrs of Stonewall
Devotion to the saints is one of the most characteristic features of Catholic culture – but just who are the “saints”? The best known are those officially recognised by the church, those who have been formally canonized and listed in…
