“We are living at a crucial moment for humanity, in which peace seems to give way to war. Conflicts are growing, and stability is increasingly put at risk. We are experiencing a third world war fought piecemeal, which, as time passes, seems to become ever more widespread,” warned Pope Francis to members of the United […]
For many of us who strive to seriously practice faith in Jesus Christ, and to extend that practice out into the marketplace, the political square and society at large, persecution rarely means more than being ridiculed, verbally harassed, and to a certain degree socially and politically marginalized. But for so many other Christians throughout the […]
“It’s a record that should never have been set,” said U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi. The record? Over 100 million people around the world have been forced to flee from gang violence, armed conflicts, war, global warming induced droughts, hunger, extreme poverty – in all, countless situations offering no hope. Grandi boldly asserted, […]
Recently, Pope Francis stated that the lay and religious women present at the “universal Church” stage of the Global Synod will be voting; in other words women will have a voice in that Church assembly. Many women and men have greeted this as a welcome development in Church decision making, while others are vocally opposed […]
There is no shortage of those who speak and act as though war is inevitable. In ancient history, in recent history, and in our own day, war has, and continues to have, its unholy heel on the neck of humanity – especially the neck of humanity’s poor and vulnerable. People training for war, people making […]
Are you ready for Laudato Si’ Week? Is your parish ready? Perhaps you are wondering, “What is Laudato Si’ Week?” And for that matter, what does Laudato Si’ mean? Laudato Si’ is medieval Italian for “Praise be to you.” It is a quote from St. Francis of Assisi’s beautiful “Canticle of the Creatures,” “Praise be […]
“Anyone who inflicts a permanent injury on his or her neighbor shall receive the same in return: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (Lev. 24:19-20). Thus, this Old Testament development in moral law insisted that one could inflict punishment on a person who injured him, but only to the same degree that […]
Just over 60 years ago, the earth as we know it came dangerously close to being engulfed in a nuclear fireball. In October of 1962, the United States demanded that the Soviet Union’s nuclear missile sites in Cuba be dismantled and removed. After the Soviet Union refused, the U.S. established a Cuban naval blockade. With […]
“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’” And as if the once dead Jesus, appearing in their midst – with locked doors at […]
“The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel.” With these two compelling sentences – as recorded in the Gospel of Mark – Jesus inaugurates his ministry and sums up what his mission is about: to break the shackles of sin that enslave humanity, to put us on the path of […]
