Focus

Hagia Sophia and places of religious freedom

Jul 25, 2020

A Turkish court abrogated that decree earlier this month when it announced that it had revoked Hagia Sophia’s status as a museum, which had become a monument of relative harmony and a symbol of the secularism that was part of the foundation of the modern Turkish state by Atatürk.
The Roman Curia is being reformed as Cardinals retire

Jul 18, 2020

It is perhaps the most ambitious project of the current pontificate: attempting to truly reform the mentality and structures of the Catholic Church’s central – and, up until Francis arrived, centralising– bureaucracy known as the Roman Curia.
Church must help ethical post-pandemic economic recovery

Jul 11, 2020

Fr Paul Daisuke Narui SVD, an economist and the Bishop-elect of Nigata in Japan, reflects on how the Church must help make sure post-Covid-19 economic recovery is based on ethical investments that protect the poor and the environment from exploitation and neglect.
Bible Sunday Message — July 12, 2020: Reading the Bible with the heart

Jul 04, 2020

The Word of God is not just a mental concept or an idea or an expression of a thought. It is a living person, “someone you can touch with your hands, and hear with your ears and see with your own eyes.” (1 John 1:1), in short, the Word of Life.
From Distraction to Dedication: An Invitation to the Centre

Jul 04, 2020

Some years ago, during the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, Father General Adolfo Nicolás sketched points for a possible letter to the Society. Although he never wrote the letter, he did share these points with a few friends. The following text, while still rough and informal, expresses clearly the direction of his thinking. With the permission of Fr Nicolás, we share it now.
Vatican releases document on integral ecology

Jun 27, 2020

The Vatican released a document on Thursday that offers a guide to Catholics, and all Christians, regarding our relationship with God’s Creation.
The whole planet is experiencing a crisis

Jun 20, 2020

At this most serious moment there is a need for guidance to accompany us and help us understand the meaning of what we are living through.
One thousand Sister Doctors counsel those distressed in other countries on COVID-19

Jun 20, 2020

Sr Lijo Joseph calls a Kenyan number on WhatsApp from a hospital in Chikmagalur, and a young woman responds, “Hello.”
Eyebrows raised as Swiss bishop taps woman for senior job

Jun 14, 2020

Pope Francis has insisted women should be given greater decision-making roles in Church governance. He has recently reconstituted a study commission on whether women can be ordained deacons, but has upheld a ban on women priests and counts no women among his top advisers.
Vatican halts German diocesan plan to turn 800 parishes into 35

Jun 14, 2020

Bishop Stephan Ackermann of Trier met with the heads of the Congregation for Clergy and the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts in Rome on June 5 to discuss the diocesan plans to restructure several hundred parishes into 35 “XXL parishes.”