Pope Francis issued a call for social justice in a speech to world officials gathered at the United Nations on Friday. Degradation of the environment, he argued, hits the poor the hardest.
During his trip to New York City, Pope Francis visited the Sept. 11 memorial on Friday, also taking part in an interfaith service with other religious leaders. He is visiting with families of the terror attacks' victims, as well.
The Catholic Church's stand on marriage, divorce, and contraceptives can seem out of step with the modern world—even to Catholics. Those who want to see reforms, such as making the process for obtaining an annulment easier, have been encouraged by recent statements of Pope Francis. But unhappy Catholics are still leaving the Church, and bishops will have to decide at a meeting in Rome next month on the family in the Church and in the contemporary world what to try to do about it. More →
American Catholics, says Rev. Thomas Reese of National Catholic Reporter, live out their faith in the local parish, and "they want to meet somebody like Pope Francis. And if the clergy and the bishops and the people aren’t like Pope Francis, or namely like Jesus, more welcoming, compassionate, loving, they’re going to turn around and never come back." More →
New Buddhist fraternity and sorority houses at San Diego State will have meditation, and will stress compassion. They'll also have typical Greek activities, like parties — with mindfulness mixed in.
“The American post-Enlightenment contractual idea of marriage—that is, marriage is what we decide it is—is an incredibly powerful idea that haunts the minds of American Catholics…The under-65 crowd is much more into contractual understandings of marriage than covenantal understandings of … More →
Watch more of our interview with professor Susan Ross of Loyola University Chicago’s theology department about marriage, divorce, and the Catholic Church.
Seattle’s city council is launching a programme of Sharia-compliant loans with the aim of improving the long-term prospects of the local Muslim community. Those forced to live in high-cost rental property are now in a position to consider the alternatives. By Joseph Mayton