Clik here to view.
Thoughts on the Catholic Church
On Tuesday, March 12, 2013, the conclave to elect the successor to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will have begun. A few Reformed blogs have treated the Pope’s abdication lightly, when the Catholic Church...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Thoughts on Pope Francis
Below are a few facts about Pope Francis: - He was quite the imp in primary school. Martha Rabino is five years younger than Jorge Bergoglio but recalls that he used to visit one of his schoolteachers,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why Pope Francis’s Maundy Thursday foot washing was kicked into touch
Pope Francis created a storm in Catholic circles when he conducted the customary Maundy Thursday foot washing ceremony in a young offender’s institution. The Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vatican II in brief, from Cardinal Bugnini to Pope Francis
A number of Catholics and Protestants still recall the bolt of lightning hitting St Peter’s Basilica a few weeks ago when Pope Francis was elected. The Pope’s behaviour since then continues to perplex...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Pope on matters sexual: ‘Who am I to judge?’
Pope Francis flew back to Rome from Rio last weekend after the recent successful World Youth Days, a pilgrimage for young Catholics which dates back to 1984. It was started by John Paul II. I knew a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Canonisation as it used to be before John Paul II
On Sunday, April 27, 2014, Pope Francis announced the canonisation of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II and declared them to be recognised as saints by the Catholic Church worldwide. Although I have...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Canonisations, holiness — and guarding the Church
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, which reviewed John Paul II’s simplification of canonisation, the Polish Pope and Vatican II initiator Pope John XXIII were declared saints on Sunday, April 27,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why older denominations turn to the social gospel
For decades now, older denominations — Catholic and Protestant — have turned to the social gospel rather than the Gospels. They think it’s working. Meanwhile, churches are losing more members every...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Meriam Ibrahim meets the Pope — at the Vatican
Good news for those of us following Meriam Ibrahim‘s sad story of Sudanese court cases, imprisonment and subsequent release with a view to a new life in the West. My last post on her saga found her,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Could the Pope — and other famous Catholics — please speak plainly?
The Pope’s discourses, as those of his predecessors and many other Catholic clergy, are impenetrable because of unnecessary complexity. Why, for heaven’s sake, talk to the faithful and enquirers in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pope Francis’s Christmas message to the Curia
On Boxing Day 2014, RMC’s Grandes Gueules (Big Mouths, a French radio talk show) discussed Pope Francis’s Christmas message to the Roman Curia. The Curia are the cardinals, most of whom elected him...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Charlie Hebdo: freedom of speech debate continues
This week, pundits on France’s RMC’s mid-morning show Les Grandes Gueules (The Big Mouths) have been debating how far freedom of speech should go. On Monday, January 19, opinion was divided among them...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pope tells Catholics not to ‘breed like rabbits’
Gosh, the Pope really comes out with some strange statements when he is on a plane. Is high altitude a problem for him? A few days ago he said he would meet an insult about his mother by throwing a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Of buttons and velvet slippers
Thank heaven for costume dramas. They answer questions about clothing. Have you ever wondered why the Amish and similar sects eschewed buttons? Does the Pope still wears velvet slippers? The answers...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Britain: Laetare Sunday is Mothering Sunday
Mothering Sunday in Great Britain is on Sunday, March 15, 2015. Although we are increasingly adopting the American ‘Mother’s Day’, the original name has religious significance. It derives from an...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Should the Pope write an encyclical on climate change?
The Telegraph reports that Pope Francis is finalising an encyclical on climate change, scheduled to be released in a few weeks’ time. Whereas his predecessor Benedict XVI was a sceptic in these...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Poverty isn’t the way to salvation
On Heidelblog, Dr R Scott Clark recently featured a quote critiquing Pope Francis’s theology. The quote comes from D C McAllister who writes for The Federalist. Her article is entitled ‘Pope Francis...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What the Pope’s statement on Jubilee Year forgiveness of abortion means
I was confused reading the articles about the Pope’s permission for priests to forgive the sin of abortion in the upcoming Jubilee Year which starts on December 8, 2015 and ends on November 26, 2016....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Germany: the difficulty with migration and integration
The sexual assaults in Cologne took place nearly three weeks ago. Since then, views on mass migration into Europe do not appear to have changed substantially. We still have the same two sides: those...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Pope’s ambivalence towards Westerners
Pope Francis displays a remarkably consistent disparagement of Western Christians. Again and again, he tells them how lacking they are in charity and compassion. Year after year, he refuses to...
View Article