There will be no detailed reports from the synod, where the bishops are meeting only in closed sessions. There will be daily briefings at the close of each, with summaries only of the main points. Although there is absolutely no…
Tag Archive for Second Vatican Council
Joan Chittester, on The Alternate Synod and the Lay Vocation.
In preparation for the bishops’ synod on marriage and family, a global coalition of Catholic reform groups held a “synod” of their own on Thursday and Friday this week. This too, I had hoped to attend, and in fact was…
The Bishops’ and Other “Marriage and Family” Synods.
Any readers who have followed the story of my health problems, will understand why I’ve been posting only sporadically over the past few months. This is unfortunate, as with the extraordinary synod on the family about to begin in Rome,…
A New Pope, A New Curia – A New Church?
During the conclave and the preceding Congress of Cardinals, as it was becoming clear that there was a widespread desire for extensive reform of the curia, I came across one observation that intrigued me. This noted the tradition that the…
The British “Call to Action”: Continuing the Process
One day last month, while the Catholic bishops of the world continued their synod in Rome to mark the 50th anniversary of Vatican II and the start of the year of faith, I joined something like 400 other English Catholics,…
“Theologians’ Revolt” – International Edition
The Catholic Spring has gone global, with the publication of a notable “Jubilee Declaration on Church Authority”, sponsored by a range of top Catholic theologians, from countries on all continents. That the institutional Catholic Church is in a state of…
A (Very British) Start of a “Priests’ Initiative” for England and Wales?
It started quietly in May, in very English fashion, with a simple letter to the Tablet signed by seven English priests, who issued a “Call to Action”. This was followed on July 18th by a London meeting of English priests, continuing the…
Catholic “Truth”, or “Spiritual Reaganomics” ?
In the current climate of Vatican heretic hunting, and a refusal to countenance any discussion of opinions contrary to the official line, I found two pieces by Paul F Knitter to be useful. Knitter is currently a professor of theology at Union…
Religious Women, and Vatican Control: Some History
There has been such a torrent of worthwhile commentary on the Vatican’s attempt to exert control over America’s religious women, that I have made not attempt to keep up with it all (still less to report it). One piece that…
Sex and Catholics 3: Vatican II and Modern Specialists
Natural Law: Part 3 Vatican II and incorporating modern specialist expertise Part 1 dealt with the Natural Law. In Part 2 we considered the male and female perspectives of Natural Law and the Church’s teachings on sexual morality, and recent…
