By Alistair McBay
It seems there is no end to the woes of the Catholic Church in Scotland in the wake of Cardinal O’Brien’s abrupt departure.
The latest reports in the media examine the Scottish Catholic Church’s record on dealing
Well good luck to you sir!
Argentina’s Pope Bergoglio a moderate focused on the poor
By Alejandro Lifschitz
The first Latin American pope, Argentina’s Jorge Bergoglio is a moderate known for his strong negotiating skills as well as a readiness to challenge powerful interests.
He is
The Pope’s inbox: Top priorities for Benedict’s successor
Pope Benedict XVI’s successor takes the helm at a difficult time for the Catholic Church.
By Michael Hirst
In the West, the Church is struggling to fill pews as congregations dwindle, while the number of priests is also falling.
Meanwhile,
Vatican department shares Rome palazzo with gay sauna
A historic palazzo in Rome that houses a key Vatican department is also the home of a well-known gay sauna.
The Holy See paid 20m euros (£17.5m) in 2008 for around 20 apartments in the building for the Congregation for
Conclave: the secretive end to unannounced campaigns
By Tom Heneghan
The conclave to pick a Roman Catholic pope is the dramatic final stage of a secretive election process that quietly began weeks, months or even years ago.
Some of the 115 cardinals who file into the Sistine
Church’s two-faced attitude to gays cruel
By Fintan O’Toole
A few years ago, I was on a studio-based television show. One of my fellow guests was a reasonably well-known Catholic priest. He was in a buoyant, perhaps reckless mood, pepped up by the adrenalin surge that
Roman Catholic leaders need to get rid of their groupthink
By Lisa Miller
Recent events prompt a stating of the obvious. The Roman Catholic Church is not now, nor has it ever been, a democracy. It values neither free speech nor freedom of the press. Its leaders are not elected
Flocks and shepherds
As a conclave gathers to elect a pope, many in the Catholic church want change
WANTED: man of God; good at languages; preferably under 75; extensive pastoral experience; no record of covering up clerical sex abuse, deeply spiritual and, mentally,
Catholic Patriarchy: What the Papal Transition Means and What Feminists Can Do About It
By Mary Hunt
The obvious question is why any self-respecting feminist would worry about the Pope, the Roman Catholic Church, and its machinations. My simple answer is POWER. Religion is one of the many sources that shape how power is
A Papal Surrender?
I thought this was a particularly insightful article. A bit dated, but still.
By Paolo Flores d’Arcais
“There’s no place for a Pope Emeritus,” John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła) declared dryly as recently as 1994. Yet beginning at