Not too long ago a Catholic diocese advertised for a Justice and Peace worker. The job description referred to responsibility for the rights and well-being of disabled persons and also looked for some catechetical competence. It indicates the wide misunderstanding of the scope of J & P.
In thinking about this failure, I realised that there is a divide between what might be called pastoral...
At the beginning of the celebration of the centenary of World War I, 888,246 ceramic poppies were placed around the Tower of London. That figure was the number of British soldiers that were killed in World War I.
Some commentators made the point that the industrial nature of this slaughter which took the lives of almost 10 million soldiers was due to a clash between the 19th century milit...
Writing on his Facebook page this evening, David Alton, Lord Alton of Liverpool writes:
I am not alone in believing that when British law can displace the rights of parents then British law must be changed. I said exactly that at the time of the death of Charlie Gard and repeat it again now as little Alfie Evans battles for life.
The earlier case of Ashya King graphically ...
Ross Ahlfeld of Glasgow Catholic Worker reflects on his hopes for the new Pax Christi Scotland initiative.
I was delighted to learn recently, that the good folks at Justice and Peace Scotland have decided to nurture and develop the implementation of a Pax Christi group for Scotland. We Catholic Workers in Scotland, very much welcome this initiative. We also look forward to benefi...
The British Parliament is considering a move that may put justice within reach of persecuted minorities such as Christians in the Middle East. Lord Alton has introduced a bill that would require the British government to ask the High Court to decide whether or not genocide and mass atrocities are taking place.
His private members' bill is significant because it recognises that politicians...
It has been beyond frustrating to watch the media, politicians and others trash Oxfam over the past week, in what feels like a feeding frenzy that now poses an existential threat to the organisation and possibly to the whole international aid effort. Oxfam does not deserve this, nor do the people at the centre of the storm, who have provided exemplary moral leadership for decades, bu...
Since Cardinal Burke's recent Pontifical High Mass here in Glasgow, I've been following Scotland's Traditional Catholic Mass scene with some interest. Mostly, I've been trying to establish if there has been any kind of 'Burke Bounce' as a result of last year's Mass at The Immaculate Heart of Mary in Balornock.
To be honest, I've not observed much change and neither have I noticed droves o...
Austen Ivereigh writes in Crux: Pope Francis's defense of his actions over the Chilean Bishop Juan Barros on the flight from Lima will not be enough to satisfy victims there and their supporters elsewhere, but it is wholly consistent with everything he has said and done so far.
But that raises another question: Whether his stance - appointing and keeping in place a bishop accuse...
Deacon William T Ditewig, PhD, from the Archdiocese of Washington, DC, has written the following letter in his blog: Deacons Today: Servants in a Servant Church
Dear Pope Francis,
Since so many people are choosing to write to you, I thought I would too. Many of the letters you receive, at least those shared through the media, take you to task for one thing or another. I am ...
I have recently been doing a fair amount of reading and research in the areas of Ignatian spirituality, Catholic morality, human sexuality, and Catholic Social Teaching. I have been repeatedly struck by the truth I have come across in many passages. I have been moved frequently with calls to love, mercy, acceptance, charity, openness, and a non-judgmental attitude toward other people.
Whe...
Rev Jim Wallis writes in Sojourners today: President Donald Trump is the logical hero for the "religious right," judging by how he was welcomed to their Values Voter Summit last weekend. These Christians rallied around the billionaire playboy, political bully, ethno-nationalist, and purveyor of racial bigotry. As a result, he has become the moral definition of their movement.
I can hardly bear to look at the photo of elderly people in a Houston Nursing Home sitting waist deep in water in their wheelchairs waiting for rescue. Yet, I am one of the tens of thousands of people viewing it again and again for the chilling warnings and inspiration it gives us – for rescuers immediately rushed to assist the home after the photo went viral on twitter. That photo reminds us...
There are many different kinds of poverty, including emotional and spiritual poverty, which need our attention. However, most urgently, we need to be addressing the issue of physical poverty and hunger. A report just released by Statistics South Africa reveals that more than half of the population of South Africa is living in extreme poverty.
The number of people living below t...
Rabbi Michael Lerner from the Network of Spiritual Progressives, and editor of Tikkun magazine writes: Many of us spiritual progressives have been in deep grief for the loss of life of Heather Heyer, the woman killed by a Nazi fanatic who also wounded 19 other anti-racist activists.
We are also in grief about the ways racism continues to flourish on so many levels in the US, in o...
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