Evangelization

Photo by Jed Owen on Unsplash The memory remains vivid to this day. I crouched by the water, gulping the humid summer air. In my right hand, I held a sharp blade. The left secured my struggling victim. From behind, five pairs of eyes bored into the back of my skull. How, I wondered, had... Read more

A bishop who died on Easter Sunday after a lifetime of ministry in some of the most difficult places in which to be a Christian, has been praised for his “courageous and dynamic apostolate in the heart of Islam.” Comboni Missionary Bishop Camillo Ballin, who died on April 12 at age... Read more

G.K. Chesterton once commented that every modern conversation begins one step too late. His assertion pertains, unfortunately, when we think of the church. Immediately we tend to think of its structure: there are the ordained, the religious, and the laity. According to this reckoning, the laity... Read more

What is leadership in the Church? There is, of course, the leadership that comes with the sacrament of Holy Orders, which includes the gifts of sacramental celebration, apostolic teaching, and governance in the manner of Christ the Good Shepherd, filled with pastoral charity. This remains in... Read more

In this article, I would like to offer an argument for the prominent inclusion of moral preaching as part of the ministry of homiletic preaching in the new evangelization. The Archdiocese of Detroit, to which I belong, has taken as a motto for its new evangelization initiative, “Unleash... Read more

There’s a crisis in the Catholic Church that no one’s talking about. It’s not abuse. It’s not cover-ups. It doesn’t spring from Vatican infighting. It starts much closer to home, with the shepherds who guide the flock. Many good and godly Catholic priests are struggling with their... Read more

When Pope Francis visits Japan this November 23-26, he will be received by a highly resilient Catholic community – one that endured centuries of violent persecution under anti-Christian leadership and, more recently, an atomic bomb drop on Nagasaki, the nation’s longtime Catholic... Read more

During a press briefing  at the Synod of Bishops on the Pan-Amazon Region, Bishop Carlo Verzeletti of Castanhal, Brazil, deplored the shortage of Catholic priests in the 1,000 villages he oversees near the mouth of the Amazon River. Bishop Verzeletti spoke of “aging” priests,... Read more

BREVES, Brazil — A retired bishop from Brazil has spoken out against the claim that married priests are necessary in the Amazon region because the indigenous people do not understand celibacy. “It’s not the indigenous culture that finds insurmountable difficulties in understanding... Read more

Aparecida is in danger: The “great continental mission” called for by the Latin American bishops in 2007 may die in Rome this month, with long-term consequences for the vitality of the Church in South America. As the Synod of Bishops on the Pan-Amazon Region comes to the end of its... Read more