Franciscan Files Reveal How Clergy Preyed On Victims
LOS ANGELES — Robert Van Handel was a 15-year-old seminarian at St. Anthony's, a prestigious Franciscan boarding school, when, he said, a priest...
LOS ANGELES — Robert Van Handel was a 15-year-old seminarian at St. Anthony's, a prestigious Franciscan boarding school, when, he said, a priest...
Scott MacDougall | Posted 04.30.2012
Only by reshaping our imagination of the church to focus on its peace and unity, can we truly and effectively stand in solidarity with the poor, vulnerable, outcast, marginalized, and oppressed.
Jon M. Sweeney | Posted 05.29.2012
Eight hundred years ago, 18-year-old Chiara Favorone, whom we now know as Clare of Assisi, went to church in the morning with her family. It was a Sunday, but not just any Sunday.
Jamie Arpin-Ricci | Posted 05.27.2012
While St. Francis was not trying to stylize himself as a "gangsta wannabe," his intention for choosing the hooded tunic for his habit are not far off the counter-cultural mark.
Jamie Arpin-Ricci | Posted 05.11.2012
What made his life so appealing to so many? Among other things, Francis's love for Jesus was so explicit that he was naive enough to believe that Jesus actually meant for us to do the things he taught us.
Jon M. Sweeney | Posted 01.05.2012
Have you ever seen Saint Francis smile? Neither have I, and that's unfortunate because, according to his biographers, he was one of the most joyous of men. Blame it on the iconographers.
Dr. Tarunjit Singh Butalia | Posted 11.10.2011
For me the 25th anniversary of the Assisi gathering is an important landmark in interreligious harmony in which we re-committed ourselves to peace and justice through dialogue at a time when the world is being increasingly divided.
Lee C. Camp | Posted 12.19.2011
While demonizing speech-acts may work well at galvanizing a given constituency for a short-burst of fear-driven action, they do little to make space for the possibility of peaceable co-existence.
HuffingtonPost.com | David Moye | Posted 12.04.2011
A tiny cat in San Diego is getting about the biggest honor possible: A spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. The cat in question is named Fiz...
Shane Claiborne | Posted 12.03.2011
St. Francis was one of the first critics of capitalism, one of the earliest Christian environmentalists, a sassy reformer of the Church and one of the classic conscientious objectors to war.
Jon M. Sweeney | Posted 12.02.2011
St. Francis of Assisi always called creatures his brothers and sisters and he worked to further widen the fraternity to link humans and creatures in the same relationship with God.
Akbar Ahmed | Posted 10.12.2011
We want to love God and be loved by Him. But by creating a relationship in love, we are also able to love others whatever their religion or culture. Let me give some examples of poetic expressions that we can all share and appreciate.
Posted 09.18.2011
By David Gibson Religion News Service (RNS) The most obvious reason that Pope Benedict XVI sent Archbishop Charles Chaput from Denver to take over...
Rev. Canon C. K. Robertson, Ph.D. | Posted 07.08.2011
Jesus himself was perceived as a threat precisely because he challenged seemingly unchangeable laws about the Sabbath and broke down the boundaries between the pure insiders and the unclean outsiders.
Matthew Dowd | Posted 07.27.2011
I find it extraordinary that two people growing up hundreds of years ago, living in worlds far apart in nearly every way, saw the answer to our modern ills in the exact same way.
Rev. James Martin, S.J. | Posted 05.25.2011
Each of those steps may seem hard, even dangerous, to step on, and it may seem that we can't do it, but that's the path we're invited to climb. And it's Christ who urges us on.
Tyler Mahoney | Posted 05.25.2011
Millennials are expected to apologize for a hierarchy that wants us to be a part of its ancient tradition, but has made no meaningful effort to include us.
Lorenzo Candelaria | Posted 06.17.2011
Christina Aguilera's opening anthem on one of America's biggest feast days was roundly criticized because it fell short of a proper offering.
Rev. James Martin, S.J. | Posted 05.25.2011
When you read the complete stories of the lives of these saints and shift your focus from the gruesome details of their martyrdoms and extreme ascetical practices, you might meet people who can teach you about being who you are.
Rev. Dr. James A. Kowalski | Posted 05.25.2011
Francis of Assisi believed that he was a creature of God and that his creatureliness made him and all of us part of Creation. We use Francis' teaching to remind us that we were created by the One who created all things.
Michael Winship | Posted 05.25.2011
Many have urged that September 11 this year not be a time of demonstrations for or against Cordoba House or any other issue; rather, let it be a quiet day of commemoration and mourning. Let our loss be what we remember on Saturday.
John Brown | Posted 05.25.2011
An organization, at its worst, uses/abuses the "small people" primarily for the benefit and profit/control/survival of the organization.
Rev. James Martin, S.J. | Posted 05.25.2011
"Spiritual" is great. So is "Religious"
Posted 05.25.2011
At this time every year, people bring their animals along with them to church to get blessed by Catholic priests. This ceremony commemorates St. Fran...
Tri Robinson | Posted 11.17.2011
I can only ask for forgiveness from those outside of the church for the church's lack of leadership on the issue of climate change and actively engage with you in making a difference.
AP | GILLIAN FLACCUS | Posted 05.23.2012