So much beyond our imagination
Recently, at an academic dinner, I was sitting across the table from a nuclear scientist. At one point, I asked him this question: “Do you believe that there’s human life on other planets?” His answer surprised me: “As a scientist, no, I don’t believe there’s human life on another planet. Scientifically, the odds are strongly against it. But, as a Christian, I believe there’s human life on other planets. Why? My logic is this: Why would God choose to have only one child?”
Ideas of God may be obsolete, but God isn’t
My mother and I have an annual tradition of spending a day together at the Canadian National Exhibition. This year, as we sat in sunny chairs near a shady gingko tree, listening to the approaching parade, a tall man folded himself into the neighbouring chair. Taking a break from his booth, he told us it was his 38th year exhibiting there. He showed us a smooth rounded stone with a hole in the middle: a cobblestone he’d reclaimed from the lake. They were dumped there because they were obsolete, but he finds beauty in them.
Cardinal Collins to tell Synod pastors must lead people towards God
VATICAN CITY - Showing mercy and accompanying people who are living in situations that go against church teaching entail helping to steer them in the direction that God wants, said two synod participants.
Chaput: Synod must speak to global Church, not just West
VATICAN CITY - Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput said the Synod on the family must recognize global diversity while staying true to Church doctrine.
Pope Francis’ visit boosted the church. The pope himself? Not so much
Pope Francis’ first U.S. visit gave his already-high favourability ratings only a modest bounce with most Americans — and no bounce at all among Catholics.
More open approach can ease fear of Synod manipulation, cardinal says
VATICAN CITY - Greater emphasis on small-group discussions and incorporating that work into the Synod's final draft document is helping alleviate any suspicion of the Synod being manipulated, said one of the four Synod presidents.
Pope Francis may travel to Mexico in 2016
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican said Tuesday (Oct. 6) that “concrete steps” were being taken to arrange a papal trip to Mexico, with reports Pope Francis’ visit could come in early 2016.
Pope says ministry to divorced, remarried is not only topic for synod
VATICAN CITY - As the discussion began at the world Synod of Bishops on the family, Pope Francis urged members not to act as if the only question that mattered was the pastoral care of divorced and civilly remarried Catholics, his spokesman said.
Pope: Synod is not parliament, but place to listen to Spirit
The world Synod of Bishops on the family is not a parliament where participants will negotiate or lobby, Pope Francis said, but it must be a place of prayer where bishops speak with courage and open themselves to “God who always surprises us.”
Fidelity, truth, love must guide church outreach to families, Pope says
VATICAN CITY — In a world filled with challenges to marriage and family life, the Catholic Church is called “to carry out her mission in fidelity, truth and love,” Pope Francis said at the Mass opening the world Synod of Bishops on the family.
Synod fathers can learn from familial bond
MISSISSAUGA, ONT. - The Church must rediscover its role in helping and supporting families at this fall’s Synod on the Family, one of the leading Asian cardinals told The Catholic Register.