Catholic Church

Religion in the USA: American Catholic bishop’s book seeks to rally faithful to political action

By Richard Cimino, 6 October 2008

A new book by a prominent American bishop calling for Catholics to speak out and engage the political process may find a hard time getting a hearing as Americans of all faiths are growing wary of too much mixing of religion and politics.

Richard Cimino is the founder and editor of Religion Watch, a newsletter monitoring trends in contemporary religion. Since January 2008, Religion Watch is published by Religioscope Institute. Website: www.religionwatch.com.

Charles J. Chaput, Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life, Doubleday, 2008, 272 p.

China: Catholics, the Holy See and religious freedom

By Magda Hornemann - Forum 18 News Service, 12 April 2007

The relationship between China’s government and the Holy See has greatly improved. But contentious issues – such as government control of the selection of “patriotic” Chinese bishops and local officials cracking down on the “underground” church – remain. Some of this stems from conflicts between “patriotic” and “underground” Catholics. The current diplomatic situation may also reflect lack of consensus in the Chinese government on the desirability of a normalised relationship with the Vatican.

© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. – Forum 18 News Service (F18News, Oslo, Norway) is a Christian initiative which is independent of any one church or religious group. F18News is objective, presenting news in a deliberately calm and balanced fashion, and presenting all sides of a situation. Website: www.forum18.org/index.php

United Kingdom: poll suggests Da Vinci code undermines trust in Catholic church

By Ekklesia, 20 May 2006

Reading the Da Vinci Code has dramatically undermined the British people’s trust in the claims of the Catholic Church, a new survey suggests.

© 2006 Ekklesia. Posted on Religioscope with permission. An initiative of the Anvil Trust, Ekklesia is a not-for-profit think-tank which works to promote theological ideas in the public square. Website: www.ekklesia.co.uk

Anglican Communion: hope for traditional Anglicans with the new Pope?

By Terry Mattingly, 9 May 2005

Traditional Anglicans and Episcopalians have good reason to wonder if the new Pope, Benedict XVI, may soon play a role in their tense debates about sex, worship and doctrine, explains Terry Mattingly in the following article.

Terry Mattingly teaches at Palm Beach Atlantic University and is senior fellow for journalism at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. His “On Religion” column is syndicated each week by Scripps Howard’s Washington, D.C., bureau to about 350 North American newspapers.

Terry Mattingly’s website “On Religion”:
http://tmatt.net/

Christianity: Vatican ‘Christianophobia’ campaign criticised

By Ekklesia, 8 December 2004

A Vatican diplomatic campaign to have “Christianophobia” recognised as an evil equal to hatred of Jews and Muslims is causing concern among some Christian activists and diplomats, and has opened the way to charges of Christian double standards.

© 2004 Ekklesia. Posted on Religioscope with permission. An initiative of the Anvil Trust, Ekklesia is a not-for-profit think-tank which works to promote theological ideas in the public square. Website: www.ekklesia.co.uk

Vatican: Pope sets up Vatican office to rekindle ideals and morality in sports

By Gerard O'Connell - UCA News, 13 August 2004

On the eve of the 2004 Olympic Games, Pope John Paul II, perhaps the most sporting pontiff ever, set up a new Vatican office to help everyone engaged in sports behave in a more sportsmanly way.

© UCAN 2004 – UCAN (Union of Catholic Asian News) is linked to UCIP (International Catholic Union of the Press). With several offices around Asia, UCA News is the largest Asian Church news agency. Posted on Religioscope with permission.

China: “open” and “underground” communities hold separate services side-by-side

By UCAN, 16 April 2004

“Open” and “underground” Catholic communities in Tianjin, northern China, held Good Friday liturgies at the same time in the same cathedral compound, but not together.

Colombia: Catholics begin peace initiative

By Ekklesia, 16 April 2004

About 100 Roman Catholic priests are planning a trip through some of Colombia’s most dangerous regions to try to heal the scars of the ongoing guerrilla war.

Vatican: unorthodox moves in Kazakstan

By Gaukhar Beketova - IWPR, 14 June 2003

The Orthodox Church has been angered by Vatican move to upgrade its presence in Kazakstan.

Gaukhar Beketova is an independent journalist in Almaty.

This article was originally published by the IWPR (Institute for War Peace Reporting), London, in the Reporting Central Asia Service (RCA, No. 208, 4 June 2003). The Institute for War & Peace Reporting strengthens local journalism in areas of conflict. Religioscope has been allowed by the IWPR to repost its articles.
Website: http://www.iwpr.net/

Norway: Lutheran theologian becomes Roman Catholic

By Lutheran World Information (LWI), 29 January 2003

A Norwegian Lutheran theologian and ecumenist becomes Roman Catholic, but keeps his teaching post at mission and theology school.

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland. Lutheran World Information (LWI) is LWF’s information service.Unless specifically noted, material presented does not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units.
Website: www.lutheranworld.org