Essay: What a cathedral and a massive military parade show about Putin’s Russia
In an article first published on The Conversation, US-based scholar of nationalism LENA SURZHKO HARNED looks at how a fusion of World War II, religion and Russian nationalism have been embodied in the Main Church of the Russian Armed Forces on the outskirts of Moscow…
Saints of Past Ages: The Catholic saint who dedicated his life to a leprosy colony in Hawaii – and became an inspiration for HIV/AIDS care
In an article first published on The Conversation, MARK LAMBERT, a teaching fellow at University of Chicago Divinity School, looks at the life and mission of Father Damien and how he inspired those reaching out to people living with HIV and AIDS…
Syrians in Berlin seek release of loved ones after presidential amnesty
Berlin, Germany/Damascus, SyriaReuters For 10 years, Rojin Derki hoped her brother Mohammad was still alive and would one day be released from a Syrian government prison after his arrest in 2012. Yet when a presidential decree last week gave a general amnesty for prisoners, she had mixed feelings. “It’s an ugly feeling because you don’t […]
Pope decries divisions caused by old-school liturgy fans
Rome, ItalyAP Pope Francis on Saturday blasted Catholics who, hewing to old-school versions of liturgy like the Latin Mass, have made an ideological battleground of the issue, decrying what he described as devil-inspired divisiveness in the church. Francis pressed his papacy’s battle against traditionalists, whose prominent members include some ultra-conservative cardinals. They have resisted restrictions, […]