Essay: This Lent, take up some practices that counter the worst of our politics
MICHAEL WEAR, president of the Center for Christianity and Public Life in the US and author of ‘The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life’, says Lent is a good time to be thinking about resisting what the US election season is “demanding we become”…
Conversations: Rachel Mann, author of ‘A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 40 Days With Jane Austen’
KATHRYN POST speaks with Rachel Mann, whose latest book, ‘A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 40 Days With Jane Austen’, pairs excerpts from Austen’s novels with reflections on virtues and vices…
Pope urges Catholics to swap social media for reflection as Lent begins
Rome, Italy Reuters Pope Francis urged Catholics to forgo worldly trappings and focus on essentials as he opened the season of Lent with a traditional Ash Wednesday Mass on one of Rome’s historic seven hills. He criticised people’s tendency to lay bare their lives on social media, deploring “a world in which everything, including our […]
Sight-Seeing: Fasting from carbon for Lent
US Catholic commentator THOMAS REESE, in an article first published on Religion News Service, says carbon fasting is an act of penance for what we in the rich world have done – and provides some tips on how to go about it…
In pictures: Rio, New Orleans, Cologne – Carnival joy peaks around the world as Lent approaches
AP Parades, music, dancing in the streets – joyous Carnival celebrations marking the final days of revelry before Lent are peaking in New Orleans, Rio de Janeiro and other locales in the Americas and Europe. A dancer from the Tom Maior samba school performs during a Carnival parade in Sao Paulo, Brazil, early on Sunday, […]
Ten day vigil for climate change to kick off in London on Ash Wednesday
Norwich, UK A special 10 day Lenten vigil for climate change kicks off in London on Ash Wednesday. It has been organised by a coalition compromising Christian Aid, CAFOD, The Salvation Army, A Rocha UK, Christian Climate Action, Tearfund, Green Christian, Operation Noah and JPIT, a Baptist Union, Methodist Church and United Reformed church team […]
Street artist of ‘Super Pope’ fame gets new stamp of Vatican approval
Rome, Italy AP Street artist Maupal, whose cartoon-like depictions of Pope Francis as a “Super Pope” have graced buildings around the Vatican for a decade, got an official stamp of approval on Thursday when he appeared at a Vatican news conference. Maupal, in life Mauro Pallotta, designed a series of posters to illustrate Francis’ 2024 Lenten message, […]
Origins: Easter eggs – their evolution from chicken to chocolate
Scholar SERIN QUINN – in an article first published on The Conversation – looks at where the chocolate Easter egg came from…
Burkina Faso Muslims and Christians back unity amid insurgency
Ouagadougou, Burkina FasoReuters Scores of young Burkinabe Muslims and Christians gathered in Ouagadougou’s public square as the sun set on Friday to break fast together, promoting religious tolerance during Ramadan and Lent as Burkina Faso grapples with a violent insurgency. Organised by a local interfaith youth group, the event saw Muslims and Christians sharing food […]
Essay: Why people of faith are saying no to fossil fuels
THEA ORMEROD, chair of the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, looks at why faith-based organisations are moving their money out of fossil fuel investments and into “climate solutions”…