The relationship between the brothers Jacob and Esau is shot through with dramatic tension: manipulation and deceit, violence and forced separation, conflict and unexpected rapprochement. So it seems fair to ask: Where is God in all this? How do we recognize him in these often controversial and unsubtle human stories? Yet it is precisely on the stage of life that the Bible stages the drama of family relationships and the unexpected possibility of finding the face of God in the...
“I think that the study of theology is of the greatest importance. It is an indispensable service to the Church.”[1] The past ten years of the papacy of Pope Francis have been a time of extraordinary activity and challenge for the Church. Whether involved with internal renewal and synodality, with the urgency of apostolic outreach to other faiths, or opposing conflicts and the ever-widening consequences of the ecological crisis, the pope has been concerned with the Church’s mission. His easy...
On June 20, 2017, after visiting the tomb of Fr. Primo Mazzolari, Pope Francis went to the cemetery in Barbiana, the resting place of Fr. Lorenzo Milani, another challenging prophet of our time. There they were facing each other: Francis and Lorenzo, in silence. With the pope praying alone, it was almost a showdown. The pope had recently freed from censorship Don Lorenzo’s book, Pastoral Experiences.[1] In a message for the publication of his Opera Omnia,[2] he had made it...
In Beijing on March 10, 2023, representatives of Iran and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement in which they pledged to restore diplomatic relations within two months. These had been disrupted in 2016 after Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran was attacked following the execution of Shiite cleric, Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, in Saudi Arabia. The full import of this event becomes clear when one considers what happened just under five years ago, on September 22, 2018, and soon after. A military parade...
In the fourth century, Saint Gregory of Nyssa stated that it is necessary to “go from beginning to beginning, through beginnings that have no end.” With this new beginning in my heart, I intend to offer a summary of what Pope Francis, ten years into his pontificate, is teaching and encouraging us to put into practice in our synodal journey. I will first explain the importance of the Aparecida Document (ApD) for the whole Catholic Church. I will then focus...
“On the plane they gave me a painting by a boy, Daniel, who paints his anguish as he is drowning and wants to save his sinking partner. I recommend a book, Hermanito, that is ‘Little Brother.’ It came out a year ago. It is the story of an older brother who leaves Guinea in search of his younger brother. It makes us understand what the desert crossing is like: the trafficking of migrants, imprisonment, torture, the sea journey…” Pope Francis...
The most respected digital Catholic journal from Rome. A must-read on all the present issues alive in the Church. Discover top Church scholars interpreting the history, politics, culture, science and art in the light of the Christian faith.
© Union of Catholic Asian News 2023 | All Rights Reserved.
Except for any fair dealing permitted under the Hong Kong Copyright Ordinance, no part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without prior permission.
