This reflection is written against the backdrop of the release of Pope Francis’s third encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti,“ on Oct 4, 2020, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. The focus of this encyclical is “fraternity” and “social friendship.” In his encyclical, where the Good Samaritan is a key figure, Pope Francis decries violence...
In his new encyclical Fratelli tutti, Pope Francis warns about how the word solidarity, “is not always well received; in certain situations, it has become a dirty word, a word that dare not be said.” (#116). I believe something similar has happened with “fraternity,” especially in some corners of the Church. This accounts...
In case you missed it, here’s the replay of our Fratelli Tutti panel:
The highly-anticipated encyclical Fratelli Tutti was released today. It is available here on the Vatican website. Be sure to join us for our live “first look” at Fratelli Tutti (register here). It will be from 5-7 pm Eastern It is a very wide-ranging document, touching on many themes. It’s difficult to do the...
“It must be stated that Vatican II is upheld by the same authority as Vatican I and the Council of Trent, namely, the Pope and the College of Bishops in communion with him, and that also with regard to its contents, Vatican II is in the strictest continuity with both previous councils and...
Where Peter Is · New Evangelization Media In this episode of Peter’s Field Hospital, DW Lafferty and I wrap up our discussion with the Catholic host of “Conversation on Tap,” Jose Rodriguez. Next, I catch up with Catholic speaker Mike Tenney, talking about his new show, “Pop Culture Catechism,” as well as his...
Just a reminder that we’re teaming up with Smart Catholics this Sunday to offer our first ever live online event! We’ll be discussing Pope Francis’s new encyclical, Fratelli Tutti. Join us this Sunday, October 4th, 5:00-7:00pm Eastern, 2:00-5:00 Pacific I’ll be hosting two discussions on the highlights and major themes of the encyclical:...
It has become common among critics of the Second Vatican Council to use the expression “weaponized ambiguity” to describe certain conciliar teachings. This expression assumes that language in the Vatican II documents is ambiguous, in the sense that teachings can be interpreted both in an “orthodox” way and at the same time in...
Given the recent heightened interest in charismatic communities, especially in Catholic groups involved in the charismatic renewal, I wanted to share my own experience as a member of one such group, years ago. The community was called the Intercessors of the Lamb, a religious community based in Omaha, Nebraska, whose charism was influenced...
Smart Catholics and Where Peter Is are collaborating to offer a two hour live conference to celebrate the pope’s upcoming encyclical on human fraternity, Fratelli Tutti. Join us this Sunday, October 4th, 5:00-7:00pm EST. We will be having two live panel discussions, hosted by Mike Lewis, covering major themes of Francis’s new encyclical...
Pope Francis is signing a new social encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, this weekend. The Holy Father has spoken about human fraternity throughout his pontificate, so it’s not a surprise that he chose this topic for an encyclical. In preparation for this document I want to briefly reflect on one aspect of fraternity that the...
American Catholics should embrace losing. It’s not as if we haven’t had ample opportunity over the last several years. We should know by now that U.S. Catholics often find ourselves among the least respected groups in modern society, particularly for our “backwards” views on marriage, sexuality and life issues. True, we have certainly...
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