God sends us forth
There is a popular story that I’ve seen on the internet, shared by email and posted on blogs and social media. It’s a story that speaks about practicing what one preaches. I am not sure whether it is factual or...
Tagged: evangelization
Words from the Heart: The homily of Cardinal Omella at Fátima
The following is the May 13, 2024, homily of Cardinal Juan José Omella, Archbishop of Barcelona, delivered at the Sanctuary of Fátima in Portugal. Due to the rain, he set aside his prepared text and delivered a spontaneous homily instead....
Mongolia’s humble, joyful Church is in God’s heart
As Pope Francis reflected on his recent apostolic journey to Mongolia — marking the first time in history a Pope has traveled to the country — he reminded listeners at last week’s General Audience in St. Peter’s Square that it...
When evangelizers proselytize: Ivereigh responds to Bishop Barron
Bishop Robert Barron of Word on Fire has taken the trouble to respond to my Commonweal article on World Youth Day in Lisbon, which we were both at, in order to dispel my “confusions” over the distinction between evangelization and...
“Todos, todos, todos”: Insights from World Youth Day 2023
When World Youth Day (WYD) Lisbon 2023 began, the great controversy surrounding it was whether the event had lost its evangelizing flavor, given the controversy surrounding Cardinal-elect Américo Aguiar’s statements on interreligious dialogue. This controversy seems relatively forgotten by now,...
WYD 2023: Meet the Volunteers!
LISBON, Portugal — On July 31, 2023, seven volunteers from all around the world were invited to a press conference, to give a brief testimony about WYD and its meaning for them. Micael De Almeida is a missionary and physiotherapist from...
Theology by Pull Quote
Bishop Robert Barron’s essay on World Youth Day, which he published on the website for his Word on Fire ministry on Thursday, July 13, is an excellent example of a concerning trend in writing on serious religious and moral subjects....
Beyond Superficiality: Bishop Aguiar’s vision for World Youth Day
The statements by Portuguese Cardinal-designate Américo Aguiar in a July 6 interview with a secular Portuguese TV channel about World Youth Day (WYD) have been the subject of much recent controversy. During the interview, the bishop said, “We don’t want...
Bishop Aguiar, Pope Benedict, and Interreligious Dialogue
On July 6, 2023, Bishop Américo Aguiar gave an interview to the secular public Portuguese channel, RTP Notícias. The full interview (in Portuguese) can be seen here. Catholic news sites have picked up on a particular section of that interview, which we...
The Church, School of Attention
During his general audience on July 28th, Pope Francis discussed the life of St. Mary MacKillop, Australia’s first canonized saint. As Mother Mary of the Cross, MacKillop founded the Josephites, an order of religious sisters dedicated to the education and...
The Loving Gaze of Evangelization
On January 11th, Pope Francis began a new cycle of Wednesday Audiences by returning to one of his favorite themes: the difference between proselytism and evangelization. After commenting on the importance of evangelization in the Christian life, and reflecting on...
The Apostolic Zeal of Pope Francis
A few items of interest today. The first is that I was quoted in a Washington Post article yesterday by Chico Harlan and Stefano Pitrelli about the continuing opposition to Pope Francis from within the Church. Published under the headline...
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