Dossiers, Reflections and penetrating analysis by Inside The Vatican’s editors
By Jeanne Smits In a joint letter sent last December to the German faithful by Cardinal Reinhard Marx and Professor Thomas Sternberg, president of the Central Committee of German Catholics, the invitation was made to walk a “path of change and renewal together.” It all started with wanting to “make the Church a safe place” [...]
By Alexander Tschuggel “The Church must never become an NGO. Churches and parishes must go out into the public square if we are not to end up as an NGO.” These are the words of Pope Francis on World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro in 2013 — part of the famous speech in which he [...]
By Michael J. Matt As a German American whose grandparents were born not far from here, I welcome this opportunity to speak to the situation in the GermanCatholicChurch which is beyond desperate and which has caused considerable concern among many American Catholics. The German Bishops’ “synodal path” appears to be an effort to create a church [...]
Pope Francis greets Cardinal Reinhard Marx, President of the German Bishops’ Conference, during the German bishops’ ad limita visit to Rome in 2018 Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò Came Out of Seclusion to Join an International Group of Protesters at a Prayer Vigil in Munich German Cardinal Walter Brandmüller talks to Archbishop Carlo Maria [...]
The season of Lent is upon us. In silence, in sorrow, we pray for our “daily bread” and that we not be led “into temptation.” We pray for ourselves, we pray for those dear to us, and we pray for our Church... By Robert Moynihan “The great patristic tradition teaches us that the mysteries of Christ [...]
Lent Way of Silence Lent is a time to celebrate Our Lord’s sacrifice on Calvary as “a thing present” — not merely a memorial, but a living reality: “All seasons, most beloved, engage the minds of Christians with the mystery of the Lord’s Passion and Resurrection; nor is there any service of our religion in which [...]
A new book on the value of priestly celibacy asks Pope Francis not to begin the process of ending it in the Latin-rite Church. The surprise: that the book’s co-author is Pope Emeritus Benedict By Robert Moynihan “The priesthood is going through a dark time. Wounded by the revelation of so many scandals, disconcerted by the [...]
Epiphany celebrates Jesus’ first appearance to the Gentiles, as represented by the Magi, while the Eastern Churches commemorate the Baptism of Christ, where the Father and the Holy Spirit give combined testimony to Jesus’ identity as the Son of God. Is 60:1-6; Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6; Mt. 2:1-12 Homily starter anecdote “Because you never know what’s going [...]
On the Feast of the Holy Family we offer all the members of our own families on the altar for God’s blessing. Homily starter anecdote: Grandparents are a treasure: Pope Francis said that as a child, he heard a story of a family with a mother, father, many children and a grandfather. The grandfather, suffering from Parkinson’s [...]
“Such a step splits the Church” and “leads her toward schism” Robert Spaemann Robert Spaemann is a professor emeritus of philosophy at the Ludwig-Maximilians University of Monaco of Bavaria. He is one of the leading Catholic philosophers and theologians in Germany. This following is my own translation of the interview on Amoris [...]
