NCR Today is the group blog of NCR. Each member of our diverse team of bloggers writes on different topics, including the politics of the church and secular society (and the interaction between the two), culture, management of the church and more.
Pope Francis is reportedly planning a trip to Assisi, named after the saint who inspired his name.
The Associated Press reported today that Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, said Francis will probably make a pilgrimage to the Italian hill town sometime this year.
We met, matched and surpassed our challenge grants. Thanks, faithful readers. But we're still short of the goal.
A Seattle Times article, "Pope Francis embodies the saint who talked peace with Muslims" by Aziz Junejo, spoke to Pope Francis’ vision of a more open and growing dialog between the Catholic church and Islamic communities.
An NCR reader sent us this suggestion, saying “I was touched and encouraged by this article in the Faith and Values section of the Seattle Times April 15. It deserves a broader readership than just the Pacific Northwest and would be meaningful to NCR readership.”
NCR Today: The bishop who received an 18,500-signature petition from an ousted gay parishioner has sent it back in an odd way.
From The Huffington Post:
"I think it would be a good idea if perhaps we had the kids work for their lunches: trash to be taken out, hallways to be swept, lawns to be mowed, make them earn it," Del. Ray Canterbury (R-Greenbrier) said during floor debate. "If they miss a lunch or they miss a meal they might not, in that class that afternoon, learn to add, they may not learn to diagram a sentence, but they'll learn a more important lesson."
Vieques is a small island off the coast of Puerto Rico. For 60 years, the U.S. Navy used it for bombing practice. Ten years ago, President George W. Bush ordered the Navy to close its training base. But the island is still waiting for the cleanup. The west half of Vieques is beautiful: sandy beaches, coves, rock formations. The eastern half is beautiful, too, except for the unexploded ordinance, heavy metal residue, blown-apart tanks, and radioactive contamination from depleted uranium.
In his newly published book, Notes From the Underground: The Spiritual Journal of a Secular Priest, Fr. Donald Cozzens commiserates with Catholics who simply cannot swallow the whole package of official church beliefs, doctrines, rules and regulations the hierarchy proposes as mandatory for all: dissent is not an option.
New matching grant! Thursday is a make-it-or-break-it day. Our goal is in sight, but we need your help.
The Vatican representative to the United Nations in New York, Indian Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, addressing the Commission on Population and Development, asked that nations make a greater effort “strengthening bonds of friendship and brotherhood within the human family”, above all by helping immigrants integrate better.
The challenge grant was matched by midday. Let's talk about Francis' unintended consequences.
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