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.
A new report published Tuesday sounds the alarm about a form of Catholic McCarthyism threatening the future of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). Faith in Public Life, a Washington-based organization of religious progressives, issued this 24-page report by John Gehring, laying out threats to CCHD from right-wing groups who seemingly want to put it out of business.
I'm a gardener. I love to dig in the dirt: turn compost piles, double dig garden plots, replace lawn with new beds. For several years, I've been slowly replacing the grass of our front terrace with perennials because the pitch is steep and it is harder and harder to mow.
The other thing I love about the garden is its promise. The buds on fruit trees and the first shoots of spring bulbs delight me and fill me with hope for results I initiated years ago but really have done very little to accomplish. It's the garden's promise that gets me every time.
The economy is starting to fire on at least a few cylinders. Several indicators suggest that things are going pretty well. Unfortunately, Christopher Matthews in a recent Time article describes a situation that should be troubling for those of us who care about making sure the economy works for all of us.
NCR Today: The remarks led some to speculate that the pope may be downplaying the role of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
How inclusive is the Catholic church?
This debate has been going on for centuries. We are all the children of God, the inclusivists maintain. Jesus set an inclusive example; his message was inclusive. He died so all can be saved, the inclusivists say.
Chicago's Cardinal Francis George has probably spoken more and written more about same-sex marriage than any other bishop in the U.S. His latest column in the Catholic New World is no exception. It reveals his ongoing concern about the growing majority of Catholics who approve the legalization of same-sex unions. At the same time, it also reveals his failure to look at the subject with an open mind.
NCR Today: The reports in the air today are based on leaked notes from a meeting with Francis, so we don't actually know what the pope said.
NCR Today: News this morning from Winnipeg, Canada; Vatican City; Philadelpia; Columbus and Toledo, Ohio; Utah and France.
Pope Francis met last week with the presiding board of CLAR (the Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Religious Men and Women). Reportedly, they had a cordial and informal meeting, with Francis, as he is prone to do, speaking off the cuff.
NCR Today: Myanmar bishops speak on religious rights; CCHD deals with a funding brouhaha; sex abuse in the Philippines.
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