Thinking with the Church

The Commandment of Assisi:
"Purify your own faith"
ASSISI, ITALY, October, 26, 2011 -- This is the way "so that the true God becomes accessible." The speech of pope Joseph Ratzinger to the "pilgrims of truth" gathered in the city of Saint Francis.

Pope Believes Secularized Nations
Can Become Christian Again
VATICAN CITY, October 15, 2011-- Today Pope Benedict XVI told over 8,000 Catholics involved in the "new evangelization" that he has every confidence they can return their respective nations to Jesus Christ.

Vatican Cardinal Warns Priests
Not to Let Humanity Overshadow God
LOS ANGELES, CA, October 6, 2011 -- Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, the prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, recently addressed priests and seminarians in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Calif. He told them that the world urgently needs holy priests who avoid allowing their humanity to cast a shadow over the beauty of the Lord.

US Catholic Bishops Say
2007 Voting Document Was Misused
WASHINGTON, D.C., October 4, 2011-- With the campaign for the 2012 presidential race gaining speed, the U.S. Catholic bishops are saying that their 2007 statement on the political responsibilities of Catholics must not be misused or distorted to justify supporting candidates that do not adhere to Church teaching.

The Church's Evolving View on the Death Penalty
ATLANTA, GA, October 7, 2008--"The legitimate use of punishment to defend the order of justice should include remedies for both the victims and the perpetrators of crime," Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta said in a speech on the death penalty at Emory University Law School in Atlanta. Archbishop Gregory discussed the influence of Pope John Paul II on the Catholic Church's present stance on the death penalty, including revisions made to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the church's traditional view of the death penalty.

In Wealthy Germany,
the Church Should Become Poor!
A Message for Us
about the New Evangelization
ROME, September 27, 2011-- Never before his third voyage to his native land had Benedict XVI given such powerful emphasis to the ideal of a Church poor in structures, in possessions, in power. At the same time, however, he insisted on the need for a vigorous "public presence" of this same Church. Is it possible to have both at once?

Church in West Suffering Crisis of Faith, Says Pope
FREIBURG, GERMANY, September 24, 2011-- “The real crisis facing the Church in the western world is a crisis of faith,” Pope Benedict XVI told gathering of lay Catholics on Sept. 24, in Freiburg.

Bishops Approve Physician-Assisted Suicide Statement; Call on Catholics to Support the Dying, Ensure Their Legal Protection 
WASHINGTON, DC, June 16, 2011 -- The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) approved a policy statement on physician-assisted suicide at its Spring General Assembly in Seattle on June 16. The statement, To Live Each Day with Dignity, passed with a vote of 191-1. It marks the first time the full body of bishops has issued a statement devoted to this issue.

Liberals and Conservatives
Apply Social Teaching Principles Differently
SAN FRANCISCO, June 1, 2011--There is a tension between how liberals and conservatives apply Catholic social teachings that sometimes devolves into questions about who is authentically Catholic in their approach to public policy. While there are some moral areas in which the application of Catholic teaching is so clear there is little room for prudential judgment among Catholics who fully accept the teachings of the Church, most leave a lot of latitude for different approaches or strategies to serve the common good. In these cases, it is common for Catholics of good will to have diamentrically opposed positions on issues. Stephen White of the Ethics and Policy Center provides some very helpful insights into this in an article entitled "Catholic Conservatives and the Common Good".

Fr. Barron comments on Celebrating Bin Laden's Death?
CHICAGO, May 6, 2011 -- Father Robert Barron provides a poignant reflection on the inviolable dignity of the human person that is important to keep in mind as we contemplate public policy alternatives regarding life, marriage, family and human rights. It is food for thought.

Pope: Defend and Promote Right to Freedom
Message to Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences
VATICAN CITY, May 4, 2011 (VIS) - Today was made public the Pope's message to Mary Ann Glendon, president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, and the members of that institution at the closure of their seventeenth plenary assembly held in Rome from 29 April to 3 May on the theme: "Universal Rights in a World of Diversity: The Case of Religious Freedom".