Author: Brian Bright
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The cleric as algorithm & influencer
Terry Fewtrell, in an earlier article posted in ARC News, listed implications for parishes and dioceses of the final document from the Synod on Synodality. https://australianreformingcatholics.au/synodality-jun-26/ In this article, he warns of clerics who are taking up the role of influencers and leading their congregations on the easy path of doing nothing substantial with Synodality. “Plenty…
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Church Tradition and Governance
The following two articles look at the recent reactions of some bishops to Church Synods and Councils where tradition has been developed. Some American bishops are pushing back against the recent Synod on Synodality that promulgated the practice of synodality. We also have bishops of the SSPX refusing to acknowledge outcomes of Vatican II re the…
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Humanity Unfolding: Where I Differ with Pope Leo XIV on the Human Person and AI
Ilia Delio writes about Pope Leo’s encyclical, Magnifica humanitas: “Magnifica humanitas—”magnificent humanity”—is at heart an invitation: it asks a distracted, accelerating civilization to consider what it is before deciding what it wants to become. Read on its own terms, the encyclical is a powerful moral guide, precisely because it refuses to be merely reactive. Leo delivers…
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NATSICC Sunday
This week is NAIDOC week. Sunday July 5 was NATSICC Sunday. NATSICC, the National Torres Strait and Indigenous Catholic Council, represents Australian Indigenous Catholics. This year the Day also celebrates the fortieth anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s powerful address to the Indigenous community at Alice Springs. It speaks just as powerfully to our own…
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A ‘Leonine’ Version of Synodality?
By Massimo Faggioli, 12 June 2026 From an institutional point of view, the most consequential, long-term legacy left by Pope Francis to his successor is synodality. While Paul VI had conceived and instituted the Bishops’ Synod in 1965, it was not for “synodality” as we think of it now, but was rather an expression of…
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Silicon Valley priest: Encyclical gives new impetus to Church–Big Tech dialogue
Fr. McGuire writes that as Church, we certainly do not agree on everything, but that it is essential that we follow Pope Francis’ idea of synod: listening, encountering, and working with people. He believes that the dialogue has been able to have with the Tech community in Silicon Valley has been very fruitful. That dialogue…
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Women’s Leadership and Church Culture
Some countries demonstrate greater or lesser acceptance of women as leaders and/or ministers, but the biggest barrier against women in the Church crosses all territorial boundaries. It is the culture of clericalism.
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St Francis Teaches Us
This week is Laudato Si Week. It is opportune to look at what St Francis taught us about our place in Creation. In the article that follows, the author points out that St. Francis taught us that to obey Christ is sometimes to disobey the church. https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/st-francis-teaches-us-obey-christ-sometimes-disobey-church
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Authentic tradition, authentic voices and religious nationalism
J P Grayland In this article, J P Grayland looks at the recent “war of words” between the U.S. President, Vice President, and Pope Leo XIV. “Understanding the recent conflict within a broader setting helps Christians avoid resorting to popularist responses or adopting oversimplified theological commentary.” He goes on to raise questions about the implications…
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Leo XIV Reopens the Amoris Debate
Reposted from https://popeleoweekly.substack.com/p/leo-xiv-reopens-the-amoris-debate Sarah Carter (@recoveringcatholic) posted this on her Pope Leo Weekly Substack. She begins by noting that the Pope has called a meeting of bishops about Amoris Laetitia, the exhortation on marriage by Pope Francis. She concludes that with a quote from the Pope and a link to his complete message. That is…