Category Archives: Pope Francis

I want more women

Posted on February 15, 2020 by Quentin

You will have read recently that Pope Francis has not supported the Amazon Synod’s recommendation to allow married priests in the Amazon. We are talking about a country where some 85 per cent of the villages cannot rely on having … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocatus Diaboli, Pope Francis, Quentin queries | Tagged , | 110 Comments

What would you do?

Posted on December 24, 2019 by Quentin

Our discussion on Pope Francis’ New Year’s resolutions was excellent. I was somewhat surprised at some of the views. But then I am one of his fans. So, I thought that, being the holidays, it might be useful to look … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocatus Diaboli, Moral judgment, Pope Francis, Quentin queries | 39 Comments

Well, really! Women deacons?

Posted on May 16, 2019 by Quentin

There has been much discussion at Vatican Headquarters about the issue of women deacons. It is always pointed out that such deacons are to be found in the early Church. But that doesn’t settle the matter because the issue is … Continue reading →

Posted in Bio-ethics, Pope Francis, Quentin queries | Tagged | 60 Comments

Who knows?

Posted on February 22, 2019 by Quentin

There has been considerable discussion over the last year or two concerning the question of admitting Catholics in a second marriage to the Eucharist. I summarise this by the statement of Pope Francis in 2016: In his September 5, 2016 … Continue reading →

Posted in Moral judgment, Pope Francis, Quentin queries | Tagged | 56 Comments

All Change

Posted on February 2, 2018 by Quentin

On February 11th , five years ago, Pope Benedict announced his resignation as Pope: “After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholic Herald other, Pope Francis, Quentin queries | 17 Comments

The obedient Church

Posted on January 11, 2018 by Quentin

In looking at what changes might be needed in the culture of the Church in order to avoid the scandal examined in the Australian Royal Commission we come back to a subject which we have addressed before on these pages: … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocatus Diaboli, Bio-ethics, Church and Society, Moral judgment, Pope Francis | 38 Comments

Pope Francis on the wane?

Posted on November 30, 2017 by Quentin

It’s all a bit confusing isn’t it? The honeymoon with Pope Francis may be drawing to a close. Many of us have been inspired by his character, his teachings and his actions. But is he going too far? We have … Continue reading →

Posted in Church and Society, Moral judgment, Pope Francis, Scripture | 67 Comments

Who Decides?

Posted on September 28, 2017 by Quentin

Subsidiarity strikes me as a dull word. Read it, and then pass on. But the concept is important. Loosely, it may be defined as allowing decisions in society to be taken at the lowest practicable level: higher authority may not … Continue reading →

Posted in Church and Society, Pope Francis, Quentin queries | Tagged | 25 Comments

The future is already on its way

Posted on March 23, 2017 by Quentin

I have, on occasion, noted in my Secondsight column in the Catholic Herald that decreases in our birthrate promise problems in the future. Last week there was a strongly written article by Dennis Sewell. If you get a chance to … Continue reading →

Posted in Church and Society, Moral judgment, Pope Francis | Tagged | 22 Comments

Papal confusion or what?

Posted on March 9, 2017 by Quentin

In a recent letter to this magazine (Wilfred Jones 10 Feb) a younger, and clearly devout, Catholic describes his and his friends’ doubts about Pope Francis’s approach to Catholic teachings on human sexuality. Yes, it is messy. Many years ago … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholic Herald columns, Moral judgment, Pope Francis | 24 Comments