The Explainer: Nearly half East Timor’s population saw Pope Francis. How does that compare with other papal Masses?
The Associated Press takes a look at how some past papal Masses compare…
Columns : The Explainer
The Explainer: What is the Shroud of Turin and why is there so much controversy around it?
Scholar of early Christianity, ERIC VANDEN EYKEL, looks – in an article on The Conversation, at the history of the Shroud of Turin…
The Explainer: Why is an ultimate goal called a ‘Holy Grail?’
Medieval Christian history specialist JOANNE M PIERCE, in an article first published on The Conversation, explains how several threads, including pre-Christian mythology, veneration of relics in Christian tradition, and medieval literature, have combined over the centuries into the Holy Grail metaphor of today…
The Explainer: Who are the Druze? The Arab minority in Israel mourning children killed by rockets
The victims of the latest bloodiest day in the Israel-Hamas war were neither Jews nor Palestinians, but Druze, a small religious sect native to the Levant. DAVID I KLEIN, of Religion News Service, explains…
The Explainer: What the Catholic Church says about political violence and the need to forgive – even would-be assassins
JOANNE M PIERCE, in an article first published on The Conversation, looks at how Catholic views on the morality of killing have evolved over time, embracing the idea of warfare for self-defence and the common good and emphasising forgiveness for enemies…
The Explainer: What is a Gutenberg Bible? And why is it relevant 500 years after its printing?
MARÍA TERESA HERNÁNDEZ, of Associated Press, explores the history and significance of the Gutenberg Bible…
The Explainer: What is Juneteenth and how are people marking the day?
Celebrated on 19th June, RICH MACKAY of Reuters, takes a look at a holiday marking the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans…
The Explainer: ‘Mary gardens’ bring Catholic piety to the garden
Librarians KAYLA HARRIS and BRIDGET RETZLOFF, in an article first published on The Conversation, look at the revival of a medieval tradition…
The Explainer: Excommunication is not the church’s equivalent of capital punishment
Amid calls for priest who abuse children to be excommunicated, US Catholic commentator THOMAS REESE, in an article first published on Religion News Service, looks at the concept of excommunication within the Catholic Church…
The Explainer: In ‘Infinite Dignity’, the Vatican defends people, not politics
PHYLLIS ZAGANO, in an article first published on Religion News Service, says tackling matters that are the topic of political debates today, the document drew more controversy than intended…
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