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Articles on Catholicism

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Catarina was revered in Puebla, Mexico – but devotion to her attracted Catholic authorities’ disapproval after her death. Image from the collections of the Biblioteca Nacional de España

From South Asia to Mexico, from slave to spiritual icon, this woman’s life is a snapshot of Spain’s colonization – and the Pacific slave trade history that books often leave out

Accounts of Asian American history often stop at the US border, but Asians were living in Latin America for centuries before the Declaration of Independence.
Charlton Heston as Moses in the biblical epic The Ten Commandments. Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Who wrote the Bible?

The Bible remains the most important collection of books in Western civilisation. Regardless of our religious beliefs, it has shaped all of us. But who wrote it? The answer is complicated.
Archbishop of Los Angeles Jose H. Gomez stands with people celebrating the Virgin of Guadalupe’s feast day in 2022. AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

Viva Guadalupe! Beyond Mexico, the Indigenous Virgin Mary is a powerful symbol of love and inclusion for millions of Latinos in the US

The famous apparition of the Virgin Mary has come to symbolize Mexico, but other groups – particularly migrants and Latinos north of the border – also feel a special connection to Guadalupe.
Delegates attend the opening of the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Oct. 4, 2023, at the Vatican. Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images

Hot-button topics may get public attention at the Vatican synod, but a more fundamental issue for the Catholic Church is at the heart of debate

Pope Francis’ Synod on Synodality is attempting to move the church toward a more dialogue-based model of authority, a scholar of Catholicism explains.
Pope Francis leads a prayer vigil at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City on Sept. 30, 2023. Antonio Masiello/Getty Images

The worldwide consultations for the global synod reflect Pope Francis’ efforts toward building a more inclusive Catholic Church

As the Synod of Bishops meets in Rome, a Catholic theologian explains the preparations that went into the consultative process and what it says about Pope Francis’ vision for the future church.
Each year, services on St. Francis’ feast day draw humans and animals alike to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Birds, worms, rabbits: Francis of Assisi was said to have loved them all – but today’s pet blessings on his feast day might have seemed strange to the 13th century saint

Medieval monastics were often discouraged from owning companion animals, which were viewed as a distraction, a religion scholar explains.

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