Interviews Archives

Pope in Myanmar won’t be judged by crowds or speeches, but results

Interviews
August 19, 2017

Founded in 1991, Burma Campaign UK is one of the leading international organizations seeking reform in the country. Its director Mark Farmaner says Pope Francis is likely to face a challenging time when he visits Burma, also known as Myanmar, in a trip which is expected in late November. The pope has spoken up many times to protest the treatment of the Rohingya, a minority Muslim population facing persecution in the country.

Gregory on Charlottesville: Bishops must speak, because silence is approval

Interviews
August 15, 2017

Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, the highest-ranking African-American prelate in America, said on Monday that all bishops in the country, including those who lead dioceses without tremendous racial diversity, have to speak out in the wake of Charlottesville — because, he warned, silence will be seen as approval.

Brazilian cardinal says it’s time to move ‘from conservation to mission’

Interviews
August 14, 2017

When the Latin American bishops gathered in the Brazilian town of Aparecida in 2007 to plan a pastoral strategy for the continent, then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was a chief architect of the document. Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer of São Paulo, Brazil, says they still haven’t lived up to its vision, saying it’s time to shift from “maintenance” to “mission.”

Finding grace in singleness: How being single is still part of the Church

Interviews
August 14, 2017

For Christians, there are two states of life that are permanent: marriage and vowed religious life. But single people have a baptismal vocation, too – and we all should expect to live out seasons of singleness in some way or other.

Living in that same light as St. Clare

Interviews
August 11, 2017

St. Clare of Assisi — her feast day is observed on August 11— sought to live Franciscan spirituality from within the enclosure of her cloister. While the Franciscan friars were preaching in the cities and rebuilding churches externally, Clare and the sisters were living within the enclosure with a stronger focus on contemplation, intimacy, and relationality.

Gene editing: Gateway to Promised Land, or key to Pandora’s box?

Interviews, Religion News Service
August 5, 2017

Arthur Caplan, the founding head of the Division of Bioethics at New York University, answered ethical questions about new technology in the field of genetics that might allow disease to be engineered out of embryos.