Reform Archives

Critics charge German ‘synodal path’ exploits suffering of abuse victims

Mar 26, 2021

Critics charge that in the German “synodal path,” the suffering of abuse victims is being weaponized for ideological ends by forces seeking to revive old arguments in Catholicism over power and sex, trying to use the abuse crisis to justify profound changes in Catholic teaching and tradition.

By Inés San Martín

Order of Malta in limbo after Becciu’s ouster

Oct 3, 2020

The Grand Chancellor of the Order of Malta has said the sudden departure of Cardinal Angelo Becciu, tasked with overseeing the Knights’ internal reform, has halted the finalization of their new constitutions, leaving questions as to how and when they can complete the process.

By Elise Ann Allen

Priest baptism story offers memo for reformers: Look before you leap
- Aug 25, 2020
Robert K. Merton, a famous American sociologist, was, by all accounts, a smart guy. Among other things, he popularized the expression “law of unintended consequences” to refer to situations when a person does something for one reason, but he or she finds that it produces all sorts of other unexpected results.

By John L. Allen Jr.
Francis warns German Catholics they can’t just do their own thing
- Jun 29, 2019
As the Catholic Church in Germany prepares to embark on a synodal process motivated in part by a desire to stop a hemorrhage of faithful, Pope Francis has sent them a letter reminding them they don’t walk alone but with the universal Church.

By Inés San Martín
New Vatican document to put evangelization ahead of doctrine
- Apr 22, 2019
A new “super dicastery” on evangelization might be one of the most significant reforms of the governing structures of the Vatican, according to a new report.

By Inés San Martín
Ex head of the Vatican bank faced ‘spite, traps, threats and intimidation’
- Apr 4, 2019
In two wide-ranging interviews, the former president of the Vatican bank said that since he began working there he encountered “spite, traps, threats and intimidations.”

By Claire Giangravè