Mark Gatto

True, but turns out (surprise!) that US Catholics schooled for years to believe that the Church only cared about abortion are bewildered. Wait till they hear about nuclear arms, just wage, death penalty, ecology & other planks of Catholic social doctrine. religionnews.com/2025/01/27/tha…

"The program of synodal renewal of the Church, announced by Pope Francis, is much deeper." Tomáš Halík on synodality and the 'new evangelization': commonwealmagazine.org/toward-more-ca…

🎧 This week on the season finale, Pete and Jared tackle: Does the Old Testament really predict Jesus’s birth? 🤔 Don’t miss it! #BiblePodcast

America's wealthiest tech oligarchs are showering Trump's inaugural committee with millions in donations. Why are billionaires aligning with fascists? So the rest of us fight each other and don't look up to see where all the wealth and power have gone.

As 2024 comes to an end, try this five-step Examen prayer to reflect back on the year and find traces of God's presence in your life, confirm your choices and identify what gave you life... and what didn't. hubs.la/Q02_Fc2t0

Italy's beauty isn’t confined to Rome, Florence, or Venice—its small towns are brimming with charm and history. Which of these 22 hidden gems have changed the way you see Italy? 🧵

I always look forward to sharing my annual list of favorite books, movies, and music. Today I’ll start by sharing some of the books that have stuck with me long after I finished reading them. Check them out this holiday season, preferably at an independent bookstore or library!

There's so much misinformation about Mary of Nazareth that gets circulated, sometimes innocently, sometimes deliberately. People often erase the reality of who she was, and set up a fake Mary in her place. So I really enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about the real Mary.

@Brcremer Power can take many forms: economic power, moral power, political power, spiritual power. But whatever form it takes, it is ultimately the same—the temptation to replace love with control.

Pope Francis at General Audience: “After 8 minutes, preaching gets dispersive and no one understands.. Never go over 10 minutes, ever! This is very important.” vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2…

It’s always seemed completely strange to me that there should be any resistance whatsoever to evolution in Christianity. Christians should have been the first in line to recognize and cooperate with such a dynamic notion of God. #DailyMeditations tinyurl.com/mjfp2uc8

Pope Francis: “May the Jubilee be an opportunity for a ceasefire everywhere.” ansa.it/sito/notizie/t…

What is the most beautiful painting or work of art you have ever seen?

Dopo più di 80 anni le parole di Chaplin sono più attuali che mai: “Abbiamo i mezzi per spaziare, ma ci siamo chiusi in noi stessi. La macchina dell'abbondanza ci ha dato povertà, la scienza ci ha trasformati in cinici, l'abilità ci ha resi duri e cattivi. Pensiamo troppo e sentiamo poco. Più che macchinari, ci serve umanità, più che abilità ci serve bontà e gentilezza; senza queste qualità la vita è violenza e tutto è perduto.” Dovremmo ripartire dal Discorso all'Umanità di Chaplin per un nuovo rinascimento culturale.

A century ago, Germany’s democracy was hijacked by a bombastic and charismatic tyrant — and in this five-minute video, you’ll learn how he did it. Why did I produce this? Because I believe that history is speaking to us, and all too often, those who refuse to learn from it are doomed to repeat it. As you watch, imagine filling out a Bingo card filled with Germany 1933/USA 2024 parallels: big rallies, rage-filled and hateful rhetoric, simple answers promising quick and easy solutions to complicated problems, empty promises of a great-again future, scapegoating outsiders, and political enemies silenced on day one. And notice the caring wisdom and concern from my German friends as they share these lessons from their dark history. It’s hard to understand how Trump could, on the eve of a tight election, paint a picture of Liz Cheney before a firing squad by actually saying, “Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, OK? And let’s see how she feels about it when the guns are trained on her face.” You can’t get into the mind of a dictator with an insatiable appetite for power — but you can recognize the playbook they all seem to follow. Just watch this clip. It’s excerpted from my hourlong public television special “The Story of Fascism in Europe,” which is streaming free (and ad-free) at ricksteves.com/fascism. If you care about our democracy and love our country, it’s hard to stop watching. When I produced this in 2018, I hoped this day would never come in our country. But November 5th is upon us. Please share this with anyone in your life who might need a reminder that the stakes are high...and this is very real.

Powerful words for our current moment from one of the people who has had tremendous influence over my Christianity.

"It is well known that the diaconate for women is not and has never been doctrinally precluded." @MassimoFaggioli writes on women in the Church, the Synod, and management feminism: commonwealmagazine.org/management-min…

Beautiful insight from Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, today during his @Synod_va retreat meditation, on John 21: "The Beloved Disciple can recognize the stranger on the beach and say, 'It is the Lord!'" May we all recognize Christ in the "strangers" we encounter.