archives

By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
Rome

To steal a page from American politics, one might sum up five reports on the Bible from the perspective of five different continents delivered at the Synod of Bishops yesterday in a single sound-bite: “It’s the culture, stupid!”

Each of the five bishops who spoke on behalf of his continent argued, in various ways, that the central challenge is to bring the Bible into conversation with the local culture – whether it’s the secular humanism of contemporary Europe, or the traditional religions of sub-Sahran Africa.

By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
Rome

Since the Bible is shared by all Christians, there’s a natural ecumenical dimension to this Synod of Bishops. That aspect was symbolized this morning by the presentation of a special-edition, multi-lingual Bible to Pope Benedict XVI published by the American Bible Society, an inter-denominational group based in the United States devoted to publishing and distributing the Bible around the world.

By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
Rome

Over the first week and a half of a Synod of Bishops, the roughly 250 members have five minutes each to say whatever’s on their minds. That makes for moments of drama, but it also complicates efforts to isolate trends.

Judging solely by the first morning of discussion, however, it would seem that three points already seem to be emerging as recurrent themes:

On the Road to Peace by John Dear S.J.	Tuesday, October 7, 2008
	Vol. 3, No. 5

This week, I've been speaking in Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Montana and Oregon about the life of peace and my autobiography, A Persistent Peace. Everywhere I go, someone asks, "Are you saying we cannot use violence any more?" Yes, I answer. "How then do we defend ourselves from someone who intends to do us harm? How do we defend ourselves from terrorists who want to hurt us? How do we defend ourselves from other nations?" "Nonviolently!" I answer.

It sounds foolish, of course, but I point folks back to the nonviolent Jesus and suggest that he teaches a whole new way of life.

From Where I Stand by Joan Chittister, OSB	October 7, 2008
	Vol. 6, No. 9

This is, they tell us over and over again, "The most important presidential election in our lifetime." And they may well be right. After all, we are fighting two wars and facing the biggest economic meltdown since the Great Depression of 1929. If that weren't enough, we have major social issues -- health, education, job creation, energy -- to deal with on the side. Not to mention an obligation to be a good citizen of the planet, as well.