VATICAN CITY—In yet another example showing just how out of touch celibate prelates can be when it comes to the realities of modern sexuality, a conservative Catholic bishop in the United States has come up with what amounts to a handbook about how not to have sex.
New guidelines (PDF) issued by Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia lay out the don’ts and don’ts, as it were, when it comes to the implementation of Pope Francis’s landmark Amoris Laetitia apostolic exhortation on love … at least as this conservative bishop sees it.
His guidelines are aimed at divorced and remarried Catholics and people in same-sex relationships who wish to receive the sacrament of the Eucharist or holy communion. Essentially, confessing to having forbidden sex, which is any sex outside of the original singular heterosexual Catholic marriage, isn’t enough. Instead, they must give up sex altogether.
“With divorced and civilly-remarried persons, Church teaching requires them to refrain from sexual intimacy,” Chaput says. (emphasis added) “This applies even if they must (for the care of their children) continue to live under one roof. Undertaking to live as brother and sister is necessary for the […]
London on 1 July. Demonstrators hold placards with the words “Liar Liar Pants On Fire” written on them as they protest next to underwear, featuring various politicians faces, hung up outside the home of former London Mayor Boris Johnson
Credit: Jack Taylor
LONDON — Two weeks after the EU referendum, Britain’s political elite is crumbling and the country still has no plan for Brexit. The next government — and also the Europeans — will have to pick up the pieces.
British democracy these days is reminiscent of a crumbling building. And that isn’t just a metaphor. Parts of Westminster Palace, home to the House of Commons and the House of Lords, is wrapped in scaffolding and plastic tarps. The façade is brittle, water is seeping in through the roof and pipes are leaky. The […]
Yoshihiro Shibata visits the temple in Hara-izumi village, Japan. The last monk left years ago because donations were insufficient, given the village’s dwindling population.
Credit: Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times
KAKEGAWA, JAPAN — The red-roofed temple at the top of the hill closed about a decade ago, and now Yoshihiro Shibata can’t even remember its name, though the 54-year-old dairy farmer has lived in this picturesque village all his life.
“The income of the temple depends on the number of residents, and there weren’t enough to keep a monk here,” he said, looking around the deserted grounds nestled amid the village’s lush landscape of tea plants and hydrangeas, bamboo and pine trees.
A few years after the temple shut its doors, the village tea-processing factory closed down and the elementary school too. Now, the remaining students are bused an hour away.
“When I was young, we […]
Eight years after the financial crisis, governments, companies and consumers owe more than ever while the economy struggles. Credit: Michael Glenwood / The Times
Ancient Babylonian kings had a special tool at their disposal when economic or social conditions turned dicey: They would declare a “debt jubilee” and instantly wipe out borrowers’ loans, allowing average people deep in hock to start over with a clean slate.
It says something about the global economy in 2016 that the concept of a modern debt jubilee has been finding its way into some mainstream financial market discussions.
Eight years ago, unsustainably high debt was the root cause of the worst recession since the Great Depression. Yet world debt overall now is far above 2008 levels. And as with millions of American home buyers back then, many of today’s borrowers owe amounts that could become crushing burdens if the global economy should […]
Credit: Shutterstock
Making note of tensions in the U.S. after the shooting of two black men by police, only to be followed by sniper fire that took the lives of five Dallas policemen at a Black Lives Matter protest, the Bahamian government has issued a warning to its citizens visiting the US.
Be careful and avoid crowds.
According to a statement posted online by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, Bahamian citizens vising America should be extra cautious given recent events..
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration has taken a note of the recent tensions in some American cities over shootings of young black males by police officers,” the statement reads. “At the commencement of the Independence holiday weekend, many Bahamians will no doubt use the opportunity to travel, in particular to destinations in the United States.”
“We wish to advise all Bahamians traveling to the US but especially to the affected cities to exercise appropriate caution generally. In particular young males are asked to exercise extreme caution in affected cities in […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
