Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Social Issues Jul 30, 2013
Pope's accepting comments on gays mark change in tone
In another act of the kind of humble outreach that has marked the early months of his papacy, Pope Francis called on Monday for the integration of gays into society, remarking that even as leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, he has no ...
World Apr 13, 2013
Catholic priests unmasked: 'God doesn't like boys who cry'
by Catherine Deveney
March 13, 2013. The world is waiting. Television screens show days-old footage of cardinals in red and white, processing past Vatican guards into the magnificence of the Sistine Chapel for the papal conclave. Every image, from the polished marble floors and gold ceilings to ...
Global-related Apr 10, 2013
Keeping it simple isn't an act for Pope Francis
by Michelle Boorstein
Organized religion is often defined by specific do’s and don’ts. Now comes Pope Francis with his emphasis on being humble and helping those who hurt.
World Mar 22, 2013
Rise of Jesuit to papacy surprises cerebral order's membership
by Michelle Boorstein
Pope Francis belongs to the Jesuits, a religious order whose members take an unusual — and at the moment seemingly ironic — vow: not to strive for a higher office. The Jesuits’ culture of modesty and self-effacement has been on full display in recent ...
Global-related Mar 20, 2013
Stunned pope asks for prayers
by Kevin Rafferty
Pope Francis understands that the Catholic Church is bleeding. In Latin America, it is losing members to evangelical Christianity and to secularism.
Editorial Mar 17, 2013
New pope faces challenging times
It is hoped that Pope Francis will be successful in restoring and strengthening trust in the Catholic Church by squarely addressing problems plaguing it.
Global-related Mar 4, 2013
Exiting a wounded church
by Kevin Rafferty
Roman Catholics pray that the Holy Spirit will cut through all the politicking by cardinals and light upon a pope who can rescue a wounded church.
Editorial Mar 3, 2013
Pope Benedict XVI bows out
Big problems — from child sex-abuse cases to Vatican politics — probably proved too much for an aging academic theologian like the outgoing pope.
Social Issues Feb 28, 2013
Mystery shrouds pope's retirement
On an April 2009 visit to the Italian mountain town of Sulmona, Pope Benedict XVI solemnly placed his pallium, the vestment symbolizing his papal authority, on the tomb of Celestine V. The medieval pontiff’s abdication in 1294 had resulted in imprisonment by his successor ...
Global-related Feb 27, 2013
Five myths about picking a pope
by Thomas J. Reese
Misconceptions abound about how 117 cardinals, gathering from across the globe inside the Vatican's Sistine Chapel, will elect a new pope next month.
World Feb 23, 2013
As Africa rises, Europe loses grip on Catholic power base
by Afua Hirsch
The muted light of an African sunset filters into the high, pointed roof of Christ The King church in Accra, a wide, understated building just metres away from the seat of government in Ghana's capital city.
Global-related Feb 19, 2013
Catholic Church is losing battle with modernity
by Gwynne Dyer
There's no point in going on about how Pope Benedict XVI failed to modernize the church. What the Catholic Church is really fighting is modernization, which it sees as moral decline.