Pope Francis' Breakthroughs In Church Law

Pope Francis at ESC Congress 2016.

Dispensations provide for flexibility in church law.

The Catholic Bishops in the U.S. Public Arena: Changing Prospects under Pope Francis

The public profile of the Roman Catholic bishops of the United States results not simply from their own interventions in political life, but from the broad array of actions and actors within “public Catholicism” broadly conceived. This article assesses the contemporary profile of the American bishops from this broad angle, particularly in light of new dynamics under the papacy of Francis I. It ...

The Concept of Periphery in Pope Francis’ Discourse: A Religious Alternative to Globalization?

Since the beginning of his mandate, Pope Francis has used the concept of periphery as a metaphor of social marginality. However, the notion of periphery also seems to target the asymmetries generated by the liberal version of globalization. Pope Francis’ narrative has to be read in the broader context of the relation between religions and globalization. That interaction is usually conceptualize...

Partial Frequencies and Chladni’s Law in Church Bells

The rim partials of a church bell (those with an antinode at the soundbow) generate the strike pitch or perceived note of the bell. The spacing in frequency of the higher rim partials has an important effect on the tonal quality of the bell. Investigations into the partial frequencies of 2752 bells, both bronze and steel, of a wide variety of dates, founders and sizes, show a simple and unexpec...