Perspective
Our Unexpected Pope
How many people on Thursday, May 8, while waiting for the cardinals to elect a new pope, said, “It will never be an American!” I was one of those, and […]
Perspective
Our Heart of Darkness
(OSV News) – “The people stood by and watched.” This simple line in Luke’s Passion narrative (Lk 23:35) struck me with unusual force during Holy Week. Under Roman governance, executions […]
Perspective
‘Put No Trust in Princes’
(OSV News) – Scoring presidential administrations on some kind of Christian scale would seem to be an effort doomed to fail. Political agendas and actions rarely align easily with the […]
Perspective
Called Not to Be Served but to Serve
(OSV News) – Pope Francis’ most recent encounter with mortality has captured the world’s attention. As of this writing, he remains in the hospital fighting double pneumonia with a “reserved” […]
Perspective
In Pacific Palisades, Paradise Lost
I have trouble talking about the loss without tearing up, as if the smoke and ash from Los Angeles traveled across the country to find me. My in-laws were French […]
Perspective
Adult Children and Christmas Mass
There are two kinds of families that I notice at Christmas Mass. The first are those with young children dressed up in their best Christmas finery, excited about the whole […]
Perspective
Men Behaving Beastly
“Why do men become beasts?” The question was asked by South African Archbishop Buti Joseph Tlhagale. In a speech last August, he was warning men that they will be held […]
Perspective
The Challenges of the Catholic Voter
Every four years, for as long as I’ve been in the Catholic press, editors get two types of phone calls come election time. The first is to complain about the […]
Perspective
Dealing with Pandemic PTSD
I’d like a show of hands for how many of you tested positive for COVID this summer. Or felt terrible but didn’t have any tests on-hand. Or self-diagnosed your distress […]
Perspective
Is Sunday a Wasted Opportunity?
It’s not every day that The New York Times runs a story about Catholics and Eucharistic adoration. Yet the National Eucharistic Congress held in July in Indianapolis caught the attention […]
Perspective
A Toast – and Advice – to Those Beginning their Marital Journey
I must have skipped the chapter in my “how to parent” instruction manual where it talked about weddings. Not my wedding, of course, but all the weddings of my kids, […]
Perspective
‘Father Justin’ Explains It All for You
Years ago, I remember a supermarket tabloid cover story about the Vatican creating a robot priest. The image on the cover was an R2D2 type of robot with a confessional […]