Perspective
What if every life were precious?
When Alabama’s governor, Kay Ivey, signed the nation’s most restrictive abortion bill into law, she gave this simple explanation. “Every life is precious,” she said. The law has been criticized […]
Perspective
A letter to every young Catholic
Attention Catholic young people, by which I mean everyone under 30: Pope Francis has written you a letter. Called “Christ Is Alive,” it is a historic document in that it […]
Perspective
Scary prayers that are good for you
I have a short list of scary prayers. Scary prayers are prayers where even the very words you say seem to convict you. Most prayers are prayers of petition, prayers […]
Perspective
Where is the Spirit leading us?
In the midst of the current crisis in our Church — with a once-admired cardinal accused of heinous acts, bishops widely judged incapable of policing themselves, investigators poring through Church […]
Perspective
What everybody didn’t know
When the Pennsylvania grand jury issued its report last August chronicling the sexual abuse cases in six Pennsylvania dioceses, everybody thought they knew the whole story. After all, this was […]
Perspective
Recovering intimacy in a lonely world
In the early 1990s, the famed mystery author P.D. James published “The Children of Men.” Set in the year 2021, it describes a dystopian world where the human race had […]
Perspective
Extra! Extra! Read all about it?
Fifty-three journalists were killed worldwide in 2018. Some died in war, but a shocking number died exposing corruption, covering protests or just doing their job. Time magazine called them and […]
Perspective
Ecclesial déjà vu all over again
After a surprise derailment by the Vatican of a long-awaited vote of the U.S. bishops, tempers were frayed. “I feel frustrated,” said one powerful cardinal. An influential archbishop added, “The […]
Perspective
Giving thanks for Thanksgiving
I was in the middle of a root canal when I began to think about gratitude. To be clear, I was not performing the root canal. It was being performed […]
National
Gobsmacked: Rome steps in, reform votes delayed
BALTIMORE (CNS) — Seasoned bishop watchers know that just about every fall meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has a surprise. Sometimes it’s an election result. Sometimes it […]
Perspective
Getting real about our challenges
Tracking the Catholic zeitgeist these days can be a dizzying experience. It helps to have a sense of history, and perhaps a sense of irony as well. Once upon a […]
Perspective
In praise of middle children
There’s something new to worry about these days: the disappearance of the middle child. One of the side effects of shrinking family size is that middle children are disappearing. With […]