A UNIFORM CHURCH IS NO CHURCH The Pope in Santa Marta: we must purify her, starting from ourselves; 'each of us builds according to the gift that God has given'
'AMERICA' ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY In light of the continuing debate around religious liberty and the rights of religious organizations, America magazine presents a collection of articles that have discussed, defended and articulated these issues over the past 70 years.
SPIRITUAL ASSAULT Catholics are looking for a church grounded in Scripture and animated by mutual respect and cooperation, one in which baptism, not ordination, has preeminence.
A PARISH IS THE BODY OF CHRIST - NOT A STARBUCKS FRANCHISE Simply Spirit: Too many bishops have adopted a corporate mentality that views parish communities as so many commercial franchises to be managed, rather than the living body of Christ.
A PASTORAL VISION From the moment the Second Vatican Council opened, it has consistently been described as a pastoral council, sometimes so insistently and unthinkingly that the expression has become a cliché.
A QUESTION OF CONSCIENCE Many U.S. Catholics find themselves stranded between those two worlds, especially when individual conscience comes into conflict with clear, if disputed, church teaching.
A SACRED CALLING Pope Francis has called us all not just to dialogue but to a better appreciation of our true relationship to one another. In an important way, this is a recovery of what is noble about politics.
A THING CALLED HOPE Moving through a new year, we need to remember the good that is being done, the challenges met. We humans are far from perfect but we ain't all bad either.
AN INVITATION TO LEISURE Leisure is not an absence of work, but a disposition of the soul to “perceptive understanding, of contemplative beholding, and immersion in the real.
ANNULMENT DECISION DIDN'T DROP OUT OF THE SKY This did not drop out of the sky. And it was not a unilateral, benevolently despotic act of the church’s supreme lawgiver. Bishops and priests from almost every part of the world have been calling for such a reform for a number of years.
BEING A COMPANION THROUGH THE MYSTERY OF SUFFERING Being present for people who are suffering doesn't necessarily take any deep experience; it simply requires saying ‘yes' when the need presents itself.
BLACK LIVES, WHITE CATHOLICS Consulting and collaborating with historians, political scientists, sociologists, psychologists, and theologians can help reveal the scope and tenacity of racism.
BUILT OF LIVING STONES; 5 BLACK CATHOLICS TO REMEMBER Although the history of American Catholics is intertwined with the history of people of color, black Catholics have often been forgotten in the American church.
CAN WHAT HAPPENED IN DELPHI HAPPEN IN ROME? The church is relevant so long as the teaching of Jesus is relevant. As the Letter to the Hebrews says, “Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) Institutions come and go, but the Gospel goes on, speaking to the human heart.
CATECHESIS AS A WAY OF LIFE Robert B. Williams, practicing psychologist with an interest in catechesis and spiritual care, discusses invaluable developmental tasks for the family church.
CATHOLIC CYBER-MILITIAS AND THE NEW CENSORSHIP The small groups that are behind the campaign have grown over the last few years. They make up a Catholic cyber-militia that include 'news' organizations like 'Church Militant' and bloggers such as Fr John Zuhlsdorf, This sort of vitriol is profoundly changing the communion of the Catholic Church. And not just in its ethos, but also in the way it functions.
CATHOLICS WHO JUDGE Pope Francis has strongly criticized Catholics who brag that they are perfect followers of the church's teachings but then criticize or speak ill of others in their faith communities...
CHURCH URGED TO 'FEED THE SHEEP WHERE THEY ARE' - ON THE INTERNET The digital world is the richest, and limitless territory for evangelization ever devised, but Catholic communicators must be professional, creative and empathetic to realize its full potential.
DON'T BLAME FRANCIS FOR CHURCH'S DIVISIONS Pope Francis isn’t trying to drive conservative Catholics out of the church. But he has decisively put a stop to their efforts to eject everyone else.
DON'T PUT PRIESTS ON A PEDESTAL Finally there appears an issue that our divided church can agree on. Catholics of all stripes—conservatives and liberals and in-betweens—are declaring a pox on clericalism.
ENOUGH PROSELYTISM, IT'S TIME FOR 'SILENCE' The 'antiquated' concept of mission, or 'making proselytes and procuring converts to the Church,' must be replaced with 'dialogue.'
FAITH TO FAITH AND FACE TO FACE It is time for a change. And healthy religious people have a serious responsibility to be alert and to accept the challenge to critique and halt religious violence.
FINDING MERCY AT THE TABLE What is the special contribution of the once-broken, the imperfect, to a Christian community coming together to witness to God’s forgiving love?
GRACE UNDER PRESSURE All special needs have the potential to be vehicles for God’s grace, bringing families to new places of love and acceptance.
GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS The church is not meant to be uniform, smooth, or uncomplicated—its many different faces, its unruly irregularity, is not a liability or a problem to be resolved, but instead its most precious asset.
HAS CATHOLIC INFIGHTING GOTTEN WORSE? Inside the Vatican Podcast: A discussion about the history of resistance to papal initiatives in the last 30 years. Is the current climate different from what happened during recent pontificates?
HOW CATHOLIC ARE U.S. CATHOLICS? More than 81 million U.S. adults identify themselves as Catholic. But how they live that identity — how they connect to the church beyond celebrating the popular Pope Francis — adds up very differently.
HOW THE CATHOLIC WORLD IS CHANGING Since Vatican II, Catholicism has experienced a dramatic shift in allegiance by region. Here is a global look at the demographics of the faith since 1965.
HOW THE LOCAL MOVEMENT IS REVITALIZING CHURCH Thousands of Christians are reclaiming the ancient idea of the “parish” and weaving together a shared life in the place they call home.
HOW TO WORK TOWARD INTERFAITH UNDERSTANDING You know you’re in for an interesting conversation when a lifelong Catholic says that getting to know and love Islam helped her develop a deep knowledge and love for her own Catholic faith.
IT IS TIME TO FIX OUR SUNDAY SCHOOL CULTURE When choosing to believe is more and more a revolutionary act, religious education must do much more than hand on the basic tenets of the faith.
IT'S A BRAVE NEW WORLD - EMBRACE IT Embracing newness as a mandate for spiritual growth isn’t a Pauline principle alone. Instead of being shaken to your core by the new and unknown, see it as an opportunity for spiritual growth.
IT'S TIME FOR CHRISTIANITY TO RE-EMPHASIZE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY To the surprise of some of its adherents, Christianity does not teach that each of us has an immortal soul. That, instead, is an old Greek idea, one that from time to time has weaseled its way into Christian thinking.
JESUS IS THE QUESTION, NOT THE ANSWER Knowing the ‘Catholic answer’ does little good if we’re not asking the right questions. If we aren’t careful to ask the right questions, no matter which answers we arrive at, they are sure to be woefully inadequate.
JESUS LOVED IMPERFECT PEOPLE Each of us must discover the directions in which we will find our holiness. This is the goal of a lifelong education, not merely to make a living but to find out what living is for.
LET'S ALL AGREE TO 'LIVE IN TENSION' Pope Francis to the Vatican diplomatic corps: 'abandon the familiar rhetoric and start from the essential consideration that we are dealing, above all, with persons.'
MAKE THE CATHOLIC CHURCH GREAT AGAIN? THERE'S NO GOING BACK There has never been a 'great' time, a 'golden age,' a context in which the church was actually a 'perfect society' or anything apart from what it always has been and remains: a pilgrim community of the baptized.
NONES; - A MIXED BAG If people come back to church because of Francis but find a communities and clergy that are judgmental rather than compassionate, all about rules rather than love, they will head for the exit and never return.
THE CALL OF THE BAPTIZED; LIVING THE MISSION Dr. Paul Lakeland on the challenges facing the church which seem attainable precisely because they dovetail so well with Pope Francis’s ideas on Church reform.
THE CHURCH INSIDE THE CATHOLIC CHURCH If an institution such as the Catholic Church were to say that women are fully equal, fully capable of leading, fully capable of empowerment, think of what kind of message that would send to patriarchal societies all over the world.
THE CHURCH ISN'T STATIC - SHE'S A PILGRIM ON A JOURNEY Pope Francis in his weekly general audience said that the Church on earth is on a pilgrimage to heaven guided by the Lord, who will lead us to the fullness of joy and truth at the end of time.
THE CHURCH MAY BE MORE RESILIENT THAN WE THINK Our church and our civic institutions are in trouble today. They need us. To repair our church and civic organizations, we need to recall why they are important.
THE EXODUS HITS HOME Is our Catholic parish structure inadequate for supporting the needs of adult Christians? How many more departures will have to happen before our faith community and its leaders take this exodus more seriously.
THE UNCERTAIN FUTURE OF PARISH LIFE We need a new, creative, more imaginative approach to serving the pastoral needs of the people of God than the parochial principle inherited from the village and agrarian societies of the past.
WHO REPRESENTS THE LAITY? The problem is not that these new lay members are particularly liberal or conservative; the problem is that the ecclesial movements they represent are hardly representative of the Catholic laity overall.
JESUS' THIRD WAY IS WHAT I TRY TO PRACTICE We are made to be connected to one another. When we forget that, we destroy a part of ourselves. 'As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ.'
HAS OUR FAITH GONE LUKEWARM? Lukewarm Christianity will not be enough anymore, whether among our leaders or ourselves in the pews. To repair our broken church (which remains the best hope for our broken world), we must really live our baptismal calling every day.
IN DIVISIVE TIMES, CHESTERTON INSPIRES UNITY At a time when Catholics seem to be split between conservative or progressive factions, the life and works of English writer G. K. Chesterton can inspire men and women in the church to rise above conflict.
THE BEATITUDES IN THE AGE OF ME FIRST We may not have the temperament to be on the frontlines of change but we can change the way we see ourselves, our neighbor and the world and choose resurrection now.
‘THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT: I’M CONVINCED OF THAT’ What is the experience of being a priest today, serving in an ordinary parish, in a Church that is struggling to maintain its credibility?
IS GOD BECOMING NON-PARTISAN? Questions about what Christianity really means? What the Bible actually says? And what parts of the Gospel are most relevant today?
LINGERING ON THE MARGINS Is the language of staying or leaving, of being inside or outside the church, failing to capture the experiences of many people who live with these tensions? Does going to the margins actually take you to the center of the church?
HOW TO SURVIVE THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND NOT LOSE FAITH An invitation to commitment, an awareness that is sometimes bitter, more often ironic, about the life of our parishes, told by those who frequent it and try to improve it.
STEPPING BACK What the high-octane pace of news coverage does to our mental and emotional wellbeing.
CATHOLIC CULTURE WARS Pope Francis has brought a major change to the culture of the Church. Pastoral care is his top priority. He has changed the balance in the culture wars.
ADAPTING TO A ‘WORLD CHURCH’ Finally, efforts are underway to understand Vatican II in light of a global Catholic Church. Massimo Faggioli on a new, culturally diverse commentary.
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN ‘INCLUSIVE’ CHURCH One day, we’ll look back on this debate in the church and realise that this was the moment when we truly discovered what lay in store for us in the kingdom of God.
THE JOYFUL WAY TO EVANGELIZE The goal is to form a relationship with the hope that the real work of evangelization, the work of the Holy Spirit, can be achieved.
IN PRAISE OF FRAGMENTS We’re fortunate as Christians to have four gospels. And each of them is in a sense a fragment of the wider New Testament. And within each of them, there are certain fragments.
HOW TO BE A MISSIONARY TODAY The act of serving and evangelizing has continually evolved since the time of Jesus.
FRANCIS TAKES JOHN PAUL II'S 'BE NOT AFRAID!' TO NEW LEVELS For an institution that has no clear processes in place to effect change, there was a mashup of evidence during recent weeks in Rome that some significant change is, in fact, under way.
THE WEALTH OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES It is important to reflect on the thought of Francis, and as the Synod begins it is useful to highlight these four elements, fruit of the reflections of the pontiff during his Argentine years.
CARDINAL NEWMAN A SAINT FOR THE MODERN AGE Newman offers a model for Catholics trying to engage in public life - why this giant of the 19th century has just as much relevance for today’s Catholics.
IN MANHATTAN, A PARISH WHERE PEOPLE 'WANT TO BE' "People will go out of their way to come here for the liturgy, for the community, for preaching that's not afraid to engage the issues at hand," says the new pastor.
CHURCH OLD AND NEW: THE EMERGING CHURCH These shifts may be the very reason we are currently so divided as Christians, with some clinging to an older way of doing and thinking while others are pulling in these new and “emerging” directions.
BETWEEN NAZARETH AND BETHLEHEM: JESUS’ ORIGINS IN THE GOSPEL The complex presentation of the origins of Jesus embodies a tension between continuity and rupture, old and new, expectation and surprise in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
IN TIME OF CRISIS, THE CHURCH MUST BE RENEWED At times of great crisis in the Catholic Church, God intervened to renew it through the example and witness of saints, said Archbishop Leonard P. Blair of Hartford, Connecticut.
SHE CAN DO ANYTHING For Patti Smith, turbulence of spirit is the mark of a great artist. It is also related to hope and faith because, ultimately, it leads to charity, the ability to join one’s suffering with that of others...
DIALOGUE BEGINS WITH EMPATHY, NOT CONTEMPT Christians who preach the Gospel must see people who do not know Christ as children of God and not as nonbelievers worthy of hostility and contempt...
THE BENEFITS OF PARISH-HOPPING The notion of tolerating a grouchy pastor, a dull homilist, or a depressing musical environment is one that contributes to the spiritual malaise found in many parishes.
HOSPITALITY IS AN IMPORTANT ECUMENICAL VIRTUE Showing hospitality makes a person a better human being and a better Christian and is an important part of promoting Christian unity, Pope Francis said.
WHAT IS THE COMMON GOOD? It is often easier to point to ways that the common good is not being pursued than to specific ways that the common good ought to be pursued.
HOW TO COMMUNICATE IN A POLARIZED SOCIETY How do we promote unity, encounter and reconciliation while remaining faithful to diversity? What is the attitude, to be good communicators where polarization seeks to impose itself on every public or private discussion?
THE NEW PARISH MINISTRY EMPOWERING IMMIGRANT CATHOLICS Pastoral Migratoria has developed over the past 11 years as a way to put agency back into the hands of immigrant Catholics who feel their worlds are becoming more dangerous and uncontrollable.
CAN TECHNOLOGY CREATE CATHOLIC DISCIPLES? What if we are overlooking a powerful tool that could help build our ministries and strengthen the commitment of our church members to engage in a transformative relationship with God?
THREE CHEERS FOR SOCIALISM Christian Love & Political Practice: use of civic wealth for common human ends precisely in order to restore ...the Christian law of love of neighbor and faith in God’s charity that modernity has displaced by its reliance instead on the forces of self-interest.
IT’S OKAY TO BE A ‘BAD’ CATHOLIC Society thinks Catholics look and behave a certain way. But people of faith don't easily fit stereotypes.
STILL, WE FIND WAYS TO CONNECT The paradoxes pile up today. We're forced to understand our common humanity, an understanding made possible technologically as never before. Yet we are forced to stay away from one another.
COMMON SENSE ISN’T ENOUGH Our human biases resist the hard truths about social distancing, but can the pandemic cure us of our bad habits of mind?
THE AMERICAN PARISH TODAY When it comes to the state of the Catholic parish, we tend to focus on the bad news: closed churches, declining vocations, dwindling congregations, and even parochial mergers and closures. But that’s not the whole story.
THE POPE & THE PLAGUE Societies that pull together like this, putting the vulnerable first, can achieve extraordinary things. And if we can do it to combat COVID-19, why not also climate change, infant mortality, or war?
AN EASTER WITHOUT EUCHARIST CANNOT KEEP CHRIST FROM BEING AMONG US Christians around the world this year experienced the unthinkable: Easter season without Eucharist. The most sacred of celebrations in the Christian calendar occurred right at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic...
WE’RE ALL MONKS NOW Because of Covid-19, many of us are living, in a way, like monks, enclosed and isolated in our homes. But unlike the monks, we did not ask for or want this situation, nor it is one for which many of us were spiritually prepared.
LONELINESS, DISCONNECTION, AND OUR DIVINE VOCATION Without a reference to human nature, and the specific inclination to live in community as essential for its flourishing, the prescriptive for civic decline can fall on deaf ears.
CATHOLIC PARISH LIFE (AS WE KNEW IT) IS NOT COMING BACK ANYTIME SOON There are still many unanswered questions, but interviews with physicians, public health experts, priests and diocesan leaders all elicited at least one common refrain: Even when public Masses resume, parish life will not feel normal for a while.
NAMING THE DEHUMANIZING AGENDA OF SOME CHRISTIANS It's worth remembering that the Gospels consistently portray Jesus Christ reserving his harshest criticism and condemnation for religious hypocrites. We have to hold one another accountable.
TAKE IT PERSONALLY How to Keep the Pandemic from Becoming an Abstraction: the proper response to the pandemic is ...political action aimed at protecting the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters... Do that and maybe then we’ll have a right to say, “We’re all in this together.”
AMERICAN CATHOLICS, MEET THE COMMUNION SERVICE When churches begin opening, social distancing will allow fewer people to attend Mass at the same time, which means more services will be required.
INVITATION TO SOLIDARITY The hidden nature of systemic oppression makes it all the more remarkable that the revelation of God in the Bible is written from the perspective of the oppressed.
WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE, JESUS OR THE SPIRIT? It is the Spirit that makes us Jesus, makes us the body of Christ. It is the Spirit that gives us life and fills us with love. It is not enough for us to be with Jesus; we must become Jesus, and we can only do that with the power of the Spirit.
AS CHURCHES REOPEN, LET’S NOT GO BACK TO THE OLD ‘NORMAL’ We now have more ways to connect, and we intend to keep using them. That livestream is here to stay. This way of being community is not going away, once in-person worship is again possible.
IS THE CHURCH DOING ENOUGH TO WELCOME ITS NEURODIVERSE MEMBERS? The body of Christ is made up of all of us. Talk with parents of kids living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) about finding a church home, and one ominous phrase often repeats: “A few years later, we tried again.”
PARISHES MUST CHANGE POST-PANDEMIC Will they come back? That's the question on the minds of parish leaders in the 17,000 American Catholic churches as the U.S. begins a return to a new normal post-pandemic life.
CATHOLICS BROUGHT 'CLOSER TO GOD' BY COVID-19 Almost all Catholics in Britain have watched livestreamed Masses during lockdown, according to a new survey, but the majority will not continue doing so once normal church life returns.
‘EPIDEMIC’ OF CATHOLIC SCHOOL CLOSURES IN U.S. The economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic is hitting Catholic education hard as more than 100 elementary and high schools have announced they are shuttering.
MILLENNIALS ARE SEEKING SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY. WHERE ARE THEY FINDING IT? Alternative and experimental communities are popping up across the United States —in gyms, storefronts, and restaurants, around dining room tables, and on Zoom calls. They aim to meet a key yearning: the desire for community.
RECOMMITTING TO A MOMENT OF TRANSFORMATION The brief meeting between the Pope and the Professor was thus an enormously transformative moment. It gave rise to a “journey of friendship”, as Pope Francis has described it, that has blessed Catholics and Jews ever since.
THE PARISH AT THE SERVICE OF EVANGELIZATION The urgency of missionary renewal, a pastoral conversion of the parish, so that the faithful may rediscover the dynamism and creativity which allows the parish to be always "going forth", aided by the contribution of all the baptized faithful.
DISSECTING POPE FRANCIS’ CALL FOR “PASTORAL CONVERSION” Instead of proposing creative changes for re-envisioning the diocese-territorial parish structure that is no longer sustainable, it actually goes on to reaffirm this Tridentine model.
A WAY THROUGH THE WOODS The possibility of never returning to previous patterns of practice, represents, not a diminution of an interaction with Jesus really present in the Eucharist, but an invitation to an enhanced relationship with Jesus, the universal Christ, really present in the whole of creation.
‘TONGUES AS OF FIRE’ The Church’s gathering as a unity in which persons of all social classes and races are Christ to each other has a profound metaphysical basis.
THE CHANGING FACE OF THE CHURCH ch is leading to encounters and conversations between Catholics of different generations that are breaking down barriers and creating spaces where the faith of young and old is being shaken, stirred and enriched.
MAKE AMERICA MEEK AGAIN Biblical prophets are blunt about how the mighty will be hurled from thrones while the lowly will be lifted up.
TIMOTHY SCHMALZ'S SCULPTURES ARE 'ONLY AS SHOCKING AS THE GOSPELS' Seeing Jesus in the homeless, the hungry, the sick, the prisoners, the desperate refugees and migrants. An evangelist who preaches worldwide, not with his mouth, but with his hands, casting the least among us into exquisite life-size bronze sculptures.
THE TWO STANDARDS You will find safety in Christ’s standard only if you resolutely begin everything with thanks to God and keep watching what you are doing and why you are doing it.
HOW TO BUILD PARISH COMMUNITY AROUND JUSTICE WORK Social action can sometimes be divisive, but parishes are called to more than charity. Including the most vulnerable in decision-making restores human dignity and helps avoid the savior complex that is often a danger in mission work.
THE NEW YOUTHFULNESS OF ITINERANT PRIESTS From full-time itinerancy to short-term team missions, priests find new ways to reach God's people. What if the vocation of the diocesan priest was not to be the "head of the parish", assigned to one place and serving the Catholics who come him, especially for the sacraments?
‘I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT’ The pastor who says, “I believe in the Holy Spirit,” should ask himself some fundamental questions to discover the action of the Spirit among his faithful.
INVALIDATED BAPTISM: WHEN THEOLOGY RHYMES WITH MADNESS There is an old adage in the Church, which takes into account the always possible weakness of ordained ministers and, more broadly, the possible errors of communities of the baptized. It is the "Ecclesia supplet".
SOLIDARITY NEEDED TO REBUILD POST-PANDEMIC COMMUNITY In his catechesis at the Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis urges everyone to combine authentic solidarity with the virtue of faith in order to heal social ills in the post-pandemic world.
BROTHERS AND SISTERS ALL! Inclusive language is, admittedly, more of an issue in the English-speaking world than it is in Latin language cultures. How a longstanding suspicion of inclusive language is killing the Church's message.
YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE LESSONS TO TEACH THE CHURCH “They have asked us in a thousand ways to walk alongside them — not behind them or ahead of them, but at their side. Not over them or under them, but on their level,” Pope Francis wrote in the introduction to a new book of essays about youth ministry.
GOD IS BEYOND RACE AND GENDER. IT’S TIME OUR SACRED ART IS TOO Predominantly white sacred images can inspire prejudice. Since God is beyond race and gender and historically Jesus and Mary were certainly not Nordic Europeans, constantly depicting these figures as white implicates the church in racist complicity — and religious idolatry.
THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL: DANGEROUS AND DIFFERENT This type of Christianity places the well-being of the believer at the center of prayer, and turns God the Creator into someone who makes the thoughts and desires of believers come true.
THE CHURCH IS LOSING TOUCH WITH WORKING-CLASS CATHOLICS The poorest Americans are abandoning Mass the most. It’s one of the manifestations of that deinstitutionalization, but the church should be the outlier, if we are what Jesus wants us to be. The church should be the place the poor turn away from last.
THE FUTURE OF CATHOLICISM Today, the function of the Catholic Church could consist in this: to let it show that God alone can give man the freedom to go back —first— to man himself, by giving him the freedom to resemble nothing less than God himself.
WILL I GO BACK TO MASS? From Australia: Now that the lockdown has eased and public worship is resuming, a prominent Catholic in Australia wonders if it's really worth going back to church.
THE NEW INTEGRALISTS "The new integralists fail to truly recognize Christ, turning him into nothing other than the capstone of another hierarchy, the authorization for one more Inquisition." Timothy Troutner insists that we cannot cede tradition to the integralists.
INCREASINGLY ISOLATED YOUTH CONNECT TO FAITH THROUGH RELATIONSHIP Young people do not see religious leaders as trusted adults, according to a new study. Only 8% of respondents ages 13-25 who are affiliated with a religious group say they have a trusted religious leader they could turn to if needed.
NEVER TOLERATE INTOLERANCE. WE ARE ONE BECAUSE OUR TEARS ARE THE SAME Love is the supreme virtue. Love is the identity card of every human being. Christianity teaches people to love one another; that is the greatest law of life. Our enemies are our best teachers. Respect them. They have exposed our prejudices.
JEREMIAH, THE WOUNDED PROPHET OF CHURCH UNITY The experience of the Old Testament figure Jeremiah with God and his people makes this prophet a fitting model for unity in a divided world. The way Jeremiah worked for and embodied the spirit of unity can be instructive for our response to the difficulties of our present time.
THE FRANCIS EFFECT PODCAST: AFTER THE ELECTION, BEFORE A VACCINE NCR executive editor Heidi Schlumpf joins "The Francis Effect" podcast, with co-hosts Franciscan Fr. Dan Horan (columnist for NCR's "Faith Seeking Understanding") and David Dault, executive producer and host of "Things Not Seen: Conversations about Culture and Faith."
WE ARE MEANT FOR EACH OTHER Community — communion — is the fundamental building block of the Catholic faith. Christ draws us into himself to create the community of believers, a cloud of witnesses.
POPE FRANCIS THE DREAMER Pope Francis often asks us to dream. It is, therefore, fitting, that the title of his latest book is Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future. What he means is that we are called "to make God’s dreams come true in this world."
POPE FRANCIS: A CRISIS REVEALS WHAT IS IN OUR HEARTS To come out of this crisis better, we have to recover the knowledge that as a people we have a shared destination. The pandemic has reminded us that no one is saved alone.
RADICAL TRUTHS Pope Francis’s latest encyclical breaks little new ground, but the ground upon which we all stand has shifted to such an extent that talk of “fraternal love” sounds both outdated and revolutionary.
WITH PEWS EMPTIED BY COVID-19, A CATHOLIC RESEARCHER ASKS, ‘WHAT IF THEY NEVER COME BACK?’ COVID-19 safety measures and social distancing have put further strain on many Catholic churches and parishes that have already seen their flocks dwindling. While many hope things will go back to “normal” once a vaccine is available, one researcher asks: “What if they never come back?”
WITH A FATHER’S HEART: THE YEAR OF ST. JOSEPH On December 8th, 1870 - 150 years ago today - Pope Pius IX declared St. Joseph the Patron of the Universal Church. In honor of the anniversary, Pope Francis announced a Year of St. Joseph, that... will be celebrated through December 8th, 2021.
THE TOP 7 POPE FRANCIS STORIES OF 2020 This past year brought on special challenges as Pope Francis provided global moral leadership through the coronavirus pandemic. Yet amid the restrictions and upheaval, the pope continued his efforts to reform the church and strengthen its missionary zeal.
CHRISTMAS MESSAGE AND URBI ET ORBI BLESSING From the Hall of Benedictions, in the Vatican,the Holy Father’s Christmas Message and “Urbi et Orbi” Blessing. Christmas reminds us we are all united as brothers and sisters.
POPE FRANCIS' GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFT TO US ALL Christmas came early twice this year for Catholics in the United States, says Michael Sean Winters. And we have Pope Francis to thank for it.
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION AND SOLIDARITY Connecting to each other through digital media was an indeed an opportunity for the Church. Yet we must remember this is not the way the Church should function in normal circumstances, as Pope Francis indicated in an April homily.
REALITIES ARE GREATER THAN IDEAS Pope Francis is asking us to work within the reality, not to imagine that we can impose ideas on everyone else. Sadly, many Catholics can’t handle that.
2020 HAS TESTED THE HEART AND SOUL OF AMERICA Pope Francis says that a crisis makes us either better or worse; it is impossible to remain the same. In a crisis, the pope writes, "you reveal your own heart: how solid it is, how merciful, how big or small."
AS 2020 ENDS, REJECT A WHITEWASHED JESUS AND ENCOUNTER THE REAL CHRIST Commentary from Matt Kappadakunnel: "For many Catholics of color, worship spaces that exclusively use white images to portray our faith contribute to the white supremacist undercurrents in the American church."
CATHOLICS AND LUTHERANS REAFFIRM COMMITMENT TO COMMUNION The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Lutheran World Federation underscore their commitment to walk together on their common journey from conflict to communion.
LOOKING AHEAD TO 2021 IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE U.S. What will the new year bring in the life of the church in the United States? We never know what unforeseen events will enlighten or becloud all else. But [there are] a few major themes that will shape 2021.
SPIRITUS DOMINI: DEVELOPMENT IN CONTINUITY Pope Francis’s motu proprio Spiritus Domini—which opens up the instituted ministries of lector and acolyte to women that had been previously restricted to men—reflects a significant theological development and is worth considering at a deeper level.
THE INADEQUACY OF WORDS When we presume we know fully, we can all be very arrogant and goal oriented at the expense of other people. When we know we don’t know fully, we are much more concerned about practical, loving behavior.
LIBERAL CATHOLICISM: WE'VE BEEN HERE ALL ALONG They are the gray-haired old-timers at church reform organizations and parishes. They are the young Catholics taking their first theology course at a Catholic college or university — and the theologians teaching those classes. They are the retired priests, sisters and even some bishops who have spent their lives working for social justice.
POPE CRITICISES CATHOLICS WHO REJECT VATICAN II Either you are with the Church and therefore you follow the council, or you interpret it in your own away – according to your desire – [and] you do not stand with the Church.
LIBERAL CATHOLICS AND THE TEMPTATION OF SECTARIANISM The Holy Spirit is at work in every human heart, liberal hearts and conservative hearts, among extroverts and introverts, beckoning the cautious and the carefree.
WHAT KIND OF CATHOLIC? If faith really means something to us, we have to engage it, not only when we agree but especially when we don't. There's no need to judge each other. We have a God who will do that for each one of us with both justice and mercy. And we all have mirrors.
ANTI-RACISM IS PART OF CATHOLIC IDENTITY ON THESE CAMPUSES Catholic colleges and universities around the country are taking anti-oppression measures to heart. One of the most difficult concepts for people to grasp is the difference between racism as an individual problem and as a societal one.
OPPOSITION TO FRANCIS ROOTED IN OPPOSITION TO VATICAN II Catechesis is taking others by the hand and accompanying them in this history. It inspires up a journey, in which each person finds his or her own rhythm, because Christian life does not even out or standardize, but rather enhances the uniqueness of each child of God.
‘FRATELLI TUTTI’: OUR GREAT CHALLENGE Social friendship is based on the principles of the common good for each and every person and for the environment in which we live and move and have our being.
BEYOND THE PANDEMIC: CATHOLIC SCHOOLS CAN COME BACK, BIGGER AND BETTER While many young people have lost faith in religious institutions, they have lost faith in almost all institutions. What could God do with a Church that was committed to building institutions to help grow the spiritual seeds in young people?
POOR PARISHES AND DIOCESES FACE PRECARIOUS POST-PANDEMIC WORLD We need to make sure not just for this year, but for the long term, Catholic institutions are strong because of the work they do educating, serving the poor and providing hope to people in incredibly hopeless situations.
HOW BIG MONEY IS DIVIDING AMERICAN CATHOLICISM The extreme financial imbalance is something more than merely another factor in the culture war within Catholicism. It is in an important sense the cause of the war itself.
POLICING THE COMMUNION LINE - WHY SACRAMENTAL RIGORISM BACKFIRES [The Church] has decided against such policing not for practical reasons, but for principled ones: such a practice fails to respect the dignity and conscience of the members of the body of Christ.
A WELCOME INTERRUPTION The new book, Church, Interrupted does not seek to be a systematic chronology of the Francis years. It is too perceptive, personal, quirky, and emotionally involved, which turns out to be its strength.
EACH CATHOLIC CULTURE BREWS A CONTROVERSY MADE TO ORDER Catholic experience is a constant interplay between the universal and the local, a few basic constants refracted and lived out in a stunning myriad of different milieu.
DISCERNING THE GRAIN OF WHEAT As the pandemic begins to enter a new phase of hope, the Spirit questions us. What good and beautiful things have you discovered? What weeds are there to pull?
POPE FRANCIS’ ‘AMORIS LAETITIA’ AT 5 YEARS Five years after the release of “Amoris Laetitia,” what is the legacy of the pope’s controversial document on marriage and family life?
5 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE MUSIC MINISTRY Music ministry is about more than singing the correct notes - if liturgy is the work of the people, we must make sure it is the work of all the people.
DO YOU LOVE THE CHURCH BUT SOMETIMES HATE IT? We cannot not love the church, for the church is Christ’s. But we legitimately and understandably cannot love what much of the church has become in many places.
WHITHER THE RELIGIOUS LEFT? Left-leaning people of faith will never be reliable allies of the Democratic Party, nor will the party reliably offer them a comfortable home. But their fortunes are linked.
WE NEED TO TALK: HEALING OUR DEEPLY DIVIDED CHURCH AND COUNTRY The divisions in our country are deep on issues like racism and economic inequality, as well as on education, cultural values and lifestyles. Likewise, our church is divided. What are communicators to do in the face of these divisions?
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING HAPPY Turn on the news these days and you may be hard-pressed to find a reason to be happy. COVID-19 and social unrest have taken over our feeds and our joy.
WEAPONIZING THE EUCHARIST: THE BISHOPS, NOT BIDEN, CAUSE SCANDAL Biden is a sinner because we all are sinners, but to assess the state of his soul when he approaches the altar requires seeing what it is difficult to detect in ourselves, let alone in another person.
BISHOPS AT LOGGERHEADS OVER COMMUNION FOR BIDEN The campaign to get the US bishops’ conference to adopt a document effectively barring President Joe Biden from Communion burst into the open last week...
TRANSFORMING FORGIVENESS Sometimes only a loving kind of attention provides an awareness that reveals deeper insights than any available to neutral detachment.
NO ONE CAN WIN THE COMMUNION WARS OVER ABORTION Such efforts are far more likely to entrench partisan divisions ever deeper into the life of the church than they are to draw hearts and minds to the cause of defending unborn life.
CHOOSING THE CHURCH (AGAIN) Turns out, there’s a lot of wonky theology and a good bit of Church law involved in baptismal validity... Marcia Lane-McGee reflects on her decision to be baptized - again.
DIVERSITY & DIVISION - ‘AMERICAN CATHOLICS’ A new book that covers the astounding breadth of Catholic demography, culture, devotional life, institutional growth, and intellectual life.
BISHOPS’ ‘REFERENDUM’ ON BIDEN MAY NOT HAVE BEEN THAT AT ALL The primary purpose of this proposed document is to welcome Catholics back to Mass after the pandemic and to accompany the Eucharistic Revival project that will begin in the U.S. Church next summer.
THE OLD TESTAMENT IS NOT SECOND-CLASS SCRIPTURE If the Old Testament is made clear by the New, it’s also true that the New is made clear by the Old. The Old Testament is the essential context from which the New Testament was written.
OPPOSING CULTURE, OR OPPOSING AN ANTI-CULTURE? As Catholics, we’re called to resist the “culture of death” and the “throw-away culture.” Does this mean we are countercultural? What should we do when faced with an anti-culture?
CANTALAMESSA’S TALKING TO YOU Divisions in the Church are tearing “Christ’s tunic to shreds,” Raniero Cantalamessa said in his homily during the Good Friday service in Rome. These conflicts “stem from political opinions that grow into ideologies...
WHAT WILL YOUR PARISH LOOK LIKE POST-PANDEMIC? It may depend on how it responded to coronavirus - From the start of the pandemic, church leaders have been grappling with how to minister under circumstances nobody had trained to expect.
LET'S BUILD A POST-PANDEMIC CHURCH WORTH GOING BACK TO Holiness comes from God. But we find it most frequently together when we are open to it. Parish life, for all its faults, prepares us to be receptive when holiness comes to find us.
BREAKING THE HABIT OF OFFLOADING OUR RESPONSIBILITY FOR PARISH LIFE We need a catechesis of the parish. I do not mean that we just need catechesis in the parish. We need a catechesis about what the parish is and why it matters. We need to start from the beginning and establish the most essential things.
TRADITIONIS CUSTODES: THE COUNCIL AND THE ROMAN RITE First impressions in the American conservative Catholic media sphere are very negative, as anyone could have guessed, but this is a long game. Pope Francis has called for a "return to a unitary form of celebration."
BOTH ON COMMUNION AND LATIN MASS, ‘WEAPONIZATION’ MAY BE POPE’S TARGET If you want to understand why Pope Francis is willing to use the power of his office to enforce discipline on the Latin Mass but not on communion for pro-choice politicians, maybe a concern for "weaponization" of the faith is at least part of it.
TIME TO PUT THE 'CATHOLIC' BACK INTO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH Now is a time for growth in charity toward one another, an openness to sharing divergent liturgical tastes and different desires, a commitment to renewing the unity of the church, built upon our common faith and the liturgy that is the source and summit of that faith.
DISAGREEING WITH THE CHURCH What do you do when you find yourself in disagreement with a Church teaching or objecting to a discipline that the Church legitimately imposes? Many Catholics find themselves in this place at some point in their life...
REAL PRESENCE IN A TIME OF ONGOING PANDEMIC Launching a variety of "Back to Mass" campaigns across the country without a clearer understanding of the relationship between our ritual practices and the transmission of a destructive and ever-changing virus is imprudent.
VIRTUAL REALITY AND THE COMING CATHOLIC METAVERSE The combination of pandemic lockdowns and Zoom have spawned a new way of being Catholic. Or, they have spawned a new way of seeming to be Catholic. We are moving toward a Catholic Metaverse.
SHOULD WE GO BACK TO MASKS AT MASS? SOME U.S. BISHOPS SAY YES Bishops around the country are reassessing diocesan policies for mask wearing at Mass as the Delta variant propels a new spike in Covid-19 cases, particularly among the unvaccinated.
CLEARING UP THE CATHOLIC CONFUSION ABOUT VACCINE MANDATES Church authorities should make it clear that Catholics, unless they have a medical reason to refuse it, have a moral obligation to take the vaccine. But they should also stop short of coercing people to violate their sincerely held beliefs.
EMPTY CHURCHES AND THE “SECULARIZATION” EXCUSE The problem in the ordinary Church is our great lack of pastors, of people who love Christ and share the lives of those who are entrusted to them.
THERE’S NO SHORTAGE OF WAYS TO ENGAGE FAITH ONLINE U.S. Catholics have been able to form remarkably healthy communities online — and ones with a strong emphasis on lay involvement to boot. It’s easy to be hopeful...
REACHING OUT TO LAY CATHOLICS WITH THE SPIRITUAL RICHES OF THE CHURCH Contemplating the trinitarian life of God with a clarity of thought and sense of wonder. Lay theologians need to become more visible in every tier and structure of the Church, informing its spiritual life and pastoral work.
IS A FACE-OFF OVER MASKS DIVIDING YOUR PARISH? YOU’RE NOT ALONE The fact that politicians and TV news anchors are affecting America’s health is insane and needs to be halted No one’s freedom is being affected. We live in societies which have rules to enable people to live together in peace.
CATHOLICS AREN’T DISAPPOINTED — THEY’RE EXASPERATED People’s deep disappointment with the church reveals a deep love. Except not for the church. For Jesus Christ. Unless the church begins to understand... then people will look elsewhere to satisfy their longings.
MUCH OBLIGED Too often during the pandemic the Church encouraged us to resent the inconveniences of social distancing instead of supporting us in bearing this cross together. One of the worst offenders was NYC Archbishop Timothy Dolan.
SYNOD OF BISHOPS WILL BEGIN IN THE LOCAL CHURCHES Francis will open a three-year synodal journey with three phases (diocesan, continental, universal) of consultations and discernment, culminating with the assembly in October 2023 in Rome.
CHURCH NUMBERS IN THE WORLD The vitality of the Church and, above all, the faith that animates her pastors and her faithful cannot be measured by numbers and statistics. Yet the Church, like every visible human reality, cannot live outside the dimensions of space and time...
FIVE RULES FOR DISAGREEING WITH THE POPE We are all cafeteria Catholics. The real question is how we avoid a food fight in the cafeteria. Talking to those we disagree with is not about winning and losing. It is about conversation and better understanding.
EVEN GOD GOT BORED WITH THE BINARY Dualisms—whether black and white, male and female, or good and evil—are appealing, but often fail to tell the whole story. Sooner or later, however, we must come to terms with St. Paul and his astounding erasure of ones and zeroes in Galatians 3.
SLANDER, EWTN, AND CANNIBALISM Finally, a response (?) of sorts, from an EWTN figure in response to Pope Francis's statement that their attacks on the pope are "the work of the devil."
EWTN MUST DECIDE IF IT WANTS TO BE ‘WITH PETER AND UNDER PETER’ In Part II of this exclusive interview, Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego says he believes “abortion, climate change and racism constitute the three greatest claims on the consciences of U.S. Catholics” today.
WHY CATHOLICS SHOULD USE PREFERRED GENDER PRONOUNS AND NAMES It is a continued disgrace that so many of those who self-identify as Catholic use our faith tradition to reject and erase the self-identities of our sisters, brothers and other siblings in Christ.
IS POPE FRANCIS A MARXIST? Pope Francis has been accused of being a Marxist by his critics throughout his papacy. Is this an accurate description? Let's look at some of his statements to see whether they are grounded in an ideology or in Catholic tradition.
POPE FRANCIS WAS RIGHT TO CALL OUT THE ATTACKS FROM EWTN As they say in Rome, safeguarding the unity of the church is a “constitutive dimension” of the function of the papacy. Or as Benedict XVI once put it, when schism rears up ahead, a pope has no choice but to act.
CHRISTIANITY AND VACCINE HESITANCY Freedom of religion plays an important role in our society, but it is always in danger of being abused and misused. As Christians, we have a vested interest in ensuring that it is not.
ON POPE FRANCIS, EWTN AND CRACKING DOWN ON CRITICISM Francis has issued a challenge to the media, to "stop the logic of post-truth, disinformation, defamation, and... to contribute to human fraternity and empathy with those who are most deeply damaged."
THE VARIETIES OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY TODAY A package of stories from Commonweal Magazine devoted to contemporary Catholic religious communities. Despite the variety of these communities, some common themes emerge...
GOING GRAY November reminds us of the communion of saints, and of our own mortality. But these reminders of death—and of the dead—needn’t be terrifying. November’s saints invite us, I think, to embrace the body as the site of companionship: with one another, with time, with God.
CARDINAL BERNARDIN’S TRUE LEGACY The most extreme thing about Cardinal Joseph Bernardin was his moderation and his commitment to peaceableness. And—we might say—that he insisted (like Pope Francis) that Vatican II be implemented fully, transformatively, and authentically.
RECAP OF THE USCCB FALL ASSEMBLY 2021 The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) gathered for the 2021 Fall General Assembly in Baltimore this week. The meeting agenda included more than a dozen action items that were up for a vote...
LIFE AFTER COVID-19: HISTORY DOESN'T REPEAT ITSELF It is time to turn to one another in the renewed solidarity of Eucharistic love. We share with every member of the human family the plight of contingency. We will not live forever.
LESSONS FROM THE PANDEMIC FOR THE CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE Everyone is called to always recognize the passage of God in personal and fraternal life, so that every person encountered may believe and experience the love of Lord and discover in yourself your ability to love.
IF YOU THINK YOU CAN’T FORGIVE, REMEMBER, YOU DO IT ALL THE TIME As we emerge from Thanksgiving and the holiday season kicks in in earnest, here’s a short list of things to keep handy: throat lozenges, Scotch tape, a Dustbuster, blankets and plenty of extra forgiveness.
WEBINAR: CHARISM & COMMUNITY IN AN AGE OF DISCERNMENT A Commonweal Conversation on how the charisms of the church dialogue with lo Cotidiano, the everyday experiences, of what it means to be a Christian community.
VATICAN SAYS CATECHISTS CAN LEAD PARISHES WITHOUT PRIESTS The Vatican says that catechists are “co-responsible” with clergy for the Church’s mission and can take on the “pastoral care” of a parish when there is a shortage of priests.
COVID-19 DOMINATES 2021 AT THE VATICAN This is part one of Crux Rome Bureau Chief Inés San Martín’s look back at 2021, which was devoted to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Catholic Church.
POPE ON NEW YEAR: PANDEMIC IS HARD, BUT FOCUS ON THE GOOD Francis encouraged people Saturday to focus on the good which unites them and decried violence against women while acknowledging that the coronavirus pandemic has left many scared and struggling amid economic inequality.
“DISCIPLESHIP” MEANS CONVERSION The Second Vatican Council and the decades since have taught us that our Church must remain a Church of conversion, a semper reformanda, one that is always changing.
4 POPE-APPROVED APPROACHES TO LEAVING ECHO CHAMBERS The formation of echo chambers originates from a desire for solidarity with respect to a particular issue. But echo chambers foster a narrow-minded outlook. To quell disunity and discord, Francis proposes these 4 models.
AN ORDINARY CATHOLIC To be Catholic is not necessarily something we do. Sometimes it is. But often enough, to be Catholic is something that God does to your soul, bit by bit, day by day...
CATHOLICS MUST TAKE DISCIPLESHIP SERIOUSLY "We make progress when we recognize our diversity is not a threat but a great gift." –Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv., Diocese of Lexington.
WHY AMERICANS STRUGGLE TO UNDERSTAND CATHOLICISM Christ wants us to build this culture, to love God and neighbor. And to create those spaces that make it easier to do so. This is our task. It is a liturgical one.
ANGLICAN ORDERS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH – ANALYSIS The synod process could offer the impetus for a re-appraisal as Christians seek to walk together towards unity. Francis knows that synodality cannot simply be about talking. It must also involve taking decisions.
TAIZÉ, A MUSICAL MONASTIC COMMUNITY The ecumenical monastic community was founded by Brother Roger Schütz in the 1940s as a parable of communion. Formed in response to a global crisis, today it faces new ones: climate change and sex abuse.
CHURCH RENEWAL CAN ONLY EMERGE FROM LOVE Unity does not necessarily mean uniformity. We experience the Church in all of its diversity and difference when the gift of the Spirit is made visible in the sacramentality of our living in communion through the Spirit.
MISINFORMATION AND MENDING DIVISION IN OUR CHURCH Catholic fundamentalism mirrors what is happening in the rest of U.S. society, and how — and if — we can start moving toward unification and healing.
WHY YOUNG ADULTS OF GENERATION Z GIVE ME REAL HOPE Gen Z does not need our patronizing admiration, but our sincere respect and the opportunity to lead us, teach us and show us older folks what we are missing and where we need to go.
TWO YEARS INTO PANDEMIC, SOME CATHOLIC PARISHES STRETCHING THEIR DOLLARS A shift to online giving helped make up some of the losses, but officials said the financial impact has most likely compromised the long-term sustainability of parishes that were already struggling before the pandemic.
GEN Z IS REMIXING RELIGION For previous generations, religious institutions offered solace in times of turmoil and uncertainty. But my generation is finding solace through combining and redefining religions.
5 CHRISTIAN VIRTUES TO HELP US LEARN TO LIVE IN A NEW 'NEW NORMAL' Adjusting to this return of regular in-person activities and more-frequent travel has given us reason to step back and reflect on what is needed in order to cope better with the world as it changes.
RICHARD ROHR REORDERS THE UNIVERSE The Franciscan friar Richard Rohr attempts to strike a difficult balance: calling out the flaws in contemporary Christianity while also affirming its core tenets.
HOW THE CHURCH CAN BUILD BETTER RELATIONSHIPS WITH GEN Z Young people haven’t given up on life’s big questions. They express a curiosity about the sacred, a yearning for community, and a willingness to learn about religious traditions.
IS IT TIME FOR AN 11TH COMMANDMENT? There’s a problem with the Ten Commandments. It’s a big one, too, and we’ve all had to deal with it: You can follow the Ten Commandments and still be a pretty terrible person.
CROSSING THE GENERATIONAL DIVIDE CAN BRING CHANGE This conversation between the old generations and the new generations about the essential vocation of family life is vital to have. But we have to be sure that we’re backing it up with more than just words.
A NEW APPROACH TO PARISH MERGERS Parish restructuring has become a reality for many US dioceses. While initially painful, the process can ultimately lead to healing and renewal.
WHO FRAMED MARY MAGDALENE? The first witness to the Resurrection was a woman whose name and reputation have become so misunderstood, misinterpreted, and misconstrued over the centuries that she is more commonly, though erroneously, remembered as a prostitute than as the faithful first bearer of the Good News.
WHAT DOES COMMUNION MEAN TO YOU? When we include all of Jesus’ meal sharing in scripture, we gain a much fuller sense of what Jesus is teaching us about Eucharist. Can meal sharing can help parishes rediscover and renew eucharistic life?
REDISCOVER THE VALUE OF FAMILY LIFE Pope Francis addressed participants in the Plenary Session of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, and stressed the importance of the value and beauty of family life...
FAITH FORMATION SHOULD BE A CONVERSATION, NOT A LECTURE Teaching is meant to lead us into the overwhelmingly persuasive and compellingly attractive presence of a God who is all love and compassion. Dominating spaces doesn’t make the case for such a God.
THE PROBLEM OF EUCHARISTIC INDIVIDUALISM The Eucharist calls us to a level of community that is frighteningly concrete; a community in which what belongs to one belongs to all, and in which the joys and sufferings of one affect all the rest.
THE COURAGE TO SPEAK FREELY We are not used to popes telling Catholics to speak out freely. A much more familiar model is the pope who intervenes decisively and normatively in theological discussions and silences those who are judged to have crossed a line.
PARISHIONERS DON'T BELONG AT THE PARISH As parishioners are taught to discern and respond to God’s invitation, they will also find greater communion with the Church, their neighbors, colleagues, and whomever else the Lord sends them.
WHY WE NEED A EUCHARISTIC REVIVAL Criticizing the faithful for ignorance will do far less to bring Catholics to a greater understanding of the Eucharist than a straightforward approach that stresses the rich, life-giving theology of the sacrament.
EUCHARIST, SACRAMENT OF UNITY AND SOURCE OF DIVISION You will know we are Christians by our love, but you will know we are Catholics by our fights. Sadly, there is much ignorance among Catholics (including bishops and priests) about the Eucharist.
FINDING HOPE AND FORGIVENESS IN A TIME OF HARDSHIP We are called to be fully alive. And to be alive fully, humanly, is to be able to let go of the burden of the past, and open ourselves to the hope of the future.
FOUR THINGS CATHOLICS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TRANSGENDER PEOPLE It takes humility and courage to travel outside of our comfort zone and learn from people whose lives challenge our long-standing beliefs about God and about who we are as human beings.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, EVANGELIZATION AND US We need to find new ways and opportunities for listening, dialogue and encounter, leaving room for God and His initiative, not our own desire to be center stage.
CALLED TO THE HEIGHTS OF HEAVEN Address to the Young and the Elderly: Pope Francis' final official address in Canada on Friday, 29 July, during his meeting with young and elderly people in Iqaluit
THE PARALLEL BETWEEN NOTRE-DAME AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH The parallel between the fire at Notre-Dame and the situation of the Catholic Church itself is the parable for our time. Our church is being saved by those who run into the fire, not by those who pretend it’s not burning.
CATHOLICISM IS UNIVERSAL. STOP MAKING IT ‘MEMBERS ONLY.’ It is time to embrace the Catholic vision for all it’s worth. Our mission is worldwide. Our teaching really does touch everything. We need to concentrate harder on our universal welcome.
TRANSGRESSIVE TRADITIONALISTS Traditionalism can seem trendy and countercultural, but it is the constancy, not the theatricality, of the Church that offers meaning in a secular world.
POPE WANTS DIALOGUE WITH BISHOPS ABOUT THE CHURCH'S MINISTRIES Francis wants a formal "dialogue" with the world's bishops' conferences to discuss their experiences with the ongoing promotion of the church's ministries so they foster unity and evangelization.
WHY CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM IS UNCHRISTIAN We can learn to hear the Lord better by listening to and respecting one another. This is what ecumenical and interreligious dialogue is all about.
MOTHER TERESA, THE FIRST GREAT TELEVISED SAINT The ubiquity of her presence on our screens a generation ago made her story so well known that many of us did not really work to try to know her at all.
WHAT THE QUEEN MEANT TO CHRISTIANS Queen Elizabeth II was the world’s most prominent Christian leader. The optics of her position were wealth and glamour, but the philosophy which underpinned her approach to monarchy was a quiet Christian humility.
PEOPLE OF GOD In the fall of 2021, America Media’s video team hatched an idea: What would it look like if we traveled to four parishes across the United States during the course of one year and assessed their similarities and differences? Here is a snapshot of what we found.
OLD NEWS: DEEP DIVISIONS IN THE ONE CHURCH When we flatten our fellow Catholics into thin caricatures of who they really are—so fundamentally misguided or even evil—it can become difficult to imagine how conversation is even possible, let alone desirable.
FRANCIS OF ASSISI, FRANCIS OF ROME Francis looked around at the church and he began to repair the building, stone by stone. Pope Francis understands this metaphor.
HOW TO BE ONE CHURCH IN DIVISIVE TIMES As disciples of Jesus, we are called to allow the grace of Christ and of his church to shape us into those who are the first to love our perceived opponent.
THE FUTURE OF CHRISTIANITY A virtual discussion on the current state and future of the Christian religion by Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) members Brian McLaren, Barbara Holmes, James Finley, & Richard Rohr.
WHY AMERICANS ARE LEAVING THEIR CHURCHES As many as a third of Americans now claim no religious affiliation and for sociologist Stephen Bullivant, the question is why it took so long for the religious exodus to happen.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A CATHOLIC IN GOOD STANDING? Our status in the church shouldn't be relegated to a set of rules. There’s a lot of room for interpretation in the phrase the catechism uses to frame this question.
‘THAT ALL MAY BE ONE’ Never was the task of ecumenical dialogue more urgent or more difficult. Churches have to overcome the prejudices of the past and the many historical wrongs which each group inflicted on the other.
CATHOLICS NEED TO FOCUS MORE ATTENTION ON THE HOLY SPIRIT Scripture and tradition both give us ample support for proclaiming belief in the Spirit, but little by way of concrete resources that most Christians can easily embrace and understand.
THE EUCHARIST IS ABOUT MORE THAN THE REAL PRESENCE Eucharist is not about me and Jesus; it is about us in the Christian community, about us being transformed into the body of Christ, about us joining in the mission of Jesus in the world.
CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH February is Black History Month in the United States. As such, it’s a great time to recognize the contributions of Black Americans in the Catholic Church.
EUCHARISTIC PRAYER IS THE HEART OF THE EUCHARIST The Eucharistic prayer is the most important and least understood prayer in the Catholic Mass. Most Catholics see it as the priest’s prayer that is centered on the consecration of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ.
“MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU” Instead of piling shame and guilt upon the heads of people who are struggling we need to preach about a God who loves his children like a father, a God who became human and who explicitly identified himself with the wounded and suffering...
'NONES' MAY SOON OUTNUMBER CHRISTIANS More respondents to the 2021 Census aged under 40 declared they have no-religion than said they profess Christianity.
WHAT SHOULD THE EUCHARISTIC REVIVAL LOOK LIKE? Eucharistic Revival and ecclesial revival are the same; it is one revival. The signs, therefore, that the Eucharistic Revival will be a real revival will be holiness and unity.
FAITH, STRENGTH, AND A CHANGING CHURCH Sister Julia Walsh talks with scholar, author and lecturer Dr. Phyllis Zagano about her faith journey and the role of women in the Catholic Church.
A VIEW FROM THE PEWS What does your average pew-sitting Catholic think of Pope Francis ten years into his papacy? What do the average Catholic’s friends, some of whom might be considered Catholic-adjacent or various degrees of “ex-Catholic,” think?
BAPTISMAL ECCLESIOLOGY & VATICAN II Understanding the truth that the whole Church is priestly. The whole Church is, in a word, priestly. One becomes a Christian—another Christ—so as to bear Christ’s light and life to others.
IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY, AN IMMIGRANT CHURCH — AGAIN Will Catholics in America face the same shocking downdrafts as Lutherans, Methodists and Episcopalians, just on a different schedule? Like your local TV weatherman says, the map is in motion
WE FOUND A SACRED COMMUNITY AT MY SON'S KARATE DOJO I have been trying for decades to find a church that feels like this dojo. A place that wants everybody at the table; a place that will put you to work but also makes sure to take care of you.
FAILURE IS PART OF LIFE—EVEN FOR THE CHURCH Sometimes failure can motivate us to find a workaround. Or sometimes we need a brief rest, a small mourning period, before attacking a challenge from another angle. Sometimes we just have to admit that we need help.
REIMAGINING HOW WE REIMAGINE CHURCH As a resurrection people — one pointing toward a Jesus we cannot see and hoping to build a world that is not and perhaps has never been — our ability to imagine and reimagine is a critical part of our faith.
IT'S UP TO US. WHEN WILL WE FIGURE THAT OUT? We are failing to carry one another — the blind and the lame in us — to the coming of a new worldview and a commitment to an adult faith.
THE CRISIS IN THE PEWS Mass attendance is down significantly with fewer young people attending regularly. What has happened to cause this? Let’s take a look.
WORLD YOUTH DAYS TEST THE LIMITS OF AGING POPES At 86, Francis will now be the oldest pope to preside over a World Youth Day celebration. If past World Youth Days are any indication, it could reinvigorate him.
BISHOP BARRON'S FEAR OF 'DUMBED-DOWN' CATHOLICISM ISN'T VERY SMART The conservative critique of the synod will traffic in these caricatures about "Catholic Lite" and "dumbed-down Catholicism," even though most people look at Francis and what most stands out is the power and sincerity of his evangelical witness.
LEARNING IS ALMOST ALWAYS UNCOMFORTABLE, AND THAT'S A GOOD THING Instead of running away from the discomfort and difficult subjects necessary to be a well-educated citizen, moral person and good community member, what if we sought out those challenging educational opportunities on purpose?
WHAT WOULD A "RE-CHURCHED" CHURCH LOOK LIKE? The data clearly show that for more and more Americans every year, organized religion has become superfluous. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
A NEW REFORMATION CAN TRANSCEND ALL BOUNDARIES The morning has come when we can recognise in the face of any human being our brother or sister. Until we can do that, it is still night.
THE LITURGY OF THE DOMESTIC CHURCH: WHEN FAITH AND FAMILY LIFE MIX By following the Liturgy of Domestic Church Life we are able to implement simple, achievable practices that help us practice our baptismal mission to be priests, prophets and royals, both at home and in the world.
LAS VEGAS ARCHBISHOP: POPE FRANCIS HAS 'OPENED OUR HEARTS AND DOORS' Pope Francis has asked us to open our hearts and our doors to the diverse cultures in our communities, Las Vegas Archbishop George Thomas said in a homily at a Mass marking the elevation of the new archdiocese.
VIEW FROM ROME: SYNOD LUKEWARM RESPONSE? There is work to do to ensure everyone is rowing in the same direction ahead of the crucial second Synod in October 2024. Some bishops are trying to race ahead with the reforms, while others are dragging their oars.
IN A SECULAR AGE, SOME YOUNG AMERICANS STILL CHOOSE RELIGIOUS LIFE While the numbers of priests and nuns have declined in recent decades, many millennials and Gen Zers still find a calling to religious life in the Catholic Church, even if the path to discernment has changed.
THE CATHOLICS WHO REFUSE TO LEAVE Despite struggling with institutional inadequacies, some Catholics are set on keeping the church as their spiritual home.
A DIFFERENT EDUCATION: SISTERS AND SEEKERS Millennials are learning new ways to practice spirituality and social justice. Nuns are finding new pathways for nourishing and growing another generation.
TOLKIEN ON LOYALTY TO THE CHURCH From 1963 to 1967 (during the Second Vatican Council), J.R.R. Tolkien wrote several letters to his son Michael. In them, Tolkien, who personally disliked many of the changes then being made to Church discipline and practice, explains why and how to be loyal to the Church in a time of great turmoil.
THE EUCHARIST AND HUMAN DIGNITY The Eucharist is dignifying because it is a real encounter with God, a sacred celebration of community, a reminder of the real possibility of the human person entering an intimate relationship with God.
THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY MAGDALENE What if the text was changed to suppress Mary Magdalene as not only the first witness of Jesus in John 20, but as the Christological confessor, which would make her a central character in the Gospel of John?
IS THE CHURCH READY FOR RADICAL SIMPLICITY? Broadly speaking, Christian theological development has been left in the dust of the Middle Ages, with few noteworthy theologians willing to risk their necks on the chopping block of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODIES WE HAVE God, through the work of Jesus Christ, does not just raise us from the dead, but transforms us in the bodies we have.
THE RISE OF THE “NONES” MAY BE DONE While the non-religious are still the plurality in the US, the upward trend may have leveled out, with some data showing their decline.
CONFRONTING AGEISM From the greeting card aisle to the workplace, negative stereotypes about aging abound. This author argues that it’s time to recognize and counter ageism.
HOW PARISHES CAN HELP CATHOLICS PREPARE FOR DEATH The parish can be a nexus for sharing hopes and fears about the last stage of life. Clarifying Catholic teaching about medical technologies and care at the end of life would be another helpful step.
THE EUCHARISTIC VOCATION OF A CATHOLIC SCHOOL What does the Eucharist have to do with the Catholic school? During this period of the Eucharistic Revival, this is a pivotal question, especially as our institutions continue to discern what it means to be Catholic today.
POPE FRANCIS: IN POLITICS, CATHOLICS CANNOT LIVE A ‘PRIVATE FAITH’ Democracy is meant “to give meaning to everyone’s commitment to the transformation of society; to give attention to the people who remain outside or on the margins; to give space to social solidarity in all its forms; to give support to the ethic of the common good.
EUCHARISTIC REVIVAL AND SYNODALITY Synodality is about communion, participation and mission; so, too, is the Eucharist. Too bad the Eucharistic Revival is not.
TWO MONTHS WITH THE EUCHARIST: NOW WHAT? The 4 routes of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage are set to converge on Indianapolis. The pilgrims, and everyone they'll find in Indy, are now to be sent forth.
GOD DID NOT SAVE DONALD TRUMP - WHAT LESSON SHOULD WE TAKE? The recent assassination attempt should cause us to consider how combustible our country is right now, so divided, so angry, so fearful. It should cause those of us who believe in God to take a closer look at our theology.
TRULY HONORING THE BODY OF CHRIST Considering the situation in the United States, we can only hope that the Eucharistic revival will lead to greater attention to the body of Christ in the "uncomfortable tabernacles" of poverty and marginalization.
WAYS TO PRACTICE THE ART OF LISTENING In our 21st-century outrage culture, the art of listening is so important but is rarely practiced. Sadly, none of us is immune to the temptation to scapegoat people, whether family members or total strangers.
SAVING THE SOUL OF CATHOLIC EDUCATION It is the belief that students should have more than job training. They should have an opportunity to learn and think about themselves, their families and neighbors, the common good, and creation.
POLITICS, PROPHETS, AND FAMILY When we sit down face-to-face with a friend, family member, or neighbor, we have an opportunity to create safe space for vulnerability. We can simply listen without offering rebuttal. We can emanate gentleness and understanding.
CAPTIVE USERS - HOW THE INTERNET IS REMAKING US The internet is a problem; on this point many critics and users seem to agree. It enervates, isolates, and distracts; it makes our children anxious and unhappy; it divides us socially and politically. But what kind of problem is it exactly
PRRI REPORT REVEALS SHIFTING DYNAMICS OF US RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPE A new report by the Public Religion Research Institute shows that as the U.S. has become more racially and ethnically diverse, the percentage of white Christians has declined more than 15% since 2013.
CATHOLIC CULTURE - A CULTURE OF BEING AND RECEPTIVITY Catholic culture is ultimately a marvelously capacious way of being, a limitless capacity to engage everything that comes our way in all its giftedness and gratuity and return it to its Creator in the mode of worship and of praise.
SACRED DUTY OR SPIRITUAL TRUTH? THE ROLE OF RELIGION IN SOCIETY Much of everyday modern humanity takes the most basic value of religion to be its truth value. This is largely due to Christianity, and it has long been the position of most Christians and virtually every village atheist, even those of the global village.
ANCESTRAL BLESSINGS | WHO DO YOU BRING INTO WORSHIP WITH YOU? Whose spirit is with you today as you enter into worship? To whom are you particularly grateful or indebted? Whose blessing, guidance, provocation, or love accompanies you especially powerfully at this moment?
THE SOCIAL HEART Do societies have hearts? Francis seems to think so. And the prophet Ezekiel, speaking for the Lord, indicates a sociopolitical heart when he says that God shall give the wayward Israelites “one heart and put a new spirit within them.”
CULTURE WARS IN THE CHURCH HAS INNOCENT VICTIMS: THE PARISHIONERS These culture wars in the Church are being fought by a Caste of “professional Catholics” – clergy and religious, professors, and journalists. Like most wars, the issues may be important, but there are innocent victims. In this case, it’s the average parishioner. The war is unlikely to end soon, but the Church should try harder to keep the non-combatants out of the fray.
POPE FRANCIS: HOW TO BE ‘PILGRIMS OF HOPE’ DURING 2025 JUBILEE YEAR “Kindness is not a diplomatic strategy” nor “a set of rules to ensure social harmony or to obtain other advantages” but rather “a form of love that opens hearts to acceptance and helps us all to become more humble.”
SHALOM AND A CATHOLIC APPROACH TO PSYCHOLOGY This article is the last in a four-part series on mental health. The previous articles in the series have addressed the science of psychology, the ways that faith can help those suffering from mental illness, and the role of evil in our approach to mental health
THESE DIFFICULT TIMES REQUIRE US BECOMING 'MATURE DISCIPLES' We do not know what lies ahead, but we can ground ourselves in prayer and be nourished by the gift of God's grace in order to bless those around us, especially those in the most precarious social locations.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A CHRISTIAN IN THESE TIMES? We have a cross at the center of our faith, and we need to start acting like it. There is no time that is not a kairos time, no time when God is not fully present and providing a way to God’s future.
THE PEOPLE OF GOD AS A COMMUNITARIAN AND HISTORICAL SUBJECT This article is based on a conference given by theologian Rafael Luciani at the Annual Meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean Women and Men Confederation (CLAR) for the preparation of the Third Phase of the Synod.
THE FAMILY AS CHURCH AND RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY What makes for church is not emotional intimacy (good as that is) but a gathering around the person of Christ and a common sharing of one Spirit
CALLED TO COMMUNITY - MADE FOR COMMUNITY No one comes from a perfect family, but everyone comes from a family that can be better. The family becomes better when its individual members become better, more virtuous people. They do that by forming one another through truthful dialogue and corresponding action.
INSTEAD OF CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM, TRY CHRISTIAN COSMOPOLITANISM Rooted in the teachings of Jesus, Christian cosmopolitanism calls us to love our enemies, welcome strangers and emulate the Good Samaritan. In the Hebrew Bible, which presents the Israelites as God’s chosen people, Scripture also commands us to treat the foreigners among us as native-born and to love them as ourselves.
HIGH HOPES FOR THE JUBILEE A survey of the news hardly inspires hope. The political divide in this country hasn’t improved. Foreign wars, hunger at home and famine abroad, and crime are almost always followed by apathy. Life is hard—but it wasn’t designed to be easy.
AT TODAY'S TURNING POINT, HOW WILL THE HOLY SPIRIT STEER US? How will the Holy Spirit steer us to adapt the methods we use to communicate the lessons of Jesus, the teachings of the Savior, to the world? Will it have something to do with social media? Or with turning our backs on social media?
US CATHOLICS SUPPORT PROGRESSIVE POLICIES ON 'CULTURE WAR' ISSUES, NEW STUDY FINDS Majorities of U.S. Catholics support progressive policies on "culture war" issues, such as abortion and gay marriage, according to a new survey of the country's religious landscape. Still, twice as many Catholics describe themselves as conservative than identify as liberal.
5 YEARS AFTER COVID-19: WHAT WE CAN'T SHAKE At the five-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic — officially declared in the U.S. on March 11, 2020 — we have in many ways returned to normal life. This goes for the Catholic Church as well, which according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, is back to its pre-pandemic numbers for Sunday Masses.
A VIBRANT CHURCH CARES FOR A PERSON’S MIND, BODY, AND SPIRIT An ideal parish creates regular opportunities for people to encounter Christ through worship, scripture, reflection, and prayer. This doesn’t mean one specific type of prayer or music or a particular style of liturgy. These should exist in the cultural context of the local community and help each individual discover their identity as a beloved and redeemed child of God.
FOLK SAINTS, CANONIZED OR NOT, CHAMPION LIBERATION FOR ALL For many, devotion to folk saints is a matter of keeping hope alive. Their involvement in people’s lives testifies to people’s resilience in the face of adversity, exploitation, violence, and greed. These saints invite and inspire people to act, according to their own gifts and in their everyday contexts, to birth God into the world.
THE FORMATION OF THE GOSPELS AND GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY The Gospels record the life and teaching, the death and resurrection of Jesus, as told to us through the faith of the Apostles who knew him and loved him. The Apostles are telling the story of Jesus in faith and for faith.
SEVEN THOUGHTS ON THE CHURCH (AS A COMMUNITY OF HUMAN BEINGS) If we are to understand how to imagine the Church we must begin with what faith tells us and work out from there. Here is a theological framework within which we can approach questions about the character of the Church as a community of human beings.
THE CHURCH MUST MOVE TOWARD A MORE MATURE CHRISTIANITY It’s time to wake up from the church’s “siesta,” to learn from crisis, and to move toward a deeper, more mature form of Christianity. It’s about embarking on a “journey into the depths.”