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 LATIN MASS BECOMES A CULT OF TOXIC TRADITION In the wake of much needed reforms instituted by the Second Vatican Council, the Latin Mass has become a rallying point for change-resistant sects within the church.
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.
REIMAGINING THE EUCHARIST As well as [being] a time of loss, this might be a moment to broaden our understanding of the Eucharist and to deepen our spirituality beyond the walls of our usual place of worship.
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.
NEW WAYS TO WORSHIP - COVID-19 & THE CHURCH Though we may miss our closed churches, the integration of church and home could help us reimagine how faith informs our daily lives.
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.
I WANT TO PRAY WITH YOU, NOT WATCH YOU PRAY Our parishes must consider how to create virtual and in-person worship experiences that are communal and meaningful. Those at home want to feel like their presence in their community of faith still matters and that their presence in the pew is missed.
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.
RETURNING TO THE SACRAMENT OF DIVINE LOVE A primarily canonical response is not the most prudent way to address the present situation, where, in most places -- according to both surveys and online priest discussion groups - only a minority of those who were regular Sunday Mass goers in February have returned to regular worship.
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.
NO MORE "SPECTATORS": ALWAYS ACTIVE AT MASS Mass is always celebrated, and not only by the priest who presides over it, but by all Christians who live it. The center is Christ! and not only by the priest who presides over it, but by all the Christians who live it.