Almost from day one of his papacy, Pope Francis has made a trope out of railing against “clericalism,” once warning that it “nullifies the personality of Christians” and, on another occasion, praying for a Church completely “free” of clericalism. So familiar is his anti-clericalism rhetoric, by now there’s little energy devoted to pondering what exactly Read more
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. From Pope Francis to the back pew widow, from seminary rectors to lay ecclesial ministers, it’s agreed that clericalism is crippling the pastoral mission of the church. At the same Read more
In a wide-ranging interview with a left-leaning Italian newspaper, Pope Francis has lamented a “Vatican-centric” view prevailing within the Roman Curia and said “I’ll do everything I can to change it”. On the subject of Church leaders, he said: “You know what I think about this? Heads of the Church have often been narcissists, flattered Read more
American Catholicism should be preparing for 2020 when a large increase in the Catholic population, mostly Hispanic, will present Church leaders with the challenge to open rather than close new churches and schools. Instead of preparing for the future, bishops and priests now in key administrative and pastoral positions, led by Pope Benedict XVI, are Read more