Pope Francis seems to be recovering nicely from his July 4 surgery, when the 84-year-old pontiff underwent a three-hour procedure for diverticular stenosis. But even with the best prognosis, age is catching up to Francis. Barring a miracle, he will only be expected to continue as pope for five or six years. We may look Read more
Recently, a handful of American Catholic bishops have issued statements questioning whether anyone who supports abortion rights should be receiving Communion, and journalists immediately pounced: Will President Joe Biden, they wanted to know, be denied Communion by the U.S. bishops’ conference because of his pro-choice position on abortion? Journalists, here’s your answer: This is a Read more
Since the Catholic Church forbids celebrating marriage between people of the same sex as a sacrament, some Catholics, and even some bishops, have discussed having a blessing for such couples as an alternative. On Monday (March 15), the Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith, the chief doctrinal office in the Vatican, responded to queries about Read more
Dear Pope Francis, it is extremely disappointing that almost all the photos of you since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic have shown you without a mask. This is bad on so many levels. You should know better. Please, wear a mask. Your friends in the media, including myself, have for the most part given Read more
“Fratelli Tutti” the new papal encyclical on fraternity and social friendship, is an important teaching document that must be read by anyone who wants to know where Pope Francis is coming from. Through the centuries, popes have written letters or encyclicals on important issues, sometimes addressed to bishops, other times to all Catholics, more recently Read more
When you think about the mechanics of Sunday Eucharist, it’s difficult to imagine a system better designed to spread contagion. Parishioners of all ages are crowded into a confined space, they hug or shake hands, they receive bread on the tongue or in the hand from a minister whose hands are not gloved, they share Read more
Three months ago, if you had asked who are the most important people in the U.S. economy, the response would have been investors, CEOs, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, bankers and others who are well rewarded by the marketplace. They all make scads of money. The response is much different today. Essential workers are now nurses, doctors, Read more
In one of my earliest memories, my father is warning me about a famous man, “Remember, he still puts his pants on one leg at a time.” I remembered this warning when I heard about the fall of another famous icon, Brother Jean Vanier, the revered founder of L’Arche, an ecumenical community where disabled and Read more
It was disappointing but not a surprise that Pope Francis decided not to respond to the Amazon synod’s recommendation that the Catholic Church ordain mature, married men to make up for the huge shortage of priests in the Amazon region. Francis did not say yes to married priests, but neither did he really say no. Read more
In a new book, “From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy, and the Crisis of the Catholic Church,” Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and his co-author, conservative Cardinal Robert Sarah, strongly defend celibacy, arguing that priesthood and sexual abstinence are integrally linked together. He argues that even married priests were supposed to abstain from sex Read more