Many Catholics were hasty to assume that the opening ceremony of the Olympics went out of its way to “mock” the Last Supper. The instant outrage the tableau aroused — right or wrong — tells a larger story about something that has happened in Catholic life across the last four decades. But it has not Read more
US President Joe Biden’s decision not to run for a second presidential term is a major event in US history, but also for American Christianity. It marks the end of a generation of Catholics in politics, those who arrived on the national political scene in the wake of World War II and the GI Bill Read more
Cardinal Christophe Pierre has been apostolic nuncio to the United States since 2016 and, at Pope Francis’ request, he will continue in this role for the foreseeable future, he told America’s Vatican correspondent in an exclusive interview in Rome in early October. After graduating from the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, which trains Vatican diplomats, in 1977, Read more
If Pope Francis continues to serve as bishop of Rome for another two years, he may have a notable opportunity to refashion the U.S. Catholic hierarchy. Dozens of bishops, several in historically significant archdioceses, will be required by canon law to submit resignation letters upon turning 75. At least 13 archdioceses and 21 dioceses could Read more
Just war theory requires that combatants have not only a just cause, but also that they wage their war in a just way. Thus, Catholic teaching about conflict condemns direct attacks on civilians or even the disproportionate killing of civilians as collateral damage in an attack on a military target. In other words, you cannot Read more
The debate about denying Communion to politicians who support abortion must be handled in a pastoral way, not by public condemnations that seek to “excommunicate” Catholics who are not in line with church teaching, Pope Francis said. During his return flight from Bratislava, Slovakia, Sept. 15, the pope said that while there is no question Read more
The U.S. bishops are working on a document on the Eucharist, which could be very helpful if they do it right. The chances are slim. The origins of the document go back to the bishops’ fight with pro-choice Catholic politicians, such as John Kerry, over the legalization of abortion. Some bishops, like Cardinal Raymond Burke, Read more
When Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the disgraced former papal nuncio to the United States, released an unprecedented and soon discredited letter in 2018 alleging Pope Francis’ complicity in covering up for former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s history of abuse, San Francisco’s Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone came to Viganò’s defence. Despite Viganò’s shocking call for Pope Francis’ resignation, Read more
Pope Francis’ decision to postpone and widen the planned 2022 synod is extraordinary and invites everyone to stop and take a deep breath. The planned subject — “For a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission” — remains the same but the new means adopted are now more intrinsically suited to such a topic. The Synod Read more
Why are some US bishops of the Catholic Church telling Catholics to avoid the newly approved Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine? Why did some U.S. Catholic leaders rush to issue warnings about this vaccine even though the Vatican has already said that it can be morally acceptable to receive it? Most importantly, why did these Read more