Jim McDermott

Theater: Broadway's stages have been dark for 18 months, and much of our lives, too. But tonight, here to see "Chicago," I sink gratefully back into the experience of being with other people and not being afraid.

Just as watching "Friends" when it aired kept alive my experiences of college, the reunion reminds me of my own experience of reunions, which are always such a muddle of gratitude and sadness.

No matter the specifics, in most films there's something concrete out there the protagonist is after, something they're going to fight for and a journey we're going to take with them. Oscar-nominated film "Nomadland" is very aware of this conceit.

Perspective: As a gay priest, you tend to think of your silence as a required act of self-sacrifice. But our self-erasure contributes to other people believing there is no place for them in the church or the world.

San Ysidro, Calif. - It began with a simple request. Jesuit ordinand Elías Puentes wondered if the ordaining bishop could be someone who could speak to the immigrant experience.