Phyllis Zagano

While the pope is acting on his desire to include women in administrative positions in the church, he seems to have turned a deaf ear to calls for women in ministry. The stumbling block seems to be his view of women.

One can only wonder if Sri Lankan Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has thought through the implications of not following the provisions of canon law that allow women and girls to assist at the altar, to be near the sacred.

The church depends on donations from nations whose better off have been educated on the baptismal equality of all persons.

Mock Catholic media outlets support Republican victories up and down the ballot, reporting only the ways Democratic policies digress from, not how they agree with, church teachings.

Must one vote for one or the other, as the pope suggests? Phyllis Zagano explores the basic question for both voters and bishops alike: Which team is more pro-life?

Phyllis Zagano writes: The Catholic Church is in a bad way when the Democratic Party in the United States brings more hope and joy to people — especially to women — than Pope Francis.

Phyllis Zagano said the comparison of Marko Ivan Rupnik's artwork to Caravaggio's falls short. And what message does keeping Rupnik's art on display send to female victims of sexual and spiritual abuse by clerics?

Bullying the liberal Catholic magazine Commonweal "smacks of the sort of 'conservatism' Pope Francis recently called 'suicidal' on CBS's "60 Minutes," writes Phyllis Zagano.

Tackling matters that are the topic of political debates today, the new Vatican document Dignitas Infinita, or "Infinite Dignity," drew more controversy than intended.

"The Christian celebration of Easter is about new life, yet the world's consciousness remains flooded with ideas of death," writes Phyllis Zagano. That includes war and famine, plus euthanasia and abortion, she writes. 

"When presumably educated, responsible politicians sound as if they are preaching from a bar stool," Phyllis Zagano writes, "what can the rest of us do to remove angry denigration from whatever other pulpit we might be near?" 

Rome's move to allow LGBTQ couples to be blessed has been misunderstood by many, and misrepresented by others.

"There are too many hurting people frightened today," writes Phyllis Zagano. "Can we not quietly and with respect focus on their needs and discard the noise and disrespect that fuels the wars large and small?" 

Pope Francis' opening to women in church management is promising. Getting women into the sacristy is trickier.

The back-and-forth is dizzying, and it will not end soon. The synod is the synod. Parts of the Catholic world are involved. Some are not. 

Too many U.S. Catholics don't know about the global discussion of the church's future, argues Phyllis Zagano.

Why did Texas Gov. Greg Abbott put razor wire and a floating barrier in the Rio Grande? Do migrant children not have heartbeats? 

The people of God agree that the mission of the church is to carry the Gospel to the world. That task is the principal duty of the deacon, argues Phyllis Zagano.

The optics of the latest meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, June 14-16 in Orlando, tell the story. It is not about us, Phyllis Zagano writes. The view from the pews is of men talking about men.

Anger-plus-fear-plus-guns destroys too many lives. Whether for random shootings or the horror of war, individuals or entire nations are picking up guns to solve their real or imagined disputes.