My mother had a lifesaving operation that is now being obstructed by abortion bans in a growing number of U.S. states, due to the Supreme Court's overturning of its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
In a 2018 grand jury report on the cover-up of child sex abuse by clergy in Pennsylvania, more than 300 priests were accused of committing abuses. Named in the report were three Scranton bishops, including my great uncle.
Most Catholics don't want politics to divide their parishes, but the wise pastor will prepare for the worst. What can pastors do to keep their parishes from turning into partisan war zones? Fr. Tom Reese has some tips.
"In 1869, when Pope Pius IX convened the First Vatican Council, no one dreamed of inviting women, but they were nonetheless there," writes Carol E. Harrison, a Professor of History at the University of South Carolina.
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance has made comments that reek of the dark history of natalism, a sociopolitical framework promoting reproduction and exalting the role of the parent. His views are troubling — but growing,
"Cultivating a culture of synodality is filled with promise," writes Sr. Colleen Gibson, "though not without the growing pains that come with allowing our hearts and minds to be reformed by the Spirit."