When, several weeks ago, a Christian couple who own a bakery in Northern Ireland won a court ruling allowing them to refuse to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding, it was international news. After all, here was one of the few
As the 46th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s legalization of abortion approaches, the court is being asked to reconsider its refusal to recognize the humanity of the unborn. Pro-life groups hope the court — now believed to have a majority of pro-life
The fall general assembly of the American bishops was meant to polish their tarnished image, showing them as strong, competent leaders bravely addressing the scandal of sex abuse, including policing themselves. Instead the meeting turned into a public relations embarrassment for the
This is the final article in a series looking at the Church’s 12 most recent popes and the marks they’ve made on the Church. The series appeared monthly throughout 2018. Popular and controversial, innovative and traditional. Contrasts and contradictions like these have
As I stood in line waiting to go to confession recently (yes, I still do that), a man who’d lately exited the confessional approached me and in a confidential tone of voice said, “I’m beginning to believe we are in the End
When the U.S. bishops meet Nov. 12-14 in Baltimore, the spotlight will be on an issue that has dogged them for years — clergy sexual abuse. This time, though, the bishops’ focus won’t be on erring priests but on themselves. The
Shutterstock This is the 11th in a series looking at the Church’s 12 most recent popes and the marks they’ve made on the Church. The series is appearing monthly throughout 2018. When the time comes, obituaries will speak of Pope Benedict XVI
When future historians write their histories of U.S. Catholicism, some may give Gilbert Gauthe a paragraph all to himself. Not for anything honorable that he did, but for something supremely dishonorable: He, as much as anyone, transformed sexual abuse of a minor
As I think about the Senate hearings on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, the entire affair looks like a monstrous, distorting mirror where Americans see reflected certain large realities that darken our national life. Start with politics, surely the most
“Above all, one must always be ready for the Lord’s surprise moves, for although he treats his loved ones well, he generally likes to test them with all sorts of trials.” Pope St. John XXIII wrote that while on retreat in late