School's in session
St. John Henry Newman, writing in the 19th century, wanted a Catholic laity "who know their religion ... who know what they hold and what they do not." Whatever the challenges Newman faced in the 19th ...
Is our nation losing its soul?
U.S. bishops are speaking up about the treatment of immigrants and the deportation strategy and tactics of the current administration, and their messaging has grown increasingly urgent and concerned. What ...
The grandparent shortage
There's been a lot written about falling birth rates in the United States. Less covered has been the simultaneous decline in grandparenthood. Grandparents, to hear friends tell it, are an endangered ...
A little soap for the nation's potty mouth
I tasted soap once, and it was enough. At a rather tender age, I must have sassed my mom. I don't remember the crime, but I remember the punishment: Getting my mouth washed out with soap. It left an ...
Raising their voice for justice
History has shown that collectively America's bishops have taken controversial stands that have helped animate and even shape the national discussion. Perhaps most noteworthy was their 1919 "Bishops' ...
Hatred and learning from history
Why do we want to learn about the dark times, the ugly times, in our country? It is a relevant question today, as museum displays and park exhibits are being censored for being unduly negative about shameful ...
The sounds of silence
It has been almost eight months since fire rained down upon the Pacific Palisades, destroying more than 6,800 houses and businesses and turning this Pacific Ocean overlook into a smoldering wasteland. I ...
A teachable moment
In 1965, Catholic priests and nuns joined the historic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, seeking voting rights for African Americans in the face of violent local hostility. Catholics risked ...
