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 ...
Our unexpected pope
How many people on Thursday, May 8, while waiting for the cardinals to elect a new pope, said, "It will never be an American!" I was one of those, and like so many, I believed the received wisdom that ...
Our heart of darkness
"The people stood by and watched." This simple line in Luke's Passion narrative (Lk 23:35) struck me with unusual force this past Holy Week. Under Roman governance, executions were a public spectacle, ...
