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Pope Leo XIV renewed his “appeal for peace” in an interview after a surprise visit to the Vatican Radio Center.
There are so many things you can enjoy when you are poor—and some, it seems, that are easier to enjoy when you’re poor because you cannot lean on the crutches and the shortcuts that litter the path of the rich.
Gene Roddenberry’s son said his father was an atheist. But documented evidence tells a different, more nuanced story about the creator of “Star Trek.”
Paul Eli'e's 'The Last Supper: Art, Faith, Sex and Controversy' investigates pop culture’s crypto-religious, uncanny symbols of immanence and transcendence.
At the Vatican on Saturday, Pope Leo urged “reason and responsibility” amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran—just hours before lighting up the jumbotron at Chicago’s Rate Field, calling 30,000 faithful to be “beacons of hope.”
As I write, Mr. Trump is declaring that “nobody knows” what he is going to do about Iran. I fear that “nobody” includes him.
”Catholics across the ideological spectrum have expressed hope that Leo will be able to heal some of the divisions that emerged during the pontificate of his predecessor, Pope Francis.”
For Monsignor Ray East and his brother Nathan, their faith feeds their music and their music feeds their faith.
A cosmopolitan stance—one that values other cultures while treasuring the unique gifts of one's own—is a necessary one in a world where Donald Trump is destroying the venturing spirit and generosity of the American people.
There is another side to Jesus’ message. Don’t build up treasures on earth—but do store up treasures in heaven.
Pope Leo XIV called on world leaders to reject the temptation to use “powerful and sophisticated weapons,” as President Donald J. Trump aired the possibility of using massive bombs to destroy Iran’s Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant.
As Chicago’s “No Kings” protests against President Trump wound down Saturday afternoon, the celebration of Pope Leo at White Sox stadium began. Which made me wonder: Does one impact the other?
In judging the morality of an act of war, an easy ask is always: “Was the belligerent party left with no other recourse?” That does not appear to be true in this case.
“The many actions of protest throughout the country reflect the moral sentiments of many Americans that enforcement alone cannot be the solution to addressing our nation’s immigration challenges,” Archbishop Timothy Broglio said in a June 16 statement.
Pope Leo XIV will bring back the tradition of the pope spending two weeks of the summer at Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence.
June 17, 2025, The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ: This Sunday’s readings call the faithful to reconsider the most holy body and blood of Christ in light of extreme divisions facing our country and world.
Father James Martin reflects on his conversation with actor and comedian Whoopi Goldberg about the importance of “laughing and dancing and and acting the fool” before God.
Father James Martin reflects on his conversation with Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., who, he says, “changed how I looked not only at friendship, but also, the church.”
In this homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), Year C, the Rev. Hank Hilton draws on ancient philosophy, childhood boat rides on the Jersey Shore and his mother’s steady wisdom to reflect on the transformative power of Christ’s kindness.
My primary problem with the parade wasn’t just that it broke a norm. My problem is that it reminded me how easily we tell ourselves comforting stories instead of asking hard questions.
The USCCB wrote a letter to Congress on May 20 mildly refuting certain aspects of Trump's Big Beautiful Bill.
Two new books give a multi-hued portrait of Seamus Heaney as he pursued a late-20th-century vocation as a public advocate of poetry and as a somewhat private advocate of Catholicism as a folk culture.
Athletes who never make mistakes, who never lose, do not exist. Champions are not perfectly functioning machines, but real men and women, who, when they fall, find the courage to get back on their feet.
In his video message at White Sox stadium, Pope Leo encouraged young people to look inside themselves, recognize God’s presence in their own hearts and “recognize that God is present and that, perhaps in many different ways, God is reaching out to you,
The June 14 celebration featured the first-ever airing of Pope Leo XIV’s video message to the world’s youth at the White Sox stadium in Chicago’s Southside.
Pope Leo called for a “commitment to build a world that is safer and free from the nuclear threat.”
A Reflection for Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time, by Ricardo da Silva, S.J.
My Jewish family was sheltered in a Christian village in Nazi-occupied France. Now I am a naturalized American citizen, but can I count on similar courage and good will from my neighbors?
You might think an Obama-era film would lose some relevance. But, tragically, “Us vs. Them” is evergreen.
Blessed Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint, and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, who dedicated his life to serving the poor and sick, will be canonized together on Sept. 7.
This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley talk with U.S. Senator Chris Coons, the senior Democratic senator from Delaware.
‘The Phoenician Scheme‘ centers on sin and redemption, the frail but fundamental hope that anyone can be saved, if they sincerely repent.
No one I knew in Los Angeles was afraid to go downtown. That is, they were unafraid until President Donald Trump called in the National Guard and then the Marines.
Bishop Carlos Enrique Herrera of Jinotega was forced to leave Nicaragua after accusing a local Sandinista mayor of sacrilege for disturbing a celebration of the Mass by blaring loud music outside the cathedral, according to Nicaraguan media.
A Reflection for the Saturday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time, by Michael J. O’Loughlin
A Reflection for the Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by Molly Cahill
I am struggling to smile and nod and accept the message from well-intentioned people, whom I love, that everything will be fine, that I should trust in God, and not despair.
Pope Francis’ encyclicals have drawn from and lead to this truth: What the world needs is heart—not sentimentality, but integration, presence and fortitude to stay in the tensions of our current reality.
“It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatising period between 2013 and 2024,” Archbishop Welby said in a Nov. 12 statement.
In faith, in love and in hope, Gustavo Gutiérrez gave everything to the present. The world is a better place for it.
Sometimes you have to leave home to find home. That’s the paradox of the immigrant experience, portrayed beautifully in “Brooklyn.”
Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” scandalized Italian audiences. But it was a group of Jesuit priests who were determined to offer a more nuanced interpretation of the film.
Martin Scorsese is leading one of the most elaborate projects devoted to the saints in recent memory. “Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints” streams on Fox Nation.
On this week’s episode of “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac are joined by Sister Laura Vicuña Pereira Manso, an Indigenous activist fighting to protect the Amazon rainforest and serve its people.
The freed hostages also said they hoped the incoming Trump administration would work with the outgoing Biden administration to bring the remaining hostages home.
How did this year’s session differ from last year’s? What does this mean for our church? For my parish? For me, personally?
if you go to Mass, you hear the near-perfect openingline in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God
A trip to Argentina shows not only Francis’ legacy here, but also the model of ministry that shaped him.
External realities are complicating the traditional structures on which parishes have relied for decades.
What I saw at the U.S.-Mexico border reminded me of the solidarity with migrants so often lacking in our country today.
We need to remember that even in the middle of dealing with whatever big thing is happening now: We are alive.
A tourist who is out of time approaches the end of his or her trip and must return home soon. This is how the Rev. David May describes himself through his poems.
In 'Tyranny, Inc.,' Sohrab Ahmari supplies a framework and examples of what has shaped the desperate plight of a growing number of Americans.
'The Cemetery of Untold Stories' reads like a novel made up of all the stories that Julia Alvarez no longer wants to carry in bits and pieces in her head,. And Alvarez knows that we all are—and need to be—story creatures.
Besides its musical beauty and thrilling sense of wonder, the song ‘We Three Kings’ offers a treasure trove of stories to unwrap.
Our readers weigh in on the value and spiritual benefits of vegetarianism, inspired by the experience of Fr. Francis X. Clooney, S.J.
When Pedro Arrupe, S.J., founded Jesuit Refugee Service in 1980, there were approximately 10 million forcibly displaced people in the world. Today, there are 120 million.
The Editors: This moment cries out for the kind of decisive action that perhaps only a lame-duck presidency can bring about: putting the burden of peace on Israel for bringing the war in Gaza to an end.
Methods of further incorporating “Laudato Si’,” Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical on care of creation, into the life of the church at the local and national level was a point of discussion for the U.S. bishops in Baltimore during their fall general assembly Nov. 13.
The cause for the canonization of Pedro Arrupe, S.J., 28th superior general of the Society of Jesus, took an important step forward today, Nov. 14, with the closing of its diocesan phase.
Looming on the geopolitical horizon this week is a significant threat to the multinational campaign on climate change that emerged far from Baku, when Donald Trump became president-elect of the United States.
Inside the Vatican’s Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell unpack the Vatican’s response to the re-election of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States.
I am rather fond of my native land and her robust and quirky republican traditions, but Jesus did not preach democracy nor endorse any particular political philosophy.
What are our young people learning? What will we do as people of faith to actively mitigate suffering? And, finally, what about the future?
We have recently seen entire communities wiped off the map by wildfires fueled by ever-hotter weather. This has grave implications for tradition, family and other goods that social conservatives value.
Pilgrims coming to Rome will now have the opportunity to experience St. Peter’s Basilica like never before.
“These are clear signs that the president-elect intends to carry out some of the worst campaign promises, including mass deportation,” Dylan Corbett, the executive director of Hope Border Institute, told America.
At the annual U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, leaders announced their support and promise to defend immigrants and the poor––vowing to speak out in the event of mass deportations.
Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of San Diego proposed the task force, which was supported from the floor by Cardinals Blase J. Cupich of Chicago and Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, N.J.
Pope Francis has condemned surrogacy as a form of “false compassion.” Now, in Italy, engaging in surrogacy in another country, even where it may be legal, will be a criminal offense for Italian citizens.
In an exclusive interview with Gerard O’Connell, Cardinal Cupich says young Catholics will look back at the synod as “one of the most historic moments in their lives, for it has redirected the focus of where the church is going.”
‘Lolita’ may have been canceled, but Vladimir Nabokov remains the godfather of modern prose.
Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election will hang over the annual fall meeting of the U.S. Catholic bishops.
The fundamental insight of the synod was not only that attentive listening was helpful in decision making, but also that the Holy Spirit was at work in everyone.
November 17, 2024, the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time: In this Sunday’s Gospel, the dimming of cosmic lights provides an opportunity to read the signs of the times.
Especially in places like the United States, where structures like pastoral councils are already relatively common, it is important to hear the synod’s call to ensure that consultation and dialogue are effective and not merely nominal.
The Vatican has announced the appointment of Capuchin Father Roberto Pasolini as the new papal preacher, succeeding Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa who served since 1980.
It is often the task of responsible citizens and faithful Christians to work patiently from wherever we are to plant new seeds, soften ugly impulses and blow on whatever promising sparks we may see
Giacomo Puccini, the composer of “La Bohème,” “Tosca” and “Madama Butterfly,” has been called the world’s most popular songwriter, and with good reason.
A hymn to mercy and love, “Love Calls Us to the Things of This World” springs to my lips when my heart is quiet. I teach it as often as I can for my introductory poetry students.
What caused Dorothy Day to stand out in her time, as it does still, is the way her spiritual life was expressed not only in her daily prayer but in her response to the needs of her neighbors, to the poor and to the demands of history.
Bishop W. Shawn McKnight of Jefferson City, who earlier prohibited specific hymns and composers, has now issued a new decree opening a synodal approach to the issue.
Dorothy Day called for “a revolution of the heart,” a shift away from self-interest to solidarity. That isn’t accomplished by a single election.
“Small Things Like These” is dedicated to the girls and babies who went through the Magdalene laundries, the last of which closed in 1996.
After Barack Obama’s victory in 2008, the Democrats have repeatedly failed to hold together the coalition that elected the country’s first Black president.
Why can't Catholics and Protestants share the experience of partaking in the Eucharist each according to their tradition?
On this week’s episode, host Colleen Dulle interviews Catholic author and academic Michael W. Higgins to discuss his new book, “The Jesuit Disruptor: A Personal Portrait of Pope Francis.”
On this week’s episode of “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac are joined by America magazine’s editor in chief, Sam Sawyer, S.J., to discuss the results of the 2024 presidential election.
History was made on Nov. 5, when Francis, the first Jesuit pope, visited the Gregorian University, the oldest and largest pontifical university in Rome, founded by St. Ignatius Loyola in 1551.
“We wish him much wisdom,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, said about Donald J. Trump, the day after he was elected as the 47th president of the United States of America.
"Reminders to “be kind,” or the hope for a quiet life with just enough creature comforts and just enough distraction are understandable. But they are simply not enough.”
Joseph Hazboun, CNEWA’s regional director in Jerusalem, described expanding difficulties for the Christian Arab community on the West Bank but added that nothing, of course, compared to the complete humanitarian breakdown being experienced in Gaza.
This election highlights the deep divisions in American society. But perhaps the strange working of mercy and providence is evident even there, keeping us attentive to the need for conversion and reconciliation.
Kamala Harris did worse with women, Hispanics and young people than did the Democratic candidates in the last two presidential election.
In the second part of the show, Colleen interviews Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark about what the experience at the synod means for the U.S. church and how bishops exercise authority.
Voters in Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota Nov. 5 rejected amendments to their state constitutions that would have codified abortion as a right.
Donald J. Trump’s decisive Electoral College win was achieved in part by a strong show of support from white Catholic voters, a demographic group that his campaign specifically targeted.
What a second Trump presidency might mean for immigration, abortion, climate change and more.
Robert Schmuhl of the University of Notre Dame said Trump’s “message about illegal immigration and the state of the economy resonated with working-class voters, particularly Hispanic and Black males.”
Father Orobator, a Nigerian Jesuit and voting member of the synod, understands the skepticism that has crept in since last year’s session. But he still has hope for the synodal process.
When Catholics in the global North are “obsessed” with the issue of women’s ordination, “women who in many parts of the church and world are treated as second-class citizens are totally ignored,” Bishop Anthony Randazzo said.
Focus on the fate of Israel, its hostages in Gaza and the people of Gaza and south Lebanon means that little attention is being paid to other continuing crises around the world—Sudan, Haiti, Myanmar among them.
One South African theologian described “a deep sense of disillusionment that the church, on the one hand, is saying we need to be a synodal listening church, and has yet again taken the diaconate for women off the table.”
In this episode of "Inside the Vatican," Gerry and Colleen discuss the most newsworthy moments from Pope Francis’ visit to Belgium.
Conversion is never easy, but participants from all continents must undergo conversion if the synod is to successfully carry out its task, Gerard O’Connell writes.
Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, the Vatican’s doctrine chief, announced today that “based on the analysis so far…there is still no room for a positive decision” on ordaining women deacons.
Catholics in the audience may not have been as startled by Senator Vance’s emphatic, sympathetic invocation of the second response of the Kyrie eleison.
October 6, 2024, the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time: Somewhere in the background of today’s passages hides the sacramental analogy that refers to the church as bride and Christ as her groom.
The wide-ranging debate between Mr. Vance and Mr. Walz covered climate climate change, immigration, abortion, the economy and the state of democracy, among other issues.
A Reflection for Thursday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time, by Kevin Christopher Robles
Pope Francis has decided that this year, we will be discussing not any series of topics—clericalism women’s ordination to the diaconate, or ministry to L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics—but synodality itself.
“Those who arrogantly claim to have the exclusive right to hear the voice of the Lord cannot hear it,” Pope Francis said at the opening Mass of the Synod on Synodality.
The Catholic Church cannot be credible in its mission of proclaiming Christ unless it acknowledges its mistakes and bends down “to heal the wounds we have caused by our sins,” Pope Francis said.
For over a century, Boys Town has been serving at-risk youths, inspired by the founding vision of the Rev. Edward J. Flanagan.
Setting aside the question of character, there is no disputing Mr. Rose’s credentials for the Hall of Fame.
I have admittedly rolled my eyes at the language the Vatican uses around the Synod on Synodality. But it should prompt all Catholics to ask themselves: Do I know what I am really trying to say?
On this week’s episode of “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac share a “conversation in the Spirit” with Linda Staudt, a lay delegate from Canada who was selected to participate in the 2023 and 2024 Synod of Bishops.
The challenge for Americans in a turbulent, anxiety-producing and, at times, dangerous world is to remain vigilant while keeping despair at bay.
Some members of the Synod of Bishops may need to let go of old ways of doing things and others may need to let go of a desire to make everything new, Dominican Father Timothy Radcliffe said at the pre-synod retreat.
Pope Francis answered questions on Israel, sexual abuse, the role of women in society and abortion.
In the presence of the late king's nephew, the current King Philippe, and others, the pope praised King Baudouin's courage to step down to “not sign a murderous law.”
Pope Francis sought to encourage and reinvigorate the Catholic Church in Belgium, which has been disheartened by the abuse crisis.
A Reflection for Saturday of the Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time, by Connor Hartigan
A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, virgin and doctor of the Church, by Valerie Schultz
I suspect that there are other Catholics who may pray it in their own way, too. And, to my mind, any way you pray that leads you closer to God makes sense.
Not attending is a missed opportunity both for the Harris-Walz campaign and our country.
The documentary “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story" shows us how the man beneath the cape embraced off-screen heroism by accepting his own vulnerable humanity.
A new survey indicates that many Catholics in Latin America and the U.S. favor allowing women to become priests, with a number also supporting marriage for priests, birth control, same-sex marriage recognition and holy Communion for unmarried couples living together.
The prime minister’s speech at the start of Pope Francis’ visit was one of the most pointed ever directed at the pope during a foreign trip and underscored just how raw the abuse scandal still is in Belgium.
The power of the Ignatian Spirituality Project is in recognizing the beauty and dignity of the one person in front of us.
Apple TV+’s ’Slow Horses‘ plays a bit like John le Carré with more firepower. And efficiency.
During a brief visit to Luxembourg, Pope Francis recalled the nation's painful history and lauded its welcome to immigrants, encouraging its people "to be faithful to this legacy."
The intellectual content at Catholic schools cannot just be "Catholic frosting on a secular cake," but should instead be like yeast, infusing every aspect of education.
Dr. Maryann Cusimano Love and Dr. Richard Love explore the legal and ethical issues behind the recent pager explosions in Lebanon.
In a new book, Cardinal Marc Ouellet challenges the church to worry less about creating something new, and more about treasuring what is already there.
The Vatican officially recognized Medjugorje as a place of pilgrimage and popular piety, stopping short of confirming the supernatural origin of the apparitions.
Pope Francis is expected to speak about war and peace, the migrant crisis, ecology, secularization and the sexual abuse of minors by clergy.
September 29, 2024, the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time: If good is being done in faith, then this becomes the critical measure to celebrate God’s power at work within the community of believers.
A snippet from some impromptu remarks caused a stir, but the pope’s point was that all religions are ways of communicating with God, not that they are all “the same.”
Father Dan Corrou says all Jesuit Refugee Service operations have been suspended. Many of the agency’s employees, like thousands of other residents of southern Lebanon, are fleeing toward Beirut or making plans to.
“If women are doing practically everything that a deacon is doing ... [why] do we want to draw women into clericalism when we are having so many problems with it?”
Cardinal Dolan of New York still held out hope that the Democratic nominee could change her plans and join the event which her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, is now planning to attend.
A number of states will vote on expanding or maintaining access to abortion this November, but voters in Arizona will also weigh in on a ballot initiative restricting immigration.
Thomas Pynchon is best-known as the reclusive author of some of our most famous postmodern novels. But is he also a discerning judge of our spiritual health?
Pope Francis, who has called for the liberation of Aung San Suu Kyi, the former leader of Myanmar and Nobel Peace Prize winner, told Jesuits in Asia that he even had offered to give her refuge at the Vatican.
A relic of Blessed Acutis was taken to Manchester for veneration, drawing 5,000 pilgrims in four days of prayer and an all-night vigil.
Rooney’s novel ends up as an overlong interlude, poised between significant moments, not substantial enough to compose its own movement.
The second session of the Synod on Synodality will take place this October as a follow-up to the first session that occurred last October. Here are five things to look for as the synod delegates gather in Rome.
The centennial of James Baldwin's birth is an invitation to join the ranks of “the relatively conscious” who will help the nation engage in the metanoia needed to become the country that Baldwin constantly believed and hoped it could become.
Missouri plans to proceed with the lethal injection of Marcellus Williams on Sept. 24, despite doubts about his guilt and widespread backlash.
Francis, who will turn 88 on Dec. 17, has not rested one day since his return from the East on Friday, Sept. 13.
Ahead of the 110th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Daniel Corrou, S.J., pastor of St. Joseph Church in Beirut, Lebanon, calls us to embrace “a story of love” rather than fear.
In a talk to leaders of popular grassroots movements, Pope Francis said, “It is often precisely the wealthiest who oppose the realization of social justice or integral ecology out of sheer greed.”
Most of my most meaningful meals have been prepared by friends born outside of the United States and who made a courageous journey to be here.
A public toilet cleaner who lives alone, Hirayama has discovered deep meaning and beauty in a life that others would demean or reject.
Garth Greenwell’s Small Rain is a mystical novel, a story in which illness becomes an occasion for a new attention to one’s life and loves.
This week on a live recording of “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley chat with Bishop Kevin Sweeney of Paterson, N.J., about his spiritual journey as a young priest on 9/11 and becoming a bishop during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Edward Schillebeeckx, O.P., wasn't officially a 'peritus' at the Second Vatican Council, but that didn't stop him from having a powerful influence on the council and on church theology for decades afterward.
“Preach” returns for a second season. In this premiere episode, renowned English Dominican priest Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., shares his unique insights on leading the pre-synod retreat last year, drawing from his wealth of experience as a minister, writer, retreat giver and former leader of the worldwide Dominican order.
“Daunting,” “heroic” and even “punishing.” Here’s what to expect during Pope Francis’ Asia-Oceania trip.
In an interview with America, Father Markus Solo spoke about the reasons why Indonesia’s government and its Catholic and Muslim leaders wanted Francis to visit the country, which he described as “young and dynamic.”
After Israel recovered the bodies of 6 hostages in Gaza, including the body of Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, President Biden, who has met with Hersh’s parents, said, “Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes.”
There is no bigger question for Catholics today than this: Why should anyone become or remain Catholic?
The Diocese of Paterson, N.J., argues that the change “will cause severe and substantial disruption to the lives and religious freedoms” of the priests as well as the hundreds of thousands of Catholics they serve.
A Reflection for Thursday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time, by J.D. Long García
A Reflection from Wednesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time, by Valerie Schultz
A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church, by Rachel Lu
This Labor Day, may we recognize all the laborers in the Lord’s vineyard and embrace them for who they truly are—our brothers and sisters.
A Reflection for Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time, by Kevin Christopher Robles
Jason Blakely’s new book, “Lost in Ideology,” is “quite simply the best guide to today’s dominant ideologies,” writes William Cavanaugh. “Blakely is concise, sympathetic, insightful, critical and fair.”
“Newsies” is the rare family-friendly musical that also serves as thematically appropriate Labor Day viewing.
In the United States, the Jesuits have provided striking examples of what solidarity and upholding the rights of workers looks like in an industrial economy.
How much of Indonesia is Catholic? Is Christianity on the rise? Why is Pope Francis visiting? Here’s what you need to know.
Julia Walsh was diagnosed with a progressive eye disorder that has changed her relationship with light. Her relationship with Christ the Light has persevered.
A Reflection for Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time, by Joe Hoover, S.J.
Migration has been a defining reality of the human experience; that is not going to change because of 19th-century innovations like national borders.
Grounded in the four pillars of spirituality, education, solidarity and mission, the Holy Games presented a unique blend of faith and athleticism.
Catholic themes abound in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, and the new season of 'The Rings of Power' stays true to that vision.
The coffin of St. Teresa of Ávila was opened on Aug. 28 in the presence of a scientific medical team and members of the ecclesiastical court, and her body has been found incorrupt. The last time it was opened was 110 years ago.
September 1, 2024, the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time: May our worship, understanding of law and sense of freedom never drift too far from the theological option for the poor, as it holds true within the Letter of James.
The pope’s visit comes only two years after the Vatican acknowledged that the Nobel Peace Prize-winning, East Timorese independence hero Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo had sexually abused young boys.
Loyalist paramilitaries played a central role in organizing the unrest in Belfast, but it was a surprise on both sides of the northern Irish border when they were joined by self-proclaimed “Irish patriots” from the Republic of Ireland.
All summer long, New Yorkers and Dubliners have had a unique chance to wave at one another—and sometimes more—through a unique public art installation. America's three new O'Hare fellows took a trip to see The Portal before it closes next week.
In his General Audience address on Aug. 28 centered on the plight of migrants, Pope Francis said, “The Lord is with our migrants...not with those who repel them.“
Tania Tetlow, the first woman and first layperson to serve as president of Fordham University, has broken barriers and navigated controversies amid rising tensions on campus related to the Israel-Hamas war.
A Reflection for Friday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time, by William Gualtiere
A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, by Julian Navarro
In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired Aug. 25, JD Vance said his running mate would “absolutely commit” to not imposing a federal abortion ban.
As a Catholic journalist, here’s what I would want to ask Vice President Kamala Harris.
Gerald O'Collins, S.J., the Australian Jesuit theologian who died last week, was a prominent writer in Christology, ecclesiology, spirituality and more in an academic career that spanned seven decades.
On Aug. 27, 2024, Bishop Melchior Shi Hongzhen was officially recognized as the bishop of the Diocese of Tianji, after the Chinese government refused to recognize him for five years.
The difference between the GOP and Democratic party platforms is acute on the hot-button topic of immigration, an issue on which the U.S. bishops have weighed in consistently over the last 20 years.
JD Vance should publicly retract his comment about Mr. Walz “abandoning his unit” lest it lend credence to false guilt felt by many of our military veterans.
During the Paris Olympic Games, track champions rang the bronze bell located close to the finish line. In December, that same bell will ring in the newly reopened Notre Dame Cathedral during the most sacred part of the Mass.
In the July-August issue of America, Emma Camp argued that a person with doubts about God's existence could still benefit from attending Mass.
Elizabeth Ann Seton has only officially been a saint for 49 years, a blink of an eye in the timeline of the church. But in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States, she is a towering figure.
Raymond A. Schroth, S.J. reports on the paradoxical brotherhood of polished Democrats and barefoot “hippies” in Chicago, 1968.
His Catholicism was enriched by an image of God as “older than all need,” an image that reflected the ancient wisdom of his people.
Totalitarian Nicaraguan State under President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo attacks Catholic groups with forced closures.
The “weird” meme, popularized by the Harris-Walz campaign, goes hand in hand with a longstanding ridicule of rural America, and it is punching down on some of the most disadvantaged people in our society.
A Reflection for the Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by Jill Rice
Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, prayed for God’s guidance in ‘this new chapter of our nation’s history’ as Joe Biden passed the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer.
The movement was founded in 1971 as a lay community to recruit “soldiers for God,” one of several Catholic societies born as a conservative reaction to the left-leaning liberation theology movement that swept through Latin America
A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church, by Tim Reidy
Drawing on work of lay Catholic prison chaplain Dale Recinella, Pope Francis paints death penalty as toxic and ineffective.
On Spain’s Canary Islands, arrivals of unaccompanied migrants are on track to reach a historic high this year, and caring for the migrant youth has become politically contentious.
Public events take place today in 2024 that are eerily comparable to situations in another critical year: 1968. But our current situation, like 1968, is a moment when our faith can make a difference in history and in our own memories.
Reducing our tariffs on Chinese exports, particularly solar panels and electric cars, would be an environmentally friendly move and would promote world peace.
Torn between religious devotion and his own children, Tevye struggles to hold onto his faith in a new and uncertain world.
“Sing Sing” sidesteps the trap of cheap melodrama that exploits the trials and trauma of incarcerated people.
A Reflection for Friday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Ricardo da Silva, S.J.
In 'Walk Ride Paddle: A Life Outside,' Kaine invites readers on a journey as he narrates his human-powered travels throughout Virginia, where he has served as senator, governor and mayor of Richmond.
Willard Spiegelman’s probing biography, 'Nothing Stays Put: The Life and Poetry of Amy Clampitt,' describes how she rose to meteoric heights in the poetry world relatively late in life.
The commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging in Jesuit high schools is an integral part of their mission and identity.
Although critics might argue single-sex schools are a relic of the past, the people I spoke with argued that single-sex Catholic schools are uniquely poised to help their students navigate ideas of service, gender, equality and faith in our world today.
The thought of the Canadian theologian Bernard Lonergan, S.J., can help us understand the church's latest pastoral field: digital mission.
Jesuits: The “unpunished and unjustified confiscation” of UCA has done “inestimable damage to the scientific and cultural heritage of Nicaragua.”
After watering down their anti-abortion commitments in their party platform, can Donald Trump’s GOP hold on to the pro-life vote?
A Homily for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by Father Terrance Klein
It is not selfish to do what you are good at and then to show a degree of humility about other things—including politics and other fields of expertise.
On August 14, Catholics commemorate the death of St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Franciscan friar who sacrificed his life to save a fellow prisoner from execution by the Nazis.
As Catholics, we are responsible for promoting the wellbeing of all, and that means standing against authoritarianism whenever and wherever we see it.
Dark days indeed appear to be looming ahead for Lebanon. Forces far beyond the control of its already embattled citizens—plagued by years of economic and political instability—are dictating their nation’s future.
Among the standout American athletes at this year's Olympics were plenty whose hard work and accomplishments are also a source of pride and unity among U.S. Catholics.
There are no simple answers as to how to end a war. Benedict XV’s prophetic but ignored call for “a stable peace honorable to all” in World War I should be an example for Pope Francis.
C. C. Martindale, S.J., played an important role in the life of the Catholic Church in Great Britain in the 20th century—and brought more than a few seekers along with him.
As a Catholic Minnesota mom, I find a lot to like about Tim Walz. But I have two major concerns about him.
August 11, 2024, the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Today’s passages invite the reader to contemplate real nourishment as opposed to figurative “food” for life’s journey.
Within the digital realm, people are currently exploring friendships and romantic partnerships with A.I. chatbots. To mitigate the potential harm, it would be wise for humans to consider some legal, emotional and intellectual boundaries.
The United States is overdue for a serious conversation not just about possible changes to the Supreme Court, but also about the functioning of our entire system of government.
A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr, by James T. Keane
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities have a part to play in the church’s work.
In a wide-ranging conversation, Pope Francis also repeated his ardent desire to visit China, discussed how he handles stress and criticism, and shared that he has experienced crises in his religious life as a Jesuit.
Look beyond the boasting and bravado and you’ll see that there is a lot more to Olympic star Noah Lyles than the persona he embodies while on the track or needling his opponents.
Every light in the stadium converged upon the monstrance, all while the congregation was led in praise and worship, singing: “I want more of you God…. No place I’d rather be than here in your love.”
In “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” the ordinary becomes operatic and the everyday becomes extraordinary.
Living a double life requires lying to everyone around you, but it also requires lying to yourself.
'In the Courts of Three Popes' gives us Mary Ann Glendon's journey from Vatican outsider to insider and provides a captivating frame for her examination of the Vatican’s intertwined grandeur and dysfunction.
The name-calling that has become a normal—even celebrated—part of our election this year will do nothing to bridge the vast ideological chasm that divides our nation.
There is a price to be paid for longevity in the current American culture. It is called loneliness.
Rioting was sparked by a knife attack at a dance studio in Southport on July 29. Three children were killed and other children and adults injured and seriously wounded.
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker said Wednesday he was “very intentional” in the comments he made during a polarizing college commencement speech in May and that he stands behind what he said then.
Pastoral ministers should recognize that many adults from divorced families struggle in relationships. Difficult conversations must occur so that couples can be better prepared for marriage.
The Edinburgh Festival of the Sacred Arts seeks to reclaim a place for Christian faith in human culture and put faith back into the festival season.
False prophets tell us that global warming will not happen, microplastics do not cause cancer, guns will protect us, and the poor need to suffer to motivate them to work.
The Nicaraguan regime has detained at least 11 Catholic clergy, in a further blow to the beleaguered Diocese of Matagalpa.
Edna O’Brien, who died on July 27, seemed to be in many ways the quintessential Irish writer. But her career began with a highly acclaimed novel that was widely condemned on the Emerald Isle.
The display at the Olympics was not innocent fun gone too far or Europeans just being artsy. It was bullying a minority.
A Reflection for Wednesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by William Gualtiere
Archbishop Richard G. Henning, successor to Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley of Boston, said at a press conference on Aug. 5 that he is “well aware that I have a lot to learn.”
If elected, Walz would be either the first or second Lutheran vice president of the United States, depending on how you count it.
Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory of Washington stressed the need for sincere dialogue in seeking unity in the Catholic Church during Mass on Aug. 3 for the Outreach 2024 LGBTQ Catholic Ministry Conference at Georgetown University.
Celebrating Mass for the feast of Our Lady of the Snows at Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major, Pope Francis urged Catholics to remember the unexpected beauty of God's grace.
Every Christian, but especially seminarians, should set aside their screens regularly and spend time with a book of literature or poetry, Pope Francis said.
Vatican correspondent Gerard O'Connell describes his journalistic ministry in the city at the heart of the Catholic faith.
Pope Francis has named Richard Garth Henning, 59, current bishop of Providence, Rhode Island, as the seventh Archbishop of Boston, the Vatican announced on Aug. 5.
The pope’s appeal came after the assassinations of Hamas political leader and peace negotiator Ismael Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut earlier in the week.
In a brief statement, the Vatican said, “it cannot but join its voice with the others that have been raised in these last days to deplore the offense made to numerous Christians and believers of other religions.”
America's staff returns to give their favorite recommendations of what to watch this summer.
I took this to God and asked for some tools I could use to make the nightly Examen work for my neurodivergent brain.
The Beatitudes provide a course of training that develops our vulnerability so as to recognize the poor in spirit. In this sense, they are a remarkable guide to life.
“Singin’ in the Rain” inspires us to meet pivotal moments with creativity, cooperation and a desire to achieve the greatest possible good.
The relationship between Ray and his father is the part of ‘Field of Dreams’ that has the most meaning to me. The film expertly takes the audience on the journey of getting in a fight with your dad and its aftermath.
Catholic journalist Tony Spence, who viewed his work as a "vocation of love" and served as director and editor-in-chief of Catholic News Service, passed away in Nashville at the age of 71.
Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda is celebrating three alumnae competing for the U.S. Women's Swim Team in Paris.
Hopes for political change in Venezuela were dashed just hours after polls closed when the National Electoral Council declared that Nicholás Maduro had been elected to a third term as president.
More than 300 L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics and their allies will gather at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. this weekend “to build community, share best practices and worship together.”
Colleen Dulle reports on Archbishop Vigano’s trajectory from Vatican civil servant to excommunicant.
What St. Ignatius' seminal phrase "Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam" can teach us about holiness.
Immigration is once again a central focus in Donald Trump’s pursuit of the White House.
August 4, 2024, the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: It is noteworthy that Ignatius sees what today’s Gospel also points out: God is the one who labors; God nourishes; and the community of faith is invited to trust in that reality.
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò was declared guilty of schism and excommunicated on July 4—another dramatic chapter in his fall from grace, following more than 40 years of faithful service as a Vatican diplomat. How did we get here?
A newly elected city councilor in Cork, Ireland, wants to stop the practice of opening meetings with a prayer. He also calls for the removal of a crucifix from the council chamber.
Gail Lumet Buckley, who died on July 18, was an award-winning chronicler of the African American experience. She once wrote of herself in 'America' that "I choose the cross of faith over the sword of ideology."
The method has deep roots in a form of communal discernment that was developed in Canada after the Second Vatican Council.
President Joe Biden proposed a constitutional amendment regulating presidential immunity and structural changes to the Supreme Court, in response to a court ruling granting sweeping immunity to Donald Trump.
I am a childless woman who has had a very happy, and blessed, life. For over 50 years, I have had a stake in the well-being of my country as well as in its future.
The half-hearted “sorry if people were offended” apologies have been Olympian exercises in gaslighting, but I find myself wishing that the Christian community reserved some of that righteousness for more legitimate experiences of persecution.
I just don’t care all that much about being insulted. I don’t think you should care that much. And I don’t think Jesus cares all that much, either!
Pope Francis has designated the provincial city of Santiago del Estero as Argentina's primatial see in a move described by Catholic leaders as a historic "reparation" and a reflection of his preference for putting the peripheries at the center of church attention.
The Vatican investment office made 45.9 million euros in profit in 2023, contributing millions of euros to the Vatican’s operating budget and in increasing its assets.
A Reflection for Friday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Kevin Christopher Robles
A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, by Valerie Schultz
The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games—a sports festival aimed to unite all nations of the world—created shock and disbelief instead as Catholics around the world felt offended by the parody of the Last Supper, which was part of the opening ceremony.
Bishop Andrew Cozzens, who spearheaded the three-year National Eucharistic Revival, said, “I felt a great fullness of God, one I prayed that everyone would be filled with.”
On this episode of “Preach,” Ricardo reflects on his experience attending the congress and the rich tapestry of preaching styles he experienced while there.
I’m interested in Chappell Roan because the culture has interest in her and because she’s a very talented, intelligent young artist.
Micheal O’Siadhail’s ‘Desire’ and Angela Alaimo O’Donnell’s ‘Dear Dante’ are collections designed and erected meticulously in an ancient style that an avid reader is unlikely to see in much contemporary poetry.
Would you believe that there’s a Jesuit rom-com? It sounds like a joke, but that is a fairly accurate description of “Crossroads,” a 2006 film written and directed by Murray Robinson.
Vice President Kamala Harris has been something of a meme machine since before day one in the White House. What’s wrong with that?
From abortion and immigration to climate change and criminal justice reform, Catholic voters will be examining Kamala Harris’s position on the issues.
These nine Parisian saints take on a new relevance for Catholics during a banner year for the city, as it hosts the Olympics and reopens Notre Dame Cathedral.
As we head into this election season, consider how you can ground yourself in a politics bigger than the idolatry of parties or politicians.
As Venezuela prepares for the upcoming presidential election, it's hard to say exactly how religious Venezuelans are and what specifically they believe. Here is a look at the religious landscape in the South American country.
Spanish media reports that the ministry of culture is drafting a law that will expel monks. But that task will not be easy. The 21 monks do not wish to leave their monastery,
Those who knew Father Norman Fischer said the priest’s easy ability to model the love of Christ and build bridges—sometimes through a beaming selfie or a fist bump—was legendary.
July 28, 2024, the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Last Sunday the Eucharistic Congress “fed” the vast crowds with Eucharistic devotion, prayer and a series of presentations that aimed to spark revival.
The realization that a younger person is more fit, more alert, more capable, more relevant, more suited to the job one has long done is not fun. We baby boomers can relate.
Christians may not be fully aware of the bloody history of anti-Semitism that was fueled in part by Christian anti-Judaism going back to the origins of Christianity.
In 'The Uses of Idolatry,' William Cavanaugh begins to write us a new story through which we might better understand ourselves and our times.
Following a Vatican-mandated investigation that found no evidence of sexual misconduct, Cardinal Gérald C. Lacroix is returning to his position as Quebec's archbishop and primate of Canada.
President Joe Biden's decision not to seek re-election is surprising—but don't call it unprecedented. It happened once before, in 1968.
In her keynote address at the Eucharistic Congress, Gloria Purvis warned that disloyalty to Pope Francis, the sin of racism and putting political parties above God threaten the unity of the Catholic Church.
In face-to-face conversations, Catholics can disagree without being disagreeable, moving beyond caricatures to better understand each other’s humanity and heart.
A Eucharistic pilgrimage from Indianapolis to Los Angeles is being planned for spring 2025, while congress organizers who had been discerning an 11th National Eucharistic Congress in 2033, are now considering planning the event even sooner.
Dating while discerning religious vocations was just one topic discussed at an event that also included conversations about the best place to meet other single Catholics and today’s gender dynamics.
When I learned Joe Biden had dropped out of the race, my mind immediately shot back to Feb. 11, 2013, when another Catholic leader, Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world by announcing that he would voluntarily resign his post.
It was stunning to see that the 10th National Eucharistic Congress had achieved one of its principal aims—Eucharistic coherence.
President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race for the White House on Sunday, ending his bid for reelection.
Discomfort disappeared as quickly as it had come, and I found a community of belonging and belief. We all have a place here at the National Eucharistic Congress.
A Reflection for the Memorial of Sts. Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by Kerry Weber
A Reflection for Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Cecilia González-Andrieu
Maybe the reformed hearts at the Eucharistic Congress will leave Indianapolis with a new attitude when faced with signs like “Deport Them All.”
In his first speech since the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the former president seemed humbled and sought to bring the country together. But can this person unite America?
Talented minds are implanting ideals in the inner landscapes of our young. We should be paying more attention.
The protagonist of “Porco Rosso” is a pig literally and metaphorically: He’s rude, cocksure and a notorious womanizer.
A nun with lightsabers. 100 priests hearing confession. Spontaneous song. Prayers over pizza. Toddlers at Mass. The Eucharistic Congress is chaotic, loud, fun—and glorious.
“The Acolyte,” the latest installment in the “Star Wars” franchise, shows us what happens when even the best of us cozy up to power.
Taking time off speaks to the need all people in ministry understand: To be deliberate about rest and to recharge so as to serve more effectively.
Father Schmitz offered his wisdom on a number of topics, especially evangelization and the importance of Eucharist, to reporters a few hours before his talk in Indianapolis.
Reports are already surfacing of drones launched into Russia that are relying on artificial, not human, intelligence in decisions to evade defensive countermeasures, pick targets and finally conclude a strike.
I cannot tell you exactly why I am getting emotional, except to say that maybe I am sorely in the mood for something simple and nonaffected and happy and endearing and guileless. (Maybe everyone is?)
In an interview with America’s Gerard O’Connell, Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça discusses his love for cinema and poetry, what it’s like working in the Roman Curia and Pope Francis’ “Gospel simplicity.”
A movement known as Catholic integralism has been enjoying something of a revival in contemporary American political thought, especially among Catholic critics of liberalism and modernity. But history tells us that integralism can be more harmful than helpful.
“Preach” host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., talks with Deacon Greg Kandra about the homily he wrote immediately after hearing the news of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pa., this past weekend.
A foundation says a legendary French priest and a lifelong advocate of the homeless has been accused of committing acts that would amount to “sexual assault or sexual harassment.”
The National Eucharistic Congress officially began July 17 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis with a powerful holy hour that saw tens of thousands of people kneeling in silent adoration before Jesus in the Eucharist.
Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández declared that the Vatican will only validate reports of Marian apparitions in “exceptional” cases that incur the special interest of the pope.
José Tolentino de Mendonça, known in Rome as “the poet cardinal,” speaks with Gerard O’Connell about his childhood in Angola, his love for the arts and his reflections on the church in Africa and Latin America.
At one time, the presence of Catholics on both major-party tickets would have been cause for celebration. But now Mr. Vance and Mr. Biden reflect the political divisions among U.S. Catholics.
July 21, 2024, the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Today’s celebration for the National Eucharistic Congress would do well to maintain a close connection between the sentiment of revival of eucharistic devotion and the movement of Jesus’ own heart.
A Reflection for Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Ricardo da Silva, S.J.
The contributions of Walter J. Ong, S.J., to American letters are countless, and he remains a renowned figure in the study of communications, literacy, group psychology and mass media.
If Trump is elected, Vance would be the second Catholic vice president in US history—after Joe Biden.
A group of American “Catholics and non-Catholics” and prominent cultural and intellectual personalities asked Pope Francis in an open letter July 15 not to further restrict the traditional Latin Mass.
From 1996: “Catholics and other Christians need to take into more explicit account in their sense of existence in a universe of which they form a more and more operational part.”
As a national preacher for the National Eucharistic Revival, I've preached in sunbelt parishes, humble rural churches and suburban auditoriums. All of them have been filled with God's grace.
Once we start thinking about what God clearly made happen or clearly didn’t make happen, it opens up a whole world of uncomfortable questions.
"Together with my brother bishops, we condemn political violence, and we offer our prayers for President Trump, and those who were killed or injured," said Archbishop Broglio, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Many political and faith leaders, even as they prayed for Trump, also asked for prayers for the country as a whole, and particularly America’s polarized political landscape.
Donald Trump's campaign said in a statement that the former president was “fine” after a shooting at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A local prosecutor says the suspected gunman and at least one attendee are dead.
In an exclusive interview with Gerard O’Connell, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, one of the synod’s most influential figures, discusses the role of women, bishops and all the baptized in a synodal church.
A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, by Michael Simone, S.J.
While theatrical and beautiful, I have come to understand that the Mass is not a show. It is a miracle.
The new Netflix adaptation fails to capture what made the original not only beautiful, but also of great interest for Catholics.
A court-empowered third-party insolvency monitor has ordered the Archdiocese of St. John’s to pay over 104 million Canadian dollars (about $76 million) to 292 survivors of Mount Cashel who were victimized behind its walls.
We must begin to notice, name and resist the distortions caused by agism, so that more clear-eyed assessments of President Biden are possible.
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith revealed a 1974 ruling surrounding alleged Marian apparitions that took place in Amsterdam in the mid-20th century, declaring they were found to not be supernatural following "persistent doubts" surrounding them.
The Knights of Columbus, an influential Catholic charitable organization, says it will cover up its mosaics made by a famous ex-Jesuit artist accused of abusing women.
Too many people opposing Mr. Trump have adopted an us-vs.-them mentality. Democrats must attempt to bridge the real divisions in the United States.
It has come to my attention, after careful research, that my husband and I might be exhibiting all the signs of a condition we’ll call Long Marriage. Maybe you have it, too.
Following an Israeli attack on Holy Family, a Catholic school turned shelter for hundreds of civilians, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem condemned the attack and called for a cease-fire agreement.
Pro-life activists are pushing back against the Republican Party's new, Trump-directed platform, which appears to soften the party's stance on abortion.
A 30-page "working tool” for the Synod on Synodality’s second session in October was presented at a Vatican press conference on July 9. The document focuses on one specific question: “How to be a synodal church in mission?”
John Gregory Dunne had a unique ability in his writing—fiction or not—to show the saintly and the sinner all at once.
There’s a lot at stake in our country and in our church. We must learn from those with experience, but we must also prepare the next generation to take our place.
July 14, 2024, the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: How does one carry out the intentions of the “One” called Jesus? How can anyone really know the divine will?
Socially responsible investing should be a priority for Catholic institutions and individuals alike. But investors need to look beyond negative screening to see other possibilities.
On this episode of “Preach,” host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., talks with Shayla Elm, one of 24 young adults chosen to accompany the Eucharistic processions that started out across the country this past Pentecost Sunday.
Most adult Catholics in the United States say the church informs their opinions about immigration at least “somewhat,” but only 19 percent say it informs their opinions “very much.”
Friday’s announcement that Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò had incurred a ‘latae sententiae’ excommunication sent many reporters (and more than a few Catholics) looking for some clarity. Here’s what you need to know.
“The budget of an organization reflects its priorities,” said retired Des Moines, Iowa, Bishop Richard Pates, who previously chaired the international justice and peace committee.
“In today’s world, democracy—let’s be honest—is not in good health,” the pope said on Sunday.
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, who has publicly stated that he does not recognize the legitimacy of Pope Francis, has been declared excommunicated for schism by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
A Reflection for Memorial of St. Augustine Zhao Rong, priest, and companions, martyrs, by Kevin Clarke
Vandalizing another culture's sacred art is not a heroic act. It is an example of resistance to inculturation, part of the process by which the faith has become rooted in disparate cultures throughout history.
Georgetown professor Jacques Berlinerblau, an expert on secularism, argues Catholics should be wary of Louisiana’s new law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public classrooms.
“The Paradoxical Commandments” peal out a truth that no one wants to hear: Doing right is its own reward. And it was formulated by, of all people, a teenager.
“Policies that criminalize homelessness are a direct contradiction of our call to shelter those experiencing homelessness and care for those in need,” said Archbishop Borys Gudziak said.
Despite his performative Catholicism, Michael Corleone puts more stock in the American vision of freedom than the Christian one.
With all due respect to the leadership, I believe the U.S. bishops’ conference is quietly taking extraordinary actions that curtail our sacred social mission.
Lourdes Bishop Jean-Marc Micas said in a statement that ex-jesuit artist accused of abuse, Marko Rupnik's, artwork will continue be displayed in Lourdes as to not "tear the church apart".
Indigenous Catholics in New Mexico are reeling after an image of Christ as an Apache holy man was taken from a Mescalero mission. The church's pastor has fallen under suspicion of complicity in the removal.
July 7, 2024, the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Does Jesus have the credentials to lead the people of Galilee? Each of the next three Sundays provides a different response and reflection.
Engagement with Catholic schools can help seminarians enter ministry with a clearer sense of the pastoral needs of their flock.
“This is a day of gratitude for El Paso, the work of Annunciation House and the resilience of our community’s hospitality workers,” Bishop Mark J. Seitz of the Diocese of El Paso said in a statement.
Vulnerability, defined as the capacity the human being has to be open and responsive to another human being, is a central mark of what makes us human.
Tom Wolfe would have loved to write about a debate between a billionaire former president who is also a convicted felon and an octogenarian sitting president whose public mental lapses are vociferously denied by many of his own confidantes.
A statue of Mary giving birth to Jesus was beheaded by an anonymous group of vandals, garnering support from traditionalist Catholics who have criticized the statue's depictions.
Some polls are going as far to predict that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak might lose his own seat on July 4. He would be the first Conservative prime minister to suffer such a humiliation.
“The Eucharist is the food that makes us hungry,” says Eucharistic Revival preacher Joe Laramie, S.J., so when he preaches, he hopes to stir his congregation “to deeper hunger for the Lord, to grow in deeper devotion to him.”
The Vatican’s first auditor general, Libero Milone, who was forced to resign in June 2017, claims he was framed and says Pope Francis was deceived by Cardinal Angelo Becciu.
A Reflection for Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Kevin Christopher Robles
"Magdalene: I am the utterance of my name" is advocating for setting the record straight on one of Christianity’s most vital disciples.
This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley struggle to resist the temptation to “type” each other as they learn about the Enneagram from Liz Orr, author of “The Unfiltered Enneagram: A Witty and Wise Guide to Self-Compassion.”
Keeping President Biden on the ballot is like telling voters: “Trust us. Don’t believe your eyes and ears.”
Many watching last night’s debate wondered if this was the end for Joe Biden. But I could not help but wonder if this was the end of presidential debates.
With “Horizon: An American Saga,” Mr. Costner has realized an idea 36 years in the making.
Cardinal Seàn O’Malley, head of the pope’s abuse commission, has written a letter to the Roman Curia urging them to stop using the artwork of the disgraced former Jesuit priest and alleged abuser Marko Rupnik.
In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell and host Colleen Dulle explain the charges against the Vatican’s former nuncio to the U.S., and what happens next in his extrajudicial disciplinary process.
When storms of change recalibrate reality,Rewrite the code that holds the cosmos together.
In her new book, '(R)evolutionary Hope: A Spirituality of Encounter and Engagement in an Evolving World,' Kathleen Bonnette has brought St. Augustine’s philosophy into dialogue with 21st-century reality in ways that would impress even modern mindfulness gurus and internet pundits.
In 'The West,' Naoíse Mac Sweeney tackles the history of the idea of the West through 14 portraits of both famous (Herodotus and Gladstone) and lesser-known historical figures (Phillis Wheatley and Tullia d’Aragona).
In 'Who’s Afraid of Gender?,' Judith Butler contends that the contemporary backlash to “gender” is an attempt to recapture the transforming power structure and return to the (days when it was simple to use gender to organize power in the world.
In 'Incarnating Grace: A Theology of Healing From Sexual Trauma,' Julia Feder is not only concerned with rejecting dangerous theological projects that have misled (and mistreated) survivors; she is also keen to plumb the depths of the Christian tradition more positively, for resources that offer meaning, courage and hope.
We can participate in the Eucharistic revival by growing in knowledge and devotion to this most important sacramental liturgy.
If we wish to embrace Christian belief and practice, our theological conversation must include open discussions of disability—including how the notion of 'imago Dei' is used in our theological considerations of what it means to possess infinite dignity.
In response to an article in our June issue, several physicians and ethicists say there are serious questions about the accuracy of determining brain death under the current criteria.
The Supreme Court has allowed Idaho doctors to perform abortions for women facing medical emergencies while a lower court considers the constitutionality of the state's near-total ban.
Two-thirds of former prisoners in the United States are arrested again within three years of being released. A Catholic halfway house in Florida is trying to change that.
Due to various factors including scandal and a mandatory church tax, more than 400,000 people left the Catholic Church in Germany in the last year. However, departures have gone down since 2022.
We must call Americans back to the political vision that enabled us to become a free people.
A gathering of scholars last week in Nairobi focused on the theological foundations of synodality and the contributions of African theologians to the synodal process.
The Eucharist is the final word and action of Jesus before he enters into his Passion. This set of just a few words and visible actions frames the meaning and intent of the great sign that is his whole life, culminating in his dying and rising. It is more than this, though.
In his general audience, Pope Francis marked the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking by reflecting on the responsibility of Christians to pray for those who traffic illegal drugs and to aid those afflicted with drug addiction.
Multiple people with ties to the U.S. bishops’ conference said they had been informed staffing across the department of Justice, Peace & Human Development was cut by 50%.
June 30, 2024, the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Some episodes in Scripture are more than ordinarily relatable to our lived experience.
Support America Media's Outreach ministry to celebrate and build community for L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics.
This week’s debate could be an opportunity to inform voters that the economy needs immigrants for economic growth, but so far both candidates have focused on border control.
We are all called to serve, and sometimes, I think, Pope Francis is suggesting that discussions about ordination can distract from that.
Pope Francis' support for the Anglican-based mission of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham was celebrated by the first bishop of the special diocese, Bishop David Waller.
Even so, Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider said claims of Pope Francis’ illegitimacy are unfounded.
What is needed, far more than a perfect abortion law, is a clear focus on the moral failure of a society in which abortion rates are rising rather than falling, in which too many women feel afraid, unable or unwilling to carry pregnancies to term and welcome new life into the world.
Efforts to restrict abortion have met with mixed results. So what should be the focus of the pro-life movement going forward?
Despite past tensions with Pope Francis and a period without assignment, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Pope Benedict XVI’s longtime secretary, has been appointed as the apostolic nuncio to Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia.
Archbishop Viganò said he “does not recognize” the authority of the Dicastery of the Doctrine for the Faith or of Pope Francis.
The ultimate goal is to prepare the men to be able to build strong and healthy relationships with their parishioners.
The head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication has defended his department's use of expelled Jesuit priest Marko Rupnik’s artwork in its official materials.
A conversation with Rachel L. Swarns, the author of "The 272: The Families Who were Enslaved and Sold to Build The American Catholic Church"
Spanish Jesuit Luis María Roma, who died in 2019, was recently discovered to have abused hundreds of Indigenous girls while serving as a missionary in rural Bolivia, and to have documented his acts in a diary.
The opera ‘San Xavier’ provides a glimpse of how Jesuits evangelized with music—a key dimension of the 1986 film “The Mission.”
Ivan Illich was a “radically orthodox” monsignor who remained tradition-minded his entire life. With Pope Francis, his hour may have finally arrived.
The fact that audiences see the story as aspirational is more of a reflection on us as fallen people than the film itself.
The U.S. surgeon general suggests a warning label on social media apps. But God entrusted us with the care of our children, and we’re the ones who should be held accountable for any harms.
A Reflection for the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, by Molly Cahill
In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” hosts Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell bring you inside the G7 summit and Pope Francis' meeting with comedians.
Pope Francis and a nine member Council of Cardinals heard presentations from women experts on the role of women in the church through the lens of canon law.
Ultimately, it is up to each of us to prayerfully discern the individual contribution we can make. Guided by our faith and Catholic social teaching, we can do our part to support a just peace in Israel-Palestine.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, a Republican, has ordered all public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms by the start of 2025, a move decried by much of civil society as a violation of the separation of church and state.
If convicted, Archbishop Viganó would be excommunicated and could also be removed from the clerical state.
Major League Baseball is finally incorporating stats recorded by Negro League players as part of M.L.B.’s official record books.
The elections results suggest that European states will set stricter policies on immigration, raising levels of despair among asylum seekers and hundreds of thousands of people living without official status across Europe.
Ahead of Juneteenth, Gloria Purvis would like to see the Catholic Church lean into the question: “What is a theological response for making repair for the sin of racism?” The answer, she says, will require “wokeism.”
Pope Francis’ participation at the G7 summit was not only historic but revealed the high moral standing that the first Latin American pope has on the global stage.
June 23, 2024, the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time: This Sunday’s Gospel passage, recounting Jesus’ calming of the sea, evokes three biblical motifs: storms, the terror of sailors at sea and the theme of sleep.
Frederick Douglass traveled to Ireland after escaping slavery in the U.S. and there was inspired by the politics of Irish nationalist leader Daniel O’Connell.
The Archdiocese of Washington had its largest ordination class since 1960, when 17 men were ordained the year that John F. Kennedy was elected as the nation’s first Catholic president.
The longtime 'America' illustrator John Hapgood served in World War II in the “Ghost Army,” a unit dedicated to deception and trickery that ran 21 different ersatz military campaigns between D-Day and the surrender of Germany in May 1945.
The Catholic Theological Society of America honored Mary Catherine Hilkert, O.P., with the John Courtney Murray Award, its highest honor, this past weekend in Baltimore.
U.S. bishops met for a plenary assembly to discuss various topics including mental health, poverty and youth ministry, as well as hearing proposals from the National Review Board on how to combat sex abuse in the church.
If you do not recognize, you do not act. Recognition is the beginning of the moral life, writes Jesuit moral theologian James Keenan, S.J.
For James Joyce, humanity’s faulty condition “is happy because faults, errors, mistakes and misunderstandings” are the birth of comedy, writes Gabrielle Carey in a new biography.
Pope Francis met with President Joe Biden and several other world leaders at the Group of Seven summit.
The pope addressed leaders at the G7's special "outreach" session dedicated to artificial intelligence.
Pope Francis met with comedians to discuss the importance of humor, specifically as a tool for unity in the face of darkness and conflict.
“Sister Act” embodies the welcoming spirit of a church willing to go out into the street.
Some suggestions from the staff of America for summer reading: books old and new, long and short, funny and sad.
These are films that I find meaningful and believe resonate with our faith—particularly our call to love our L.G.B.T.Q. siblings and to uphold their human dignity.
Basketball fans know Steve Javie as a longtime N.B.A. referee and a frequent commentator on ESPN and ABC. But for the parishioners at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Newtown, Pa., he’s Deacon Steve.
“Can we laugh at God?’ Pope Francis asked a group of comedians invited for an audience at the Vatican. “Of course, we can, just as we play and joke with the people we love.“
I am always going to be let down by humans, but never by the One who is fully human and fully divine.
Both the United States and the European Union are experiencing a period when double-digit percentages of foreign-born people have been able to achieve legal residency.
The Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity released a study document on the role of the bishop of Rome and how that role is viewed by other Christian churches.
Pope Francis is scheduled to sit down with U.S. President Joe Biden and eight other heads of state in a series of private bilateral meetings during the Group of Seven on Friday, June 14.
Have you heard the one where Stephen Colbert, Whoopi Goldberg and Conan O’Brien walked into the Vatican?
A Reflection for Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time, by Ricardo da Silva, S.J.
The Supreme Court unanimously dismissed a challenge against an abortion pill due to a “lack of legal standing” in the lawsuit against the drug.
On this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” Gerry and host Colleen Dulle discuss Gerry’s interview with the cardinal and give an overview of a busy week for the pope.
In his general audience, Pope Francis encouraged Catholics to keep reading to Bible, which reveals God’s love. He also directed a message to preachers to keep homilies to no more than eight minutes.
Sister Luisa Derouen has provided spiritual companionship to some 250 trans people, assuring them that they are God’s children.
Pope Francis reportedly used a homophobic slur to refer to a gay culture in the Vatican and warned it would not be prudent to admit young men with homosexual tendencies to seminaries.
June 16, 2024, the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time: From beginning to end, the Bible is filled with images of flourishing trees that symbolize the kingdom of God.
Jürgen Moltmann's influence on theology extended far beyond his native Germany or his religious denomination. His "theology of hope" influenced everything from liberation theology to contemporary politics.
Michael R. Lovell had been battling sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, for three years. He died June 9 in Italy while on a Jesuit formation pilgrimage with members of the Society of Jesus and the Jesuit university’s board of trustees.
Do you have to believe in God to go to church? I used to think so. But more agnostics should give religion a try.
Catholics are a good weathervane for how the country will vote: If you win Catholics, you likely win the country.
The number was even smaller for former President Donald Trump, with just 4% of respondents seeing Trump, a non-denominational Christian, as “very religious.”
In an exclusive interview with Gerard O’Connell, Cardinal Robert McElroy speaks the role of the United States in the Israel-Hamas war and says the U.S. church should vigorously advocate for an immediate cease-fire.
Rupnik’s art was an expression of the abuse he perpetrated. And so, the message to Rupnik’s victims, intentional or not, is clear: Your feelings are wrong and less important than your abuser’s art.
In a message to Rome's government officials, Pope Francis expressed the importance of the city staying close to its nature of welcoming hospitality as it prepares to enter the Holy Year in 2025.
Humankind has been a constant witness to wars and rumors of wars, but we seem to be entering a particularly conflict-cursed time.
A Reflection for the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church, by Molly Cahill
"Renew our hearts and minds, so that the word which always brings us together will be 'brother,' and our way of life will always be that of: Shalom, Peace, Salaam!" he said.
Professional tennis in the real world—as opposed to the reel world—is not quite as cool or sexy.
Ethan Hawke on exploring religious questions through art and his new film, “Wildcat,” about the Catholic writer Flannery O’Connor.
As of this spring, the program will have brought top-tier business school knowledge and skills to local leaders at nearly all of Catholic Charities’ 167 offices.
Beth Gibbons is singular in many ways, and “Lives Outgrown” is a singular contemplation of the countless changes we experience throughout our lives and the ultimate change to come after we pass away.
For 50 years, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development has served as one of the church’s primary investments in fighting poverty. The U.S. bishops must reaffirm their support for this initiative.
What makes a family a family: that they look like the model, or the way that they love each other?
hoped to raise awareness about children’s plight in war, promote global peace, care for the environment and empower the younger generation.
López Obrador says he plans to go quietly into political retirement, but AMLO playing Benedict to Claudia Sheinbaum’s Francis will be just one of the incoming Mexican president’s major challenges.
The parish can be a nexus for sharing hopes and fears about the last stage of life. Clarifying Catholic teaching about medical technologies and care at the end of life would be another helpful step.
A Reflection for the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, by Kevin Christopher Robles
In a message for a prayer service commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day, Pope Francis condemned the hypocrisy of remembering the heroic sacrifices made on the day, while not promoting peace in the world today.
June 9, 2024, the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time:Today’s readings explore morality and faith, but their background comes from a society oriented around the pursuit of honor, the avoidance of shame and the need for kinship.
Pope Francis announced that he is preparing a document on the Sacred Heart of Jesus to be released in September.
Voting in the E.U. parliamentary elections, which begins on June 6, is expected to result in a strong swing to the political right, as parties running on anti-immigration platforms have surged across Europe in recent years.
If Benjamin Netanyahu is unwilling to take the political risk of moving toward a cease-fire, President Biden should respond with a withdrawal of all U.S. military aid used to support Israel’s Gaza offensive.
Lorenzo Michele Noè Caruso wrote to Pope Francis after seeing reports that the pope had used a homophobic slur when telling members of the Italian bishops’ conference to exercise caution in admitting gay men to seminaries.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order Tuesday dramatically limiting the number of immigrants who may apply for asylum at the southern United States border.
In 1975, Leo O'Donovan, S.J., a theologian and former student of Karl Rahner, reviewed the renowned German theologian Jürgen Moltmann’s ‘The Crucified God.’ Jürgen Moltmann died on June 3, 2024, at the age of 98.
In his general audience, Pope Francis reflected on the Holy Spirit’s name, “Ruach,” meaning breath or wind. And wind, he said, “is the only thing that absolutely cannot be bridled, cannot be bottled up or put in a box.”
Donald J. Trump became the first president in history to be convicted of a felony last week. And he may become the first convicted felon to become president of the United States in November.
As we prepare to celebrate the 80th anniversary of D-Day later this week, a look back at how 'America' covered the invasion then and in the years following.
As Catholics, we must seriously consider where and how we live, and try to build sustainable communities with accountability to each other.
“We will also respect political, social, cultural and religious diversity. Gender and sexual diversity. We will always continue to fight against any form of discrimination,” President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum said.
The most controversial blocks for exploration are located offshore at the mouth of the Amazon River basin. Petrobras, a government-controlled oil company, is pushing to begin preliminary drilling in search of new oil reserves.
Trusting Hispanic leaders to be at the helm of major ministerial efforts makes a major difference.
The U.S. Catholic bishops’ latest annual report on child and youth protection shows abuse allegations are down, while safe environment protocols have taken root in the church—but guarding against complacency about abuse prevention is critical, as is providing ongoing support for survivors.
On the Feast of the Uganda Martyrs, James Martin, S.J., recounts the story of young men revered throughout East Africa.
Father James Martin deserves our gratitude for this new text devoted to what he calls “Jesus’s greatest miracle”: the resurrection of Lazarus, Pope Francis writes in a new preface to the Italian-language translation of ‘Come Forth.’
A Reflection for the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by Christine Lenahan
A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Charles Lwanga and companions, martyrs, by Rachel Lu
The current Farm Bill, at $1.5 trillion, represents the largest spending package in U.S. agricultural policy history; 80 percent of the spending is directed to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Netflix's latest thriller "Baby Reindeer," is a chilling watch. The show haunts the viewer long after the credits roll, but not just because it is a stalker drama.
It is important to let go of the to-do lists and the pressures, but it’s even more essential to let go of the resentment and blame that sneak in behind hard work and perfectionism.
The context of the incident, the Vatican’s response, and the implications for L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics.
Former President Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 felony counts by a Manhattan jury for falsifying business records related to hush money payments during the 2016 campaign, marking the first criminal conviction of a former president and sparking varied reactions from political and legal experts.
The reality is that voters don’t have to like Mr. Trump, or think he’s a martyr of our legal system, in order to vote for him.
What do we do when we find ourselves, or someone we love, torn between convictions and relationships?
“Jesus really is thirsty for this whole country. He really wants so many souls to encounter him, and he’s the one walking in the streets. He’s leading us right now. So, it’s really beautiful to have all of us walking alongside our Lord.”
Pope Francis' use of a homophobic slur has raised questions about the limits of his welcoming and inclusive stance towards L.G.B.T.Q. persons, despite a swift apology from the Vatican.
Presidential front-runner and governing party candidate Claudia Sheinbaum hesitantly met with representatives from the Mexican bishops’ conference.
For us diehard baseball fans, Ángel Hernández's retirement should not be a moment to revisit his past errors and sneer. Instead, it is a chance to express mercy in a world that, as Pope Francis reminds us, is in dire need of it.
Benedictine College should apologize to Mr. Butker for putting him in a position he should not have been in—and which he was not wise or mature enough to avoid.
French deputies began debating a highly permissive “end of life” bill on May 27, despite strong opposition from Catholic bishops and concerns about undermining palliative care.
A Homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, by Father Terrance Klein
As a gay priest, I was shocked and saddened by the Holy Father’s use of an offensive slur during a discussion with Italian bishops.
Growth, undeniable tensions and “a deep desire to rebuild and strengthen” the body of Christ have emerged as key themes in the latest synod report for the Catholic Church in the U.S.
June 2, 2024, The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ: Corpus Christi, the liturgical solemnity celebrated today, includes a psalm of thanksgiving that helps to set the tone for today’s readings.
In his general audience today, Pope Francis introduced a new theme to his cycle of reflections: “‘The Holy Spirit and the Bride.” These reflections consider the works of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, the New Testament and the time of the Church, animating the mission of Christ.
“I wanted to be a basketball player, be a hippie, on tour with The Grateful Dead, be an adventurer. I didn’t spend my life trying to be the richest guy on Earth,” Walton once said about himself.
“The pope is not homophobic and never was,” the vice president of the Italian bishops’ conference said.
Archbishop Gabriel Mestre of La Plata has resigned unexpectedly after only eight months in the Argentine archdiocese previously headed by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
What do you make of a pope who has embraced the L.G.B.T.Q. Catholic community, but who reportedly used a gay slur while reiterating the church’s ban on admitting gay men to seminaries?
It has been 77 years since Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball—and let his Brooklyn Dodgers to new heights in their final years in the borough.
A day after news broke that Pope Francis had allegedly used a derogatory word in a private conversation with Italian bishops about gay men applying to Italian seminaries, the Vatican has issued an official response.
Dion a great artist who continues to write and record music even now. But he is also a devoted Catholic, having returned to the faith of his childhood in midlife.
Scott VanDerveer writes his homilies in a coffee shop, where he is surrounded by strangers. “Would what I have to say speak to their life at all,” he asks himself. “Or would they say, ‘Ugh, that’s so churchy?’”
There is no one solution, including the best-intentioned right-to-shelter policies, that can address the multitude of issues that drive people into homelessness on a daily basis.
Pope Francis told the Italian bishops’ conference not to allow homosexual men to enter the seminary to train for the priesthood, according to Italian media reports.
Pope Francis decided to hold a World Children’s Day to draw global attention to the plight and suffering of so many of the world’s 2.3 billion children from poverty, war and the effects of climate change.
This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley are live at Xavier University in Cincinnati with their spiritual director, Eric Sundrup, S.J., sharing their own experiences discerning their paths as young adults and offering insights from Jesuit spirituality to young people navigating big life questions.
Marking the centenary of the first plenary council of the Catholic Church in China, the Vatican hosted a conference earlier this week on challenges and opportunities for Chinese Catholics.
Jacques Monet, S.J., passed away peacefully on May 14 at the age of 94, leaving behind a great legacy to his church and nation.
The characters in ‘20th Century Women’ find themselves torn between embracing the new and retreating into the familiar.
Whether in the Middle Ages or a modern Marian renaissance, how Mary looks can reflect and affirm the people she appears to.
Pope Francis’ comments are clearly far more nuanced than many initial reactions suggested.
While Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant do not face imminent arrest, the announcement has been perceived as a symbolic blow that deepens Israel’s international isolation because of its conduct of the war in Gaza.
In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen Dulle Gerard O’Connell unpack the pope’s comments and broader highlights of the interview.
Harrison Butker’s commencement speech at Benedictine made national headlines. But what is student life really like at this growing Catholic college?
Palestinians face a much stronger neighbor who apparently can occupy territory with impunity. Irish people, with a strong cultural memory of British rule, have a visceral reaction to such a situation, he suggests.
Let us cultivate universities and workplaces where the contemplative life is valued, where introverts and extroverts alike can thrive, and where every person can feel recognized.
A Reflection for the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by Carol Zuegner
A Reflection for Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time, by Cecilia González-Andrieu
Pope Francis formally recognized a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian teenager whose birth in 1991 will make him the first “millennial” to become a saint.
The complicity of ordinary Germans in the Holocaust is the central subject of two shows now running in New York City.
May 26, 2024, The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity: What is the right relationship between the three persons of the Trinity? It remains a mystery. Even so, this Sunday’s readings offer insights that can help us encounter the mystery and give it relevance.
Your enemies are children of God—and that includes the presidential candidate you can’t stand and his supporters.
“Brothers and sisters, humility is everything. It is what saves us from the Evil One,” Pope Francis said at today’s general audience, concluding his cycle of catechesis on virtue.
“Authentic palliative care is radically different from euthanasia, which is never a source of hope or genuine concern for the sick and dying,” the pope said in a message to the first International Interfaith Symposium on Palliative Care in Toronto.
Father Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator is the first dean of the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley born outside of the United States.
The pope’s response surprised some who believed he was open to the possibility of ordaining women as deacons.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, described the small resilient community of the Holy Family Parish compound in Gaza City as one with “steadfast faith,” amid horrific destruction and constant bombardment.
A poet and a woman religious whose work often appeared in America, M. Madeleva Wolff, C.S.C., is known for much more than her verse. She was also a pioneer in Catholic education in the United States.
An important international conference in Rome on May 21 marks the 100th anniversary of the first Plenary Council of the Catholic Church in China. Here’s what you need to know.
During an audience with a delegation from Loyola University Chicago at the Vatican on May 20, Pope Francis said, “Education happens on three levels: the head, the heart and the hands.”
The proclamation comes just two weeks after the Jesuit priest who founded Homeboy Industries received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden.
Argentina has been in a state of economic upheaval for years with two constants—a continuous increase in poverty and corresponding efforts by the Catholic Church to respond to that need.
A surefire way to lose your congregation is to start a homily with “In today’s Gospel reading,” says Thomas Groome. “The purpose of good preaching,” he says, “is to bring our lives to God and God to our lives.” A homilist’s job, then, is to facilitate a meaningful conversation between the two.
In an interview with Norah Jones April 24 on “60 Minutes,” Pope Francis clarified that “Fiducia Supplicans” didn’t allow blessings of “the union” but of “each person.”
The pope devoted his entire Pentecost homily to describing how the Holy Spirit works in the lives of Christians with both “power and gentleness.”
The pope devoted his entire Pentecost homily to describing how the Holy Spirit works in the lives of Christians with both “power and gentleness.”
Today’s text from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith makes clear that henceforth, as a rule, the Holy See will not declare any alleged spiritual phenomenon, such as an apparition, as authentic‚ that is, “of divine origin.”
Today’s text from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith makes clear that henceforth, as a rule, the Holy See will not declare any alleged spiritual phenomenon, such as an apparition, as authentic‚ that is, “of divine origin.”
Cardinal Robert McElroy, Bishop Robert Barron and Bishop Daniel Flores joined moderator Gloria Purvis for a roundtable discussion on the rise of polarization in the church.
Cardinal Robert McElroy, Bishop Robert Barron and Bishop Daniel Flores joined moderator Gloria Purvis for a roundtable discussion on the rise of polarization in the church.
Whether carefully reflected upon or chosen at random, picking a confirmation name is a personal and spiritual journey for Catholics, reflecting a connection to the saints or a loved one and a commitment to embodying their virtues.
Whether carefully reflected upon or chosen at random, picking a confirmation name is a personal and spiritual journey for Catholics, reflecting a connection to the saints or a loved one and a commitment to embodying their virtues.
In young people preparing for confirmation, I see a yearning for something more in their lives, beyond the noise and distractions of technology and social isolation.
In young people preparing for confirmation, I see a yearning for something more in their lives, beyond the noise and distractions of technology and social isolation.
It would be an exaggeration to call “Juno” pro-life, but it is encouraging to see a popular film diverge from the familiar culture war battle lines.
It would be an exaggeration to call “Juno” pro-life, but it is encouraging to see a popular film diverge from the familiar culture war battle lines.
“Shogun” is a dire portrait of the Catholic Church’s role in colonial history, but the Japanese are not mere victims in this story.
“Shogun” is a dire portrait of the Catholic Church’s role in colonial history, but the Japanese are not mere victims in this story.
A beef between two of the biggest rappers in the world, Kendrick Lamar and Drake, has birthed unforgettable songs for both of these artists.
A beef between two of the biggest rappers in the world, Kendrick Lamar and Drake, has birthed unforgettable songs for both of these artists.
Statistician Ryan Burge set out to learn how many Catholics agree with church teachings on three key pro-life issues: abortion, euthanasia and the death penalty. The answer? Fewer than 1 percent.
Statistician Ryan Burge set out to learn how many Catholics agree with church teachings on three key pro-life issues: abortion, euthanasia and the death penalty. The answer? Fewer than 1 percent.
I had hoped she would want to be confirmed, but I also know that this step in her faith journey is not about me.
I had hoped she would want to be confirmed, but I also know that this step in her faith journey is not about me.
A Reflection for the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, by Delaney Coyne
A Reflection for the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, by Delaney Coyne
I would argue for two axioms. First, Christian mission induces migration, and, conversely, migration fulfills Christian mission. Second, there is a reciprocal cause-and-effect relationship between Christian mission and migration.
I would argue for two axioms. First, Christian mission induces migration, and, conversely, migration fulfills Christian mission. Second, there is a reciprocal cause-and-effect relationship between Christian mission and migration.
Of the many things that the history of eugenics should teach modern society, two stand out. First, not all questions are good questions. Second, statistics can be warped to tell you pretty much anything you want.
Of the many things that the history of eugenics should teach modern society, two stand out. First, not all questions are good questions. Second, statistics can be warped to tell you pretty much anything you want.
“The arts are crucial to Jesuit education. Our arts programs are a home for students at Creighton Prep, but they also inspire the expansion of heart and imagination—elements that are indispensable to Ignatian practice.”
“The arts are crucial to Jesuit education. Our arts programs are a home for students at Creighton Prep, but they also inspire the expansion of heart and imagination—elements that are indispensable to Ignatian practice.”
Books about World War II are ubiquitous in the nonfiction section, but "Hitler's American Gamble" is the rare recent work with a genuinely new contribution to make, not just to our understanding of the past but also to our understanding of the present.
Books about World War II are ubiquitous in the nonfiction section, but "Hitler's American Gamble" is the rare recent work with a genuinely new contribution to make, not just to our understanding of the past but also to our understanding of the present.
Lauren Groff's new novel inverts Defoe’s "Robinson Crusoe" by casting a girl—and only briefly, much later on in the novel, the woman—as its heroine.
Lauren Groff's new novel inverts Defoe’s "Robinson Crusoe" by casting a girl—and only briefly, much later on in the novel, the woman—as its heroine.
In "All the Kingdoms of the World¸" Kevin Vallier engages with Catholic integralists, but he opens a bigger question: Is there such a thing as a Catholic politics?
In "All the Kingdoms of the World¸" Kevin Vallier engages with Catholic integralists, but he opens a bigger question: Is there such a thing as a Catholic politics?
An account of “what it meant to be a Roman emperor,” Mary Beard's new book is also a sustained exploration of tradition embodied by an individual ruler.
An account of “what it meant to be a Roman emperor,” Mary Beard's new book is also a sustained exploration of tradition embodied by an individual ruler.
The examen carved a space between me and the compulsion, just enough to breathe, to think and to make a deliberate choice.
The examen carved a space between me and the compulsion, just enough to breathe, to think and to make a deliberate choice.
No just law can stop solidarity at the arbitrary line of a border, nor can a just government require the church to condition the works of mercy on the immigration status of those in need.
No just law can stop solidarity at the arbitrary line of a border, nor can a just government require the church to condition the works of mercy on the immigration status of those in need.
WIthout free and fair elections because we cannot effectively address any of the issues mentioned in “Faithful Citizenship,” from protecting the unborn to creating a more just economy.
WIthout free and fair elections because we cannot effectively address any of the issues mentioned in “Faithful Citizenship,” from protecting the unborn to creating a more just economy.
Poems like these at the very least deserve more eyes on them, and we are more than happy to make that happen.
Poems like these at the very least deserve more eyes on them, and we are more than happy to make that happen.
“If you are not challenged somewhere in your own moral thinking by reading [“Dignitas Infinita”], then you most likely have not read it thoroughly enough,” wrote Sam Sawyer, S.J., America’s editor in chief, in his Of Many Things column last month.
“If you are not challenged somewhere in your own moral thinking by reading [“Dignitas Infinita”], then you most likely have not read it thoroughly enough,” wrote Sam Sawyer, S.J., America’s editor in chief, in his Of Many Things column last month.
With more than one million displaced Palestinians staring famine in the face last week, it is hard to imagine that conditions could get any worse in Gaza. But they have.
With more than one million displaced Palestinians staring famine in the face last week, it is hard to imagine that conditions could get any worse in Gaza. But they have.
“It was a long time I wanted, desired, to be with them, to meet them,” Cardinal Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, said of his visit to the resilient parish. “Now I had this possibility and am very happy.”
This week on "Inside the Vatican," hosts Colleen and Gerry discuss Pope Francis’ proclamation of Jubilee Year 2025 and also review a global synod meeting of 200 parish priests held outside Rome earlier this month.
The Catholic Church has communicated with its flock throughout the centuries by means of papal bulls. But what on earth is a papal bull?
May 19, 2024, Pentecost Sunday: A critical test of faith is that Christ’s disciples understand one another. That is only possible through constant forgiveness and trust that the Spirit works among all the faithful.
While the Vatican never stated its objections to the Rev. Martin Lintner’s appointment, his writings on LGBTQ+ and queer issues were called into question.
'Brighton Rock' made me feel ready to become a Catholic after so many years of deliberately not being one. I, too, frequently felt lost and agnostic. The story of Rose and Pinkie—so similar, so different, both human—was like a piece I found that had been missing from my puzzle.
Lauren Handy has been sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison—57 months—for leading a blockade of a Washington abortion clinic on Oct. 22, 2020.
“In our days, love is on the lips of many ‘influencers’ and in the refrains of many songs,” Pope Francis said in today’s general audience on the theological virtue of charity. “We speak a lot about love, but what is love?”
There are hundreds of opportunities for Catholics to join the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage for Mass, adoration, processions and other events.
Will cutting humanitarian assistance help stem the flow of migrants and asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border? ‘America’ asked immigration experts to weigh in.
I was well into adulthood before I realized the co-author of my battered copy of The Elements of Style was also the author of Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web.
By remembering how a group of his students mended a fracture over a controversial book, a former college professor finds hope for national reconciliation.
This review by Andre Dubus III of Alice Munro’s short story collection ‘Open Secrets’ was originally published in America magazine in 1995. Ms. Munro, a Nobel Laureate and acclaimed author, died on May 13, 2024, at 92.
Vincentian Father Joseph S. Williams, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Chicago, said in a May 8 statement that he was “deeply sorry for any confusion and/or anger that this has caused, particularly for the People of God.”
For every Fátima, there are dozens of unverified reports of divine messages, “weeping” statues, healing relics and prophetic revelations that have vexed church authorities and challenged the Vatican’s ability to track and verify such events.
It is not surprising that Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, an eminent paleontologist, got himself in trouble with church officials and his Jesuit superiors.
Fasting “at least for one day of the week from futile distractions” such as social media also can be a path toward a jubilee indulgence, according to norms published by the Vatican May 13.
With the creation of A.I., anthropomorphized chatbots are one critical example of how the rapidly advancing technology is testing the limits of the human condition.
Though Jesus preached in parables that still captivate us, not every story told in a homily has a similarly lasting impact. The Rev. Christopher Clohessy shares how preachers can craft stories that linger long after Mass is over.
Polls abound, and the political ground keeps shifting, but one thing is sure: South Africa is likely to experience a significant political realignment on May 29.
Ric Burns’s splendid two-part PBS documentary, “Dante: Inferno to Paradise,” has brought Dante’s achievement beyond the groves of academe and into America’s living rooms.
With “Cowboy Carter,” her eighth studio album, Beyoncé not only explores the longed-for and carelessly and/or intentionally erased Black past in country music, but also moves the genre forward into a hopefully more expansive future.
“Petite Maman” is a magical-realist story about children and parents, the things we can’t say and learning to understand each other.
“You do not have to believe in Marian apparitions to be a good Catholic,” Father James Martin writes. “But I do. I’ve never had a problem believing in them.”
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith will publish its new norms for the discernment of apparitions and other supernatural phenomena May 17, the Vatican press office said.
On Jesuitical, Zac and Ashley speak with Andrea Von Kampen about her new album “Sister Moon,” which draws on the spiritual and ecological wisdom of St. Francis of Assisi and Pope Francis’ “Laudato Si’.”
“Human life is not a problem, it is a gift,” said Pope Francis at a meeting on Italy's longtime decline in births and population growth on May 10. “The problem is not how many of us there are in the world, but what kind of world we are building.”
A federal appeals court May 8 ruled in favor of the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, protecting religious schools' freedom to hire schoolteachers who will uphold their religious beliefs.
Pope Francis today promulgated the decree, known as a “Bull of Indiction,” for the Jubilee Year 2025, which he will open in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 24, 2024, and close on Jan. 6, 2026.
While it is important to emphasize the transcendent source of human rights, it would be short-sighted for Christians to avoid reflecting on what may be leading some to conflate Christianity and Christian nationalism.
There’s also a lot of manipulation. And not every expression of support for the Palestinian people can be then condemned as antisemitism,” says David Neuhaus, S.J., “This is a very dangerous game.”
This year’s Met Gala (mostly) failed to push fashion boundaries—or imagine a more environmentally conscious future.
Around 200 parish priests met outside Rome last week for an official synod meeting after some members of the 2023 synod assembly said not enough parish priests had been included.
Pope Francis delivered his general audience today about the theological virtue of hope. Francis said that if Christians have hope for the future, it is because “Christ died and rose again and gave us His Spirit.”
May 12, 2024, the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord: This is a sacred image of church: All people understand each other through the Spirit, even if only for a brief moment.
It is easy to find flaws—big ones, even—in large social movements, but we would do well to remember why student protests against the war in Gaza are happening in the first place.
Although the Catholics invented the practice of excommunication to deal with severe sins, other religious groups have also adopted it for their own purposes.
John Cogley was once called “the most prominent American Roman Catholic journalist of his generation.” The onetime executive editor of Commonweal also played a key role in the election of J.F.K.
Catholic life in the United States is deeply rooted in the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. But that might not mean what you think it means.
Many professionals who care for strangers are not religious workers, but they play a pivotal role in reinforcing imago Dei, the notion that all people are made in the image of God.
Many professionals who care for strangers are not religious workers, but they play a pivotal role in reinforcing imago Dei, the notion that all people are made in the image of God.
Last week, which was among the most intense I have witnessed in ministry, we adored the blessed sacrament, gathered for our Masses, prayed our rosaries, made our confessions and broke bread in fellowship.
Last week, which was among the most intense I have witnessed in ministry, we adored the blessed sacrament, gathered for our Masses, prayed our rosaries, made our confessions and broke bread in fellowship.
In North Carolina, where abortion has been restricted to up to 12 weeks since the repeal of Roe v. Wade, maternity home services may prove vital for many young women who might otherwise be choosing to end their pregnancies.
A “chosen family” has its benefits, but it can also be a way of avoiding the accountability and personal growth found in long-term, committed, familial bonds.
The March of the Living memorial march at Auschwitz on Holocaust Remembrance Day took place amid the backdrop of pro-Palestinian protests and the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
The church helped me heal after my miscarriage. That’s what every grieving mother deserves.
Ron Hansen has written award-winning novels that have been turned into Hollywood hits. As an ordained deacon, he crafts equally compelling homilies.
Ron Hansen has written award-winning novels that have been turned into Hollywood hits. As an ordained deacon, he crafts equally compelling homilies.
The two high-profile Catholics are among a diverse group of 19 individuals to be honored by President Biden for making “exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States.”
Speaking May 3 on the need for holistic higher education, the pope said that some universities are “too liberal” and do not place enough emphasis on forming their students into whole people.
Manifesting techniques abound in the online world. But creators are conflating manifesting with prayer, especially in their love lives.
This week on Jesuitical, Zac and Ashley share their conversation with Cardinal Wilton Gregory—the archbishop of what he calls “the epicenter of division”—on the role of a church in a polarized society.
Aldous Huxley convinced me to try psychedelic drugs. Thomas Merton gave me a healthy suspicion of them.
Philomena’s faith doesn’t dismiss or excuse the church’s sins, but she has made peace with living in the tension.
More than 200 Catholic leaders, including Cardinal Robert McElroy, the archbishop of San Diego, and Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico, have called on President Biden to push for a cease-fire.
Some of the “made in the U.S.A.” bombs Israel Defense Forces are dropping over Gaza include 2,000-pound bombs that have been responsible for some of the most devastating—and questionable—strikes of the months-long campaign against Hamas.
Many Jesuits schools have recently been sites of passionate protest, peaceful activism and regrettably some incidents of anti-Semitism.
”The division and hatred that have been part of these protests and demonstrations do not come from the true God,” Father Roger L. Landry said.
“Surely, the divine way of seeing things will never be one of division, separation or the interruption of dialogue,” the pope told the heads of 32 churches in the Anglican Communion gathered in Rome.
In Venice, Pope Francis visits a Vatican-sponsored exhibition at a women’s prison, meets with inmates and presides at Mass.
Pope Francis wrote a letter of encouragement to parish priests, who were largely missing from the first synod session.
An immediate and permanent cease-fire would leave Hamas and its military capabilities in place in Gaza. In such a scenario, who will protect Israeli citizens from continued acts of terrorism?
Xavier University, a small Catholic and historically Black school in New Orleans, formally signed an agreement with Ochsner Health to establish a medical school.
May 5, 2024, Sixth Sunday of Easter: The trajectory of Peter’s lifelong conversion, as he follows the mission entrusted to him, is a constant reminder of the gift of God’s self-revelation to all peoples.
In some states, the thinking seems to be that the way to “solve” this problem is by weakening the laws. Catholics should resist those efforts.
Catholics in the United Kingdom that are part of the personal ordinariate have welcomed Pope Francis’ appointment of their first bishop–and the first ordinariate bishop to hail from their Anglican heritage.
The great enemy of faith is not intelligence, nor is it reason, as some continue obsessively to repeat, Pope Francis said in his general audience today. The great enemy of faith is fear.
James Hart "Hootie" McCown didn't just have an amazing nickname. He was one of Flannery O’Connor’s best friends and spiritual advisors.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in June 2022, overturning the Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion in 1973, has provoked supporters of abortion access in Europe to press for liberalization of abortion laws across the continent.
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, an Italian mountain climber, pipe smoker and friend to many, died of polio in 1925 at age 24. 100 years later, he still inspires us and, I believe, still serves alongside us.
Msgr. Salvador Rangel, a retired bishop who was famous for trying to mediate between drug cartels in Mexico, was located and taken to a hospital after apparently being briefly kidnapped.
In this article from 1979, a Jesuit priest recalls his friendship with Flannery O'Connor.
Regardless of what one thinks of the advisability of a pope known for his off-the-cuff remarks partaking in long interviews, the fact remains that Pope Francis is more willing than both candidates to sit down one-on-one in front of a camera.
Largely missing during October synod meetings, over 200 parish priests gather outside Rome for meetings
Eliminating a seminary diaconate is not only possible but necessary for envisioning a mature and fully formed diaconate for the future.
During his visit to Venice, Pope Francis encouraged young people to embrace their worth, urging care for one another's vulnerabilities and emphasizing the importance of remaining connected to God to bear fruits of justice, peace, and solidarity.
This week on “Preach,” the Rev. Peter Wojcik, the pastor of St. Clement Church in Chicago, Ill., preaches for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year B, and shares strategies for preaching to a parish of mostly young adults.
“His presence brings prestige to our nation and to the entire Group of 7. It is the first time that a pope will participate in the work of the G7,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said.
“His presence brings prestige to our nation and to the entire Group of 7. It is the first time that a pope will participate in the work of the G7,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said.
“Many conflicting, divergent and often contradictory views of the human person have found wide acceptance … they have led to holders of traditional theories being cancelled or even losing their jobs,” the bishops said.
“Many conflicting, divergent and often contradictory views of the human person have found wide acceptance … they have led to holders of traditional theories being cancelled or even losing their jobs,” the bishops said.
“Irena’s Vow” is true story of a Catholic nurse who used her position to shelter a dozen Jews in World War II-era Poland.
“Irena’s Vow” is true story of a Catholic nurse who used her position to shelter a dozen Jews in World War II-era Poland.
Few events inspire a media spectacle quite like the election of a pope. Zac and Ashley talk with church historian Miles Pattenden to learn how conclaves evolved—and how they might change in the future.
Few events inspire a media spectacle quite like the election of a pope. Zac and Ashley talk with church historian Miles Pattenden to learn how conclaves evolved—and how they might change in the future.
In “Hugo,” Scorsese’s only family-friendly feature to date, he reflects on how dreams give meaning to our lives and help us persevere through life’s hardships.
In “Hugo,” Scorsese’s only family-friendly feature to date, he reflects on how dreams give meaning to our lives and help us persevere through life’s hardships.
The Archdiocese of New Orleans had been ordered by a New Orleans criminal court to turn over records relating to a long-running criminal investigation involving multiple accused priests.
The Archdiocese of New Orleans had been ordered by a New Orleans criminal court to turn over records relating to a long-running criminal investigation involving multiple accused priests.
A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, by J.D. Long García
A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, by J.D. Long García
“Inside the Vatican” host Colleen Dulle shares how her visit to Argentina gave her a deeper understanding into Francis’ emphasis on “being amongst the people” and his belief that “you can’t do theology behind a desk.”
“Inside the Vatican” host Colleen Dulle shares how her visit to Argentina gave her a deeper understanding into Francis’ emphasis on “being amongst the people” and his belief that “you can’t do theology behind a desk.”
Christians who have lived in Nagorno-Karabakh for 2,000 years are being driven out by Azerbaijan. Will world leaders act?
Christians who have lived in Nagorno-Karabakh for 2,000 years are being driven out by Azerbaijan. Will world leaders act?
The problem is not that TikTok users feel disappointed about the potential loss of an entertaining social platform; it is that many young people see a ban on TikTok as the end of, or at least a major disruption to, their social life.
The problem is not that TikTok users feel disappointed about the potential loss of an entertaining social platform; it is that many young people see a ban on TikTok as the end of, or at least a major disruption to, their social life.
AI priest “Father Justin,” a chatbot used to answer questions about the Catholic faith, has been renamed “Justin” and swapped out his virtual clerics for a button-down shirt after facing backlash from online users just one day after launching.
AI priest “Father Justin,” a chatbot used to answer questions about the Catholic faith, has been renamed “Justin” and swapped out his virtual clerics for a button-down shirt after facing backlash from online users just one day after launching.
A portion of a new interview with Pope Francis will air tonight on the “CBS Evening News” at 6:30 p.m. Eastern, according to a release from the CBS News Communications office.
A portion of a new interview with Pope Francis will air tonight on the “CBS Evening News” at 6:30 p.m. Eastern, according to a release from the CBS News Communications office.
The reflections of Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., convinced me that Pope Francis' reframing of the scope and meaning of synods will have staying power, because it opens up a new model for the church.
The reflections of Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., convinced me that Pope Francis' reframing of the scope and meaning of synods will have staying power, because it opens up a new model for the church.
During his general audience, Pope Francis reminded his listeners of the importance of the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. Engaging the crowd by having them recite the virtues aloud, Francis said that theological virtues animate our everyday actions toward the good.
During his general audience, Pope Francis reminded his listeners of the importance of the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. Engaging the crowd by having them recite the virtues aloud, Francis said that theological virtues animate our everyday actions toward the good.
‘The Sound of Silence’ version of the ‘Our Father’ has been widespread throughout Latin America and U.S. Latino communities for the last few decades.
‘The Sound of Silence’ version of the ‘Our Father’ has been widespread throughout Latin America and U.S. Latino communities for the last few decades.
You always hope that your favorite artist’s best work is still ahead of them. But what goes up must come down.
You always hope that your favorite artist’s best work is still ahead of them. But what goes up must come down.
April 28, 2024, Fifth Sunday of Easter: The readings invite the faithful to pause this week and bring peace into the world through prayer and through intimacy with the Lord.
April 28, 2024, Fifth Sunday of Easter: The readings invite the faithful to pause this week and bring peace into the world through prayer and through intimacy with the Lord.
Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman,” which turns 75 this year, was a huge hit by any commercial or critical standard. In 1949, it pulled off an unprecedented trifecta, winning the New York Drama Circle Critics’ Award, the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. So attention must be paid!
Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman,” which turns 75 this year, was a huge hit by any commercial or critical standard. In 1949, it pulled off an unprecedented trifecta, winning the New York Drama Circle Critics’ Award, the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. So attention must be paid!
In Part II of his exclusive interview with Gerard O’Connell, the rector of the soon-to-be integrated Gregorian University describes his mission to educate seminarians who are ‘open to growth.’
In Part II of his exclusive interview with Gerard O’Connell, the rector of the soon-to-be integrated Gregorian University describes his mission to educate seminarians who are ‘open to growth.’
My recent visit to the Holy Land revealed fear and depression but also the grit and resilience of a people to whom the prophets preached and for whom Jesus wept.
My recent visit to the Holy Land revealed fear and depression but also the grit and resilience of a people to whom the prophets preached and for whom Jesus wept.
The Gregorian’s American-born rector, Mark Lewis, S.J., describes how three Jesuit academic institutes in Rome will be integrated to better serve a changing church.
The Gregorian’s American-born rector, Mark Lewis, S.J., describes how three Jesuit academic institutes in Rome will be integrated to better serve a changing church.
Speaking at a conference about the synod in Knock, County Mayo, Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the synod, said that “Fiducia Supplicans,” will not affect the forthcoming second session of the Synod on Synodality.
Speaking at a conference about the synod in Knock, County Mayo, Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the synod, said that “Fiducia Supplicans,” will not affect the forthcoming second session of the Synod on Synodality.
Speaking with Catholic News Service before formally taking possession of his titular church in Rome April 21, Cardinal Christophe Pierre described the reality of the church in the United States as a “paradox.”
Speaking with Catholic News Service before formally taking possession of his titular church in Rome April 21, Cardinal Christophe Pierre described the reality of the church in the United States as a “paradox.”
Listen to Gemma’s homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year B, in which she explains how her experience of poverty in Brazil gave radical significance to Christ’s words: “Make your home in me as I make mine in you.”
Listen to Gemma’s homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year B, in which she explains how her experience of poverty in Brazil gave radical significance to Christ’s words: “Make your home in me as I make mine in you.”
Bernardo Arévalo campaigned on an anti-graft agenda in a contest that many in Guatemala had assumed was rigged from the start against insurgent candidacies.
In an email, the East Texas bishop told RNS that he ‘cannot voluntarily abandon the flock that I have been given charge of as a successor of the apostles.’
September 17, 2023, Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Our readings this Sunday help us to pray about our own scale of forgiveness. We are asked to move past our limitations and these poetic lines help us to memorize the lesson.
It was touted as a sedative with no hangover. It was hailed as non-addictive. It was rumored to present no side effects. It was trumpeted in medical journal ads as “astonishingly safe” and “completely non-poisonous.”
So many people complain and say that everything is going wrong. But that’s not what the Christian is called to do; instead, he is called to deal with it, to get his or her hands dirty.
A Reflection for the Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, bishop and doctor of the church, by James T. Keane
The sale of 272 enslaved persons by the Jesuits in 1838 helped provide financing for the struggling Georgetown University.
To be the writerly son of a writerly father is not always the easiest vocation. When that parent is as famous as Andre Dubus, it must be doubly difficult. But who knows: Maybe it can make for great art? One might ask Andre Dubus III.
When we see a spectacular athlete praying in public, we can see her as a sort of athletic Christian soldier, a “counternarrative” to a godless culture or shallow world—and miss the simple, moving experience of the athlete, who is Christian, who is praying.
Pope Francis announced several times that he hoped Cardinal Zuppi would go to Beijing on a peace mission, but it has taken a long time for the Chinese to agree to accept him.
Neighbor before house, the house is gone. Neighbor before house, here is some food we managed to find. Neighbor before house, at least we have each other.
The grisly killing of a seminarian highlights the violent persecution Christians have faced in Nigeria and around the world.
Mykhaylo Podolyak, a top adviser to President Zelenskyy, said that “it doesn’t make sense to speak of Pope Francis as a mediator, if he takes on a Russophile position that is obvious to all.”
Father Martin Lintner, whom the Vatican rejected after he was elected dean of his theological college, speaks to America about the tensions between the Vatican and theologians and his hopes for change.
The Ulma beatification poses several new theological concepts about the Catholic Church’s ideas of saints and martyrs that have implications for the anti-abortion movement because of the baby in the mother’s womb.
Preachers and those in ministry confront a common dilemma: “We never live up to what we want to be,” says Patricia Bruno, O.P. “However, I think the preaching helps direct our own lives,” she adds. “It’s hard to say something in public that you don’t really believe.”
Boston College and Holy Cross have battled it out on the gridiron 83 times. Tomorrow's matchup should add another chapter to this storied (and only recently renewed) rivalry.
The caricatured or fetishized images of sisters we often see in movies are a far cry from the real sisters I, and probably you, have known.
Any limitations and rules regarding media access and communications during the upcoming Synod of Bishops are rooted in the “essence” of a synod, said the head of the synod’s communication committee.
Cardinal Dolan said that in remembering the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Americans should also reflect on Sept. 12, 2001, when Americans came together to console and recover.
I may never hear my uncle Robert’s voice again, but if I want to know he’s still with me, I just need to listen to the music play.
“This is what the pope is asking of us,” Cardinal-designate Christophe Pierre said. “We are not only defenders of ideas, because if I defend only one idea, whoever disagrees with me becomes my enemy.”
A Reflection for the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by Sam Sawyer, S.J.
On the premier of Jesuitical’s seventh season, Zac and Ashley talk with friend and colleague James Martin, S.J., a about his brand new book, ‘Come Forth: The Promise of Jesus's Greatest Miracle.’
On the premiere episode of this sixth season of “Inside the Vatican”Gerry and Colleen analyze the pope’s trip to the world’s most sparsely-populated country and the message he sought to deliver there.
Presidential candidate Javier Milei has called Pope Francis an “imbecile who defends social justice,” “leftist son of a b* preaching communism,” and “the representative of the evil one.”
The Mexican Supreme Court has expanded its pro-choice stance as women can now access abortions without criminal penalties on the national level.
The action of the Holy Spirit is in our world is utterly unsettling and transformative.
A key document listing the names of 3,600 people who were allegedly sheltered by Catholic religious orders in Rome during the Nazis’ occupation of the city has been rediscovered, after having been considered lost.
September 10, 2023, Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time: This Sunday’s readings highlight the role of the church’s public voice as it speaks to maintain internal cohesion.
Pope Francis summarizes his trip to Mongolia and thanks Mongolian Catholics for their generous hospitality.
Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, an influential figure in Democratic politics who was also U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and energy secretary in the Clinton administration, died on Sept. 1.
Following the tragedy, the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference issued a statement that decried those who “unscrupulously exploit the homeless and the poor.”
Jimmy Buffett was noted for his many silly pop songs in obituaries after his death on Sept. 1. But his music wasn't always just a matter of rum and flip-flops.
The Ukrainian bishops did not hold back during a nearly two-hour private audience with the pope.
A Reflection for Wednesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary TIme, by Michael Simone, S.J.
Howard University celebrated the blessing and dedication of its Sister Thea Bowman Catholic Student Center on Aug. 28.
Pope Francis mentioned Teilhard de Chardin, S.J., at the close of his Mass in Ulaanbaatar on Sunday. Might this mean the great priest-paleontologist is finally being recognized by the Vatican for his genius?
The 30-year-old priest flew to Italy with an unnamed 18-year-old woman who is a recent graduate of McGill-Toolen Catholic High School in Mobile, which Father Crow also attended.
Given that China has impacted in a highly significant way on Pope Francis’ visit to Mongolia, he was asked about the current state of Sino-Vatican relations in the light of Beijing’s prohibiting all Chinese bishops and the faithful from going to Mongolia for the pope’s visit.
Since the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis has constantly looked to the peripheries both in the choice of countries to visit and men to make cardinals.. And he has consistently looked to the East where he detects the first signs of a new springtime for the Catholic Church
Among the hundreds of onlookers from several countries at the back of the square were many Catholics from mainland China, present in defiance of an order from the authorities in Beijing prohibiting not only the bishops of mainland China but also the country’s Catholics from traveling to Mongolia.
Without daily prayer and respect for the structure and unity of the church, “our strength will fail, and our pastoral work will risk becoming an empty delivery of services, a roster of duties that end up inducing only weariness and frustration,” Pope Francis said in Ulaanbaatar on Sept. 2.
“Dear, Alana” chronicles Ms. Chen’s involvement in her Boulder, Colo., Catholic community—and with therapy that seemed to use some ideas common in conversion therapy.
The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ domestic policy committee said the nation has “urgent work” to do to really show a “radical solidarity with working families.”
Pilgrims take the 500-mile Camino de Santiago pondering deeply personal questions, seeking insight through the journey or simply wanting time to reflect and encounter God. With Sister Katherine, they are able to talk through their experience and its unique lessons.
The mystery of God constantly surrounds us. How do we imagine God at work in our lives?
“Harlan County, USA” is an incredible piece of documentary filmmaking because it’s also an amazing portrait of courage and solidarity.
The ‘wokeism’ crisis in public education is a historic opportunity for Catholic schools.
While 2022 saw a record number of people leaving the church in Germany, Catholic dioceses in the country simultaneously saw an influx in baptism and marriage ceremonies.
For nearly 30 years, Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania have approved millions of taxpayer dollars for an anti-abortion program.
Onboard his flight to Mongolia, Pope Francis said he knew some people were upset by the remarks, but the church must keep moving forward. “They got angry, but let’s move on, move on.”
The comedian's headlining with Seinfeld speaks to his growing reputation as one of the fundamental voices of American humor.
Pope Francis has a problem with American Catholic ideologues. Maybe he’s talking about you.
No bishop from mainland China has been allowed to travel to Mongolia as Pope Francis makes the first-ever visit by the leader of the Catholic Church to this vast landlocked country sandwiched between China and Russia.
The activists could spend up to 11 years in prison for conspiring to enact a blockade at a Washington abortion clinic in 2020.
A Reflection for Thursday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time, by Christine Lenahan
The kind of diversity sought after at a hospital, an engineering firm or a Catholic university should differ according to the gifts necessary for the mission of such institutions.
A judge ruled Wednesday that a 93-year-old former Roman Catholic cardinal is not competent to stand trial after both prosecutors and defense attorneys determined he suffers from dementia.
September 3, 2023, Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time: In Scripture, a vocation to serve God is rarely a smooth path forward. Today’s readings reflect the frustrations that sometimes come with answering God’s call.
A Reflection for Wednesday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time, by Michael O’Brien
Pope Francis’ weekly address calls believers to bear our daily crosses with patience and hope in the example of St. Káteri Tekakwitha, the first native North American woman to be canonized.
Pope Francis' notable encyclical, “Laudato Si,” will be getting an update in the coming weeks “to address current problems” with the environment.
Those Jesuits who remain, he said, now face the “fundamental concern” of expulsion or detention if relations between the Society of Jesus and the government of former Sandinista comandante President Daniel Ortega and his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo, grow any worse.
Saint Augustine still captures our imaginations 16 centuries after he lived. What is it about this theologian, philosopher, preacher and memoirist that makes him such a perennial favorite?
The head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church said Ukrainians were shocked when Pope Francis told Russian Catholic youths to be proud of their heritage and cited two historic Russian leaders that, the archbishop said, are “the worst example of imperialism and extreme Russian nationalism.”
Pope Francis will visit Mongolia’s 1,400 Catholics from Aug. 31 to Sept. 4. What do they expect from the pope's visit?
To provide quality formation—human, academic, spiritual and pastoral—to our future priests is a sacred duty. We would be able to do this better if we had fewer seminaries, all of them excellent ones.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan celebrated Mass at St Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh, Ireland, marking both the church's 150th anniversary and relaying the importance of Irish Catholics in Dolan's own archdiocese of New York.
Pope Francis commented that the situation in the Catholic Church in the United States is “not easy,” where “there is a very strong reactionary attitude” that “is organized and shapes the way people belong, even emotionally.”
In persecuting the Catholic Church and expelling the Society of Jesus, Daniel Ortega is carrying on this terrible legacy. But will it work?
On this week’s episode of “Preach,” Jude Siciliano, OP, shares with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., his top tips for preaching and what women preachers have taught him about the craft.
When Notre Dame meets Navy in a football game in Dublin tomorrow, it will give us all a chance to remember that old Irish adage: "There is no strength without unity."
Just three of the top nine Republican candidates have said they would sign a federal abortion limit sought by a prominent pro-life group.
Bishop Barron may be correct that the church has become intellectually weaker, but the way to truth is to continue inviting the voices of those who have been marginalized in the past.
Magisterium AI uses artificial intelligence technology to provide information for users on everything relating to Catholic doctrine, teachings and Canon law.
A father is suing for damages for the nervous shock he suffered when he learned of allegations his son had been abused.
In Anne Hathaway’s Kym, we see the hard truth about forgiveness: sometimes we have the most difficulty forgiving ourselves or seeking forgiveness from those who love us most.
The church, while not taking sides in the political contests, went all in on the referendums to stop drilling on oil Block 43 inside the Yasuní and to end mining in the Chocó Andino, a highland biosphere near the capital.
Tensions rise between Carmelite nuns and Fort Worth Bishop Michael F. Olson over the nuns' acceptance of Olson's authority.
The latest moves by the Ortega regime came close to a direct expulsion of the Jesuits without actually stepping over that line, according to an expert on Latin American revolutions.
August 27, 2023, Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time: This Sunday’s readings reflect on the need for genuine “servants of the Lord” in positions of authority, and they warn inadequate leaders that their time will be short.
Pope Francis has announced a commission to identify new martyrs, and in its latest report, Open Doors International has identified 76 countries where Christians suffer “high and extreme levels of persecution.”
Francis' weekly address calls believers to draw from Our Lady of Guadalupe to evangelize with courage given from the Mother.
An archaeological team found “no conclusive evidence” of human remains at the former site of Pine Creek Residential School in Camperville, Manitoba, Canada.
A sheriff said Tuesday that authorities have subpoenaed phone records of an Alabama priest and an 18-year-old woman—who fled to Europe together—to see if there is evidence of an illegal relationship when she was a student.
“I think that she’s a great example of someone who used her beliefs and used her ability to make a change in the world,” one student said. “And I think that a lot of Gen Z [is] looking for ways to do that."
A Reflection for Wednesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time, by Michael J. O’Loughlin
Cardinal Raymond Burke has written in the preface to a new book that Pope Francis is risking confusion and even schism in leading the upcoming Synod on Synodality in Rome.
The dog days of August are also the first week of school for millions of students, parents and teachers. Want some advice on how to handle it? Generations of America contributors have had thoughts on the subject.
In Montgomery County, Md., Muslim parents have been protesting a sex-ed curriculum they say is insensitive to religious belief. Is this local battle a warning sign for Democrats nationally?
Dorothy Day had a very realistic picture of the Catholic Church, the pope said. “To her the church frequently seemed to be on the side of the rich and the property owners, and often unaware of the need for real social justice.”
A Reflection for the Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by Kerry Weber
Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco announced Aug. 21 the archdiocese has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization “to facilitate settlements” with survivors of clergy abuse.
Nicaraguan officials ratcheted up a harassment campaign targeting Jesuits in Managua over the weekend.
Since this synod was announced in 2021, I have worked with the Seattle chancery as a synod volunteer and responded to the call for dialogue by personally talking with 100 people who were baptized and are now non-practicing.
“I am writing a second part to Laudato Si’ to update it on current problems,” Pope Francis told the lawyers Aug. 21 during a meeting in the library of the Apostolic Palace.
Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki commented, “To some, the consumption of pornography may seem harmless. But I agree with Pope Francis, who condemns it and warns of its dangers, especially the violation of human dignity.”
Retired Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of Albany, whose request to be returned to the lay state was rejected by the Vatican, has been hospitalized at Albany Medical Center after suffering a major stroke this week.
‘The Exorcist’ has popularized a trivial, superficial picture of the Christian understanding of evil.
In the year following Dobbs, accurate reporting on any story even remotely tangential to abortion is not to be expected.
“Frances Ha” allows us to see Frances the way God might see her. We see her flaws, but we also see how hard she’s trying.
Muslims in eastern Pakistan went on a rampage Wednesday over allegations that a Christian man had desecrated the Quran, demolishing the man’s house, burning churches and damaging several other homes.
The newest book by James Martin, S.J., inspires us to ask: Do you believe that Jesus can give you new life?
in 'Fireworks Every Night,' the debut novel by Beth Raymer, is an ode to Florida—to the rattlesnakes, the humid heat and the Palm Beach pretensions of those who out of necessity live a life apart from that glitz and glamor.
Jonathan Eig’s new biography, 'King: A Life,' is the first major biography of Martin Luther King Jr. in decades and will take its place among the foremost of the many treatments of King.
Henri Nouwen’s observations in 'Ukraine Diary' are even more relevant today than they were at the time of his writing, offering valuable insight into the ongoing tragedy of the war in Ukraine.
Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan reviews Msgr. Thomas Shelley's 'John Tracy Ellis: An American Catholic Reformer,' calling it "a well-documented yet very readable biography of the 'dean' of American Catholic history."
Mr. Keating and his real-life counterparts now dominate secondary and post secondary education. That’s a problem.
In 1960, three young men graduated from Fordham Preparatory School and set out on paths that would painfully clash as the Vietnam War unfolded.
Gustavo Gutiérrez’s 'A Theology of Liberation' was first published in English 50 years ago. That first edition served as a primary introduction to a new way of doing theology and becoming church with the poor and insignificant.
Schools face changing realities, including geographic population shifts, questions about affordability and a generation of parents who are less likely to participate in Catholic life than their parents or grandparents were.
The Holy Spirit’s work in the world is to orient and nurture creation continually toward the God of life and beauty.
In her feature, Eve Tushnet describes a curriculum she is creating to welcome young L.G.B.T. Catholics. The article elicited numerous responses from our readers.
The president of the March for Life said in the group “is encouraged by the 5th Circuit’s acknowledgment of the FDA’s reckless decision to lift critical safeguards related to the administration of powerful drugs used in chemical abortion.”
Oklahoma has approved public funding for what would be the nation’s first Catholic charter school. What could be the trade-offs in terms of autonomy and religious freedom?
An Alabama priest disgraced after abandoning his parish to travel to Italy with an 18-year-old woman described himself as “married” to her in a Valentine’s Day letter.
A Nicaraguan judge described the Jesuit university as a “center of terrorism,” accusing its administrators and educators of “betraying the trust of the Nicaraguan people” and of “transgressing against the constitutional order.”
While narrow nationalism fanned the fires of war, Father Willie Doyle, a chaplain in the First World War, often paid as much attention to wounded German soldiers as he did to those on his own side.
August 20, 2023, Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time: This Sunday’s readings highlight the tension between inclusivity and exclusivity, but the readings also trend in one hopeful direction upon closer inspection.
“For us, it’s like a miracle,” Msgr. Terrence Watanabe said about Maria Lanakila Catholic Church in the town of Lahaina being seemingly untouched by the fierce Maui wildfires.
Notre Dame professor Robert Schmuhl said the Georgia indictment “reads like a who’s who of Trump loyalists—and lawyers—at the center of the alleged attempt to change the outcome of Georgia’s presidential vote count in 2020.”
Over 27 years beginning in 1947, Moira Walsh wrote over 750 movie reviews for America—each one possessed of an invincible authorial voice and informed by an encyclopedic knowledge of film history.
“She was so inspiring, but she was also so human. She’d get herself in trouble, and she knew it,” co-director Nicole Bernardi-Reis said of Sister María Rosa Leggol in an interview with America.
It may appear strange that a Catholic moral theologian (me) would interact with an atheist philosopher who has consistently rejected the sanctity of human life while demanding we respect the lives of nonhuman animals.
Jim remembered everyone—even my mother whom he had never met or spoken with. A special occasion would not go by without a phone call or a handwritten note from Jim.
“Praise increases joy. Praise is like a ladder: it leads hearts upward,” Pope Francis said. “Praise elevates souls and defeats the temptation to give up.”
Latino participation is important: Recent polling data suggests that more than half of U.S. Catholics under 30 are Latino. Overall, Latinos make up more than 40 percent of Catholics in the United States.
A prison warden in Mississippi hired nearly a dozen released model inmates to work as chaplains, counselors and teachers. Other prisons can follow suit—and Christian ministries can help.
Parsing the numbers and understanding the implications can be challenging. Are we learning anything new?
Sadly, the church of El Salvador can offer any number of priests, men and women religious and lay people to choose from to hold up as modern exemplars of Christian self-sacrifice.
By revisiting the various moments of grace from World Youth Day, we might identify some ways we still need to walk together if we are to make effective the pope’s call for a church that is “for all.”
The whole dynamic of hearing confessions in prison is incredible. I use this awesome role of confessor to encourage them to foster the spark of God’s love for them, not to waste it.
Nicaragua appears to have frozen the bank accounts of the country's Jesuit university, marking yet another attack on the Catholic Church.
‘How can we put our woundedness in the service of others?’ This film provides one answer.
On this special summer episode of “Inside the Vatican,” America editors Ricardo da Silva, S.J. and Gerard O’Connell recap World Youth Day.
A Reflection for Friday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Samantha Richardson
Wildfires raged on the island of Maui, wiping out an entire town and driving people to seek refuge in the ocean.
The Green Deal amends the European Union’s climate, energy, transport and taxation policies with the short term goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030.
A rule proposed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Aug. 7 governing the implementation of the law contains broad language including abortion among "related medical conditions."
Controversy and deep division continue in an Indian archdiocese over the direction the priest faces during the celebration of the liturgy.
Bishop Valério’s nomination came as a surprise to many since Pope Francis had named Américo Manuel Alves Aguiar, auxiliary bishop of Lisbon, a cardinal on July 9. It had been wrongly presumed then that the pope would appoint the cardinal-elect as the new patriarch after the World Youth Day celebrations.
August 13, 2023, Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Sunday’s readings highlight two servants of the Lord from different eras. One runs away from his ministry as prophet, while the other sinks before his own identity. But when each one calls for help God listens.
We must become a church that accompanies its people and is attuned to their hopes, doubts and lived experiences.
In his weekly audience, Pope Francis shares his experiences at World Youth Day in Portugal and what they reveal about today’s young people.
Why don't we have fallout shelters anymore? It’s a long story, but an editor at America had something to do with it.
“I’m an African American woman in a space that is doing the kind of work that…Christ is calling us to do,” Cynthia Bailey Manns, who will participate in the Synod on Synodality as a voting member in October, said in an interview.
Signaling the Vatican’s growing engagement in efforts to ensure the ethical development of new technologies, the Vatican has announced that “Artificial Intelligence and Peace” will be the theme for the next World Day of Peace.
World Youth Day is known as an event that can and does change lives, but when a teenager said she has regained her sight during the Portuguese youth fair, it electrified both Portugal and Spain on Aug. 6.
“I have had two [face-to-face] meetings with Pope Francis, and other members of the government have met him, too,” Ukraine’s President Zelensky said in an interview. “I am most grateful to him for these encounters. He is helping us!”
Nearly everything Pope Benedict ever wrote or said in public was visibly animated by a concern to encourage—and to answer—the honest existential questions that young people are brave enough to raise.
Every week the editors of America Media highlight a piece of content that we believe is worth your engagement in this busy media environment.
A Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization could be an inevitability for the Archdiocese of San Francisco, according to a statement released Aug. 4 by Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone.
Rev. Brian Ching, C.S.C., shares with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., how knowledge of the Scripture, the life of faith and knowledge of the people in the pews is central to a good harmony.
After a five-day trip to Portugal, which recently came to terms with its own clerical sex abuse crisis, Pope Francis said the Catholic Church must abandon its practice of covering up abuse and instead be "very open" about how it is confronting the crime.
In his homily for the closing Mass at World Youth Day, Pope Francis preached on The Transfiguration and its lessons for young people. He also announced that there will be a Jubilee for young people in Rome in 2025 and that the next World Youth Day will be held in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, in 2027.
Though he did not mention Ukraine specifically, Pope Francis used his visit today to the Fátima shrine in Portugal to pray for peace.
Pope Francis preaches on Jesus’ love and desires for us at the Way of the Cross at World Youth Day.
When the Jesuits in Portugal were entrusted with planning the Way of the Cross, they knew it needed to be quite different from any previous prayer service.
With 'The Sparrow,' Mary Doria Russell imagines an alien world in intimate and fascinating detail—and then sends along some humans with deep questions about faith, God and the universe.
Christians can play a special role in the renewal of our politics. Because we know that the truth is not only real, but a person.
On Aug. 6, we wrestle with the dramatic extremes of good and evil, as symbolized by the ancient glory of the Transfiguration and the utter destruction of that first atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
America editor Ricardo da Silva, S.J., and Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell report from Lisbon on the opening of World Youth Day in this special episode of "Inside the Vatican."
Justice Minister Carlo Nordio on Wednesday signed off on the request to extradite the Rev. Franco Reverberi, an 85-year-old priest who served as military chaplain during Argentina’s 1976-1983 military dictatorship.
Pope Francis told some 500,000 singing, shouting and swaying young people that God has called each person to him by name, not their social media handle.
In his first and best known film, Pee-wee Herman approaches the world, and others, with simple joy and trust.
“This old man now speaking to you also dreams that yours will become a generation of teachers! Teachers of humanity. Teachers of compassion....Teachers of hope."
America's editors on some books that might catch our readers' fancy in these final weeks of summer.
Catholic social teaching is clear on the best tool to promote a just wage: organized labor.
August 6, 2023, Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord: The power of this scene is not the vision of Jesus transfigured, but the healing touch Jesus offers to his beloved disciples.
Pope Francis addressed Portuguese bishops, priests, religious and pastoral workers after praying vespers at the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon Aug. 2, the first day of his trip to Portugal.
A Reflection for Wednesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time, by J.D. Long-García
On his arrival in Lisbon for World Youth Day, Aug. 2, Pope Francis issued a heartfelt plea for peace.
On the feast of St. Ignatius Loyola, Arturo Sosa, S.J, the superior general of the order, had a candid conversation with six young pilgrims representing diverse continents and socio-economic backgrounds.
I spoke with friends who work with young people, and young people themselves, to get the hardest questions about God and religion.
Robert Schmuhl, professor emeritus of American studies at the University of Notre Dame, said that “as indictments and court cases against former President Trump increase, he becomes stronger with his supporters.”
An 84-year-old retired bishop of Albany, who has been accused of sexual abuse and has unsuccessfully sought to be removed from the priesthood, said Tuesday he recently married a woman in a civil ceremony.
Republican presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida traded barbs with a national pro-life group July 31 over comments he made on enacting abortion policy at the federal level.
When is the first time you pray during the day? For me, if it’s not when I wake up in the morning, it is at the beginning of my workday, with all my coworkers.
Ten years ago on the flight back from his first World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, Pope Francis spoke these five simple words that reverberated around the world: “Who am I to judge?”
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed into law a bill moving the official observance of Christmas Day to Dec. 25 from Jan. 7, when Moscow and the Russian Orthodox Church mark the holiday.
A young Alabama Catholic priest placed under restriction by the Archdiocese of Mobile July 26, has been located in Italy, along with an 18-year-old woman with whom he had fled the country days earlier.
Pope Francis is embarking this week on a five-day trip to Portugal for World Youth Day. The big Catholic rally is aimed at galvanizing the young generations in their faith.
Neither Barbie nor Oppenheimer directly apologizes or asks for forgiveness, and neither can truly dismantle the damage they have done.
"“What's happening today in American society is the label of Christian is being applied to forces that are really deeply unchristian," Father Walter Modrys, S.J. shares with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J. on Preach.
Sinéad O'Connor, who was found dead in London on July 26, thwarted any attempt throughout her life to extinguish her creativity or her output.
Sarah Sze’s art, now on display at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, prompts me to reflect on how God’s loving presence hums in the background of our lives.
Whether we think “they should get jobs” or “the government should take care of them,” too often we regard the poor dispassionately. The story of the good Samaritan is a better place to start.
The Mobile County District Attorney’s office is asking the public for information about a young Alabama Catholic priest who was publicly placed under restriction by the Mobile Archdiocese for walking away from his parish and reportedly leaving the country with a recent Catholic high school graduate for an exorcism.
Vietnam has formally agreed to let a Vatican representative live in the country and open an office. The Holy See announced the conclusion of an agreement during a visit to the Vatican by Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong, who met with Pope Francis.
Falling marriage rates across the globe threaten vulnerable women and children. The Catholic Church can help if we put aside political idolatry and work as different members of the same body of Christ.
Given his own frailties, the last place the pope should have visited is South Sudan, but he put us at the center of the world.
Carl Lentz ultimately was not disgraced by his deceptions, sexual affairs and banishment from the pulpit of the megawatt Pentecostal church: He was re-graced.
A Reflection for the Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Ashley McKinless
World Youth Day is about believing that the experience will make a difference in the lives of young people and on their relationship with God.
A proposal to make "the 12th" an all-Ireland holiday has not been not met with a warm reception. A former government minister described the popular response as “a mixture of diatribe and incredulity.”
Pope Francis is making a five-day visit next week to Portugal, where a scandal that erupted earlier this year over Catholic Church sex abuse is still simmering.
Representatives of the Roman Curia and the German bishops’ conference discussed theological and disciplinary issues related to the German church’s Synodal Path in a “positive and constructive climate” during a meeting at the Vatican July 26.
July 30, 2023, Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: This Sunday’s readings provide a reflection on the risk involved in building a life on shifting and contingent foundations.
A Reflection for the Memorial of Sts. Joachim and Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by Laura Oldfather
Unlike most defendants, Cardinal Becciu has attended nearly every hearing in the two-year trial and made several spontaneous declarations to the court.
A new movie treats the life of Robert Oppenheimer, the "father of the atomic bomb"—and someone whose exploits and commentaries received much treatment in 'America' over the years.
But unlike baseball’s haphazard attempts to “improve” the game, the church must prayerfully discern its next steps. There is so much more at stake.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced July 24 that more than 28,600 individuals, most between the ages of 18 and 25, and over 60 U.S bishops will be on hand for the Aug. 1-6 gathering.
Pittsburgh Bishop David A. Zubik has been meeting with people in the LGBTQ+ community following a canceled June “Pride Mass” at a Catholic university, saying he hopes “to pave a path for LGBTQ people to feel and be more welcomed” in the church.
The more women learn about their bodies and experience the direct impact of hormonal contraception, the more this growing minority looks for alternatives.
Greta Gerwig has made a movie as layered and paradoxical as the reputation of Barbie itself.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See said the onslaught of attacks on Odesa and several surrounding cities shows that Russia’s actions are no different than the actions of a terrorist organization.
The Jesuits say a famous artist priest has been definitively expelled from the religious order for sexually, spiritually and psychologically abusing women.
On this episode of Preach, Kayla August, our first woman preacher on the show, shares with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., her passion for preaching and the unique gifts and insights of lay preachers in the church.
Pope Francis greeted the pilgrims gathered in Lisbon for the opening of MAGIS 2023, imploring them to “truly believe and become what they are: ‘A future full of hope.’”
“Oppenheimer” is both a startling re-examination of American history and a bleak warning about the nuclear age.
The Jesuits will begin their pre-World Youth Day program this Saturday with the start of MAGIS 2023, which will bring about 2,000 young people from 82 countries connected with the Society of Jesus to Lisbon.
There is much to hope for in the U.S. bishops’ project of local and national revitalization. But there cannot be a full-fledged eucharistic revival without a precious blood revival.
“The Bear” appears as a series about cooking and restaurant ownership, but really it is a show about grief, growth and community. The power of its Catholic allusions lies within both their cultural depth and their symbolic weight.
A Reflection for Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Cecilia González-Andrieu
In an email exchange between a Texas state trooper and his supervisor, the trooper reported receiving orders in encounters with migrating people that he called “inhumane.”
It would have been nice if someone had told me how to go about learning to love God. Because I have discovered that, for most people, it is something that they have to learn.
Natural family planning rebuts the basic assumptions of the sexual revolution and the idea that sex is primarily a recreational activity, “safe” between any two people with the proper pills.
With tourism reaching or surpassing pre-pandemic levels across southern Europe this summer, iconic sacred sites struggle to find ways to accommodate both the faithful who come to pray and millions of increasingly secular visitors.
I may not have wanted to talk to my family or friends about Judy Blume’s book, ‘Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.’ But I did talk to God.
July 23, 2023, Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Sunday’s readings suggest that the kingdom of heaven relies entirely on God’s initiative. The manner in which we respond to this reality reveals how much we trust in this God who sustains our repentance and prayer.
Many Catholic colleges are facing an existential crisis. The prudent strategy is to identify what makes them distinctive and seek a niche where they can flourish.
The top priority for Pope Francis' peace envoy in his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden was the repatriation of children forcibly deported from Ukraine to Russia, the papal nuncio to the United States said.
I don’t really think R.F.K. will win the election, but I think this election will be marked by historic levels of incoherence and incongruence, and motivated chiefly by exhaustion and fear.
What obligation does the United States still owe these Christians and other Iraqi religious minorities? What is it willing to do to assist and protect them?
When we think of science fiction, lasers and aliens might come to mind first—but it is also a genre in which religious imagination plays a role.
Keep finding God in all things. We remain mindful that it is a privilege for all of us at America to help you do that.
Treated to songs, gifts and a paper medallion designating him ‘hero,’ Pope Francis visited children attending a summer camp at the Vatican.
The young cardinal in charge of Mongolia’s tiny Catholic community says Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to a country with just 1,450 Catholics is evidence that his “heart burns with love for the universal church.”
It is too early to predict the outcome of the next conclave, but Pope Francis has set the stage through his appointments.
We as audiences might not have the power to shape the actions of those we admire. But we do have the capacity to demand more from their attempts to address their shortcomings publicly.
Why has Pope Francis decided to recognize a bishop installed by Chinese authorities—in violation of the historic Sino-Vatican agreement—more than three months after he was appointed to China’s largest diocese?
Pope Francis’ peace envoy was traveling to Washington on Monday as part of the Holy See’s peace initiatives for Ukraine, hoping to support humanitarian operations especially concerning children, the Vatican said Monday.
“The Second Vatican Council has given all the elements; there is no new element given by us. Everything which is there is in the council," Cardinal Hollerich shared in the second part of this exclusive interview.
The mystics and the wilderness teach the same thing: forsake the illusion of control, pay attention to where you are, abandon yourself to the divine.
Days after his appointment by Pope Francis, OSV News spoke with Cardinal-designate Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the U.S., who shared his thoughts on his new role, the Synod on Synodality, and why both the synod and the National Eucharistic Revival are “just the beginning” of a fresh encounter with Jesus Christ.
When the church allowed meat on Fridays, the intent was not to end the call for penance. Friday penance outside of Lent can now have a more personal nature, drawing each of us closer to God.
We asked readers to share stories of surprising moments of faith in no more than 100 words. In these (very) short essays, they explain how they faced these struggles with the help of God.
A new Netflix series about the Tour de France highlights the human dramas behind the race.
A Reflection for Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Samantha Richardson
In ‘The Miracle Club,’ Maggie Smith and Kathy Bates do not expect quick cures at Lourdes, and viewers should not expect a perfect film. But there are some surprises among the clichés.
As the film’s opening song tells us, life is a circle. We are born, we live, we die; our story ends, and others go on.
This man has seen the Ark of the Covenant melt faces and the Holy Grail grant eternal life. Wouldn’t that convert even the most ardent atheist?
Pope tells Cardinal-elect Ángel Artime that he can remain head of the Salesian order until July 31, 2024, when he will give him a new role in the church.
In this exclusive interview, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich speaks about the synod of bishops on synodality that will open in the Vatican on Oct. 4, at which for the first time women will participate as full members with the right to vote.
Nicaraguans overwhelmingly disapprove of the conviction and imprisonment of Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa, according to a survey in the increasingly repressing Central American country, where the Sandinista regime continues cracking down on the Catholic Church.
Dorothy Day synthesized seemingly contradictory values with insight and nuance. Perhaps the most perplexing of her beliefs were those on sexuality and romantic love.
Catholic universities must not recoil from the daunting risks of artificial intelligence but become proactively involved in its ethical development, said the head of the Dicastery for Culture and Education.
Merzouk’s killing blew the lid off years of simmering resentment because of the police treatment of black and Arab youth, the ghettoization of immigrants and their descendants and the general hopelessness among black and Arab youth who feel like second-class citizens in France.
July 16, 2023, Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: When the Bible evokes resilience, it is tied to the virtue of long-suffering and the ability to remain faithful to a covenant with God over a long period of time.
According to a new report from Fidelity Charitable, Catholic organizations, including dioceses as well as human services organizations with church ties, continue to rank among the top beneficiaries of support in many U.S. cities.
The Rev. James Martin, an advocate for LGBTQ inclusion in the church, has been tapped by Pope Francis to attend the synod.
In ‘The Miracle Club,’ Thaddeus O’Sullivan is unafraid to explore more serious topics, such as abortion and suicide, and to reckon with the lingering effects of communal grief.
The U.S. bishops recently approved plans for a synodal church with vibrant parish communities that include Hispanic/Latino Catholics. All Catholics are invited to participate, and all will benefit.
Taking liberties with the wording of magisterial teachings or the wording of the liturgy is an extremely dangerous and self-serving exercise in terms of the church’s belief.
Hong Kong’s newly named Roman Catholic cardinal said that he hopes for reconciliation and wants the city to give young people more hope following the economic downturn and a campaign to crush a pro-democracy movement.
The basic question centers on whether the present military conflict in Sudan will metastasize into a protracted, all-out civil war as both generals repeat in their own ways the atrocities begun by Mr. al-Bashir years ago in Darfur.
Mary Stommes, who marked her last day as editor of monthly publication Give Us This Day on June 29, discusses her journey with Liturgical Press and the significance of daily prayer.
In two recent cases, the Supreme Court seemed to protect religious belief, but in saying that a website developer cannot be compelled to endorse same-sex marriage, it relied on free speech principles.
An Argentine archbishop chosen by Pope Francis to head the Vatican office that ensures doctrinal orthodoxy concedes he made mistakes in handling a 2019 case of a priest accused of sexual abuse of minors.
A Reflection for Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Michael Simone, S.J.
The crisis of preaching in the Catholic Church won't be solved "unless we emphasize that the preacher needs to be someone who is constantly learning about the Scriptures... and a person of prayer," Father Bryan Massingale shares with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J. on Preach.
Pope Francis announced today that he will hold a consistory on Sept. 30 to create 21 new cardinals, 18 of them electors with the right to vote in the next conclave.
“Having reported on all the synods since 1985,” Gerard O’Connell writes, “I have come to believe that this synod could well be the most transformative event in the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council.”
“Back to the Future” teaches us that, while it’s dangerous to dwell on the past, it’s good to visit every now and then.
The popular evangelical minister insists God will bless your life with abundance if you let him. Is that true?
Novak Djokovic is a flawed man, which he has proven on multiple occasions, but what athlete isn’t?
The slate of delegates is emblematic of the at-times competing ideological poles of the U.S. church—and the continued effort by Francis to reorient U.S. bishops toward his vision for the church.
“I’m honored to be invited by the Holy Father to participate in the Synod,” Father James Martin said. “As a Jesuit, I’m committed to this kind of group discernment.”
Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, recently concluded a two-week visit to Poland and war-torn Ukraine, he shares his experience with America's Vatican correspondent, Gerry O'Connell.
Since 2016, Rachel L. Swarns has been researching Georgetown University’s involvement in the slave trade, including the 1838 sale of 272 enslaved people to help pay off debts the Jesuit priests incurred in running the university.
Archbishop Fernández’s appointment has been met with criticisms focusing on a book he wrote about kissing, his handling of sexual abuse and comments he made expressing an openness to blessing gay and lesbian couples.
In the second part of this exclusive interview with America, Archbishop Frank Leo says Pope Francis “stunned” him by nominating him as archbishop of Toronto.
The Catholic Church must take great care to avoid rites or blessings that suggest marriage is anything other than a sacramental bond between one man and one woman, the incoming prefect of the Vatican's doctrinal office said.
July 9, 2023, Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: This Sunday’s readings challenge readers to make Jesus’ prayer their own.
In this exclusive interview, the new archbishop of Toronto, the Most Rev. Frank Leo, talks about his call to the priesthood, life as a Vatican diplomat and what he learned as secretary general of the Canadian Catholic bishops’ conference.
The Supreme Court has thrown out even widely accepted and eminently sensible restrictions on guns. It is time for the U.S. bishops to call out the lawmakers and judges who enable our culture of violence.
A priest on the road to sainthood, who has united millions of Catholic men across the world, is drawing faithful together in the town where he first served.
Introducing America’s new, groundbreaking feature documentary, “People of God: How Catholic Parish Life is Changing in the United States.”
On this week’s episode of “Preach,” Isaac-el Fernandes, S.J., a Jesuit from Southern Africa, shares with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., just how he learned to depart from his prepared text and preach from the heart.
In a surprise move, Pope Francis has appointed the Argentine theologian and archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández as the new prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Calling the 6-to-3 decision handed down Thursday “more than disappointing,” the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities said that the court “ignores the more-than-apparent effects of continued racism in our society.”
In these (very) short essays, they explain how they encountered God in others and their faith grew because of it. They show how the Lord is present even where we least expect God.
Francis X. Talbot, S.J., was for many years America's literary editor, and later its editor in chief. He was also a saucy literary stylist who loved nothing more than a good argument.
From 1933: A longtime editor of America offers his thoughts on the agony of writing—as well as some of its joys and rewards.
On the season finale of “Jesuitical,” Zac and producer Sebastian Gomes talk with Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., who leads the Vatican’s department for social justice and human development.
Donations to the annual Peter’s Pence collection were down in 2022, but the amount of money the fund distributed increased significantly thanks to the proceeds of property sales, the Vatican said.
“Jaws” is both a nerve-shattering thriller and a biting (sorry) social commentary about the failure of authorities to protect the people in their care.
At Catholic Underground in New York City, hosted by the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, I experienced a Holy Hour followed by an exhibit of Catholic art and artists.
In "Stick Season," folk sensation Noah Kahan delves deep into the broody, moody waters of young adulthood in the American Northeast.
The pace at which “Michigan” toggles between gratitude and loss would be jarring, if it weren’t so hauntingly beautiful.
My life as a parish priest in Wisconsin is very different from my childhood in Nigeria. But I am so grateful to now be an American citizen, and despite its flaws, I love this country.
The Supreme Court's conservative majority ruled Friday that a Christian graphic artist who wants to design wedding websites can refuse to work with same-sex couples.
Theodore McCarrick is not competent to stand trial in Massachusetts on charges he sexually abused a teenage boy nearly 50 years ago.
I have learned more about the church than I could ever have imagined, and the synod process has come to seem even more urgent and fruitful.
Vincent Lloyd's 'Black Dignity' is is a profound challenge to anyone who takes seriously the struggle for human dignity, antiracism and the work of dismantling white supremacy.
Irene Vallejo's history of books found an audience outside of the academy because it speaks to present concerns and speaks on behalf of many book readers.
Frank Wynne, chair of this year’s Booker judges, noted that translating 'Tomb of Sand' presented “huge challenges” because the novel is about words, language and storytelling, not just characters and plot. Another judge added that it is “safe to say this [novel] is like nothing else you have ever read.”
Mona Simpson's latest novel unfurls into a stirring cartography of the impacts of a mother’s deteriorating mental health on her three children.
The legalization of euthanasia in Canada—so-called medical assistance in dying, or MAID—challenges our common values and shakes the very foundations of our living together.
Any science that seeks to measure our worth by measuring one trait or another is science gone wrong.
In the anniversary edition of All Saints, Robert Ellsberg reveals his background with the saints and how he was inspired by so many ordinary and extraordinary people.
Why are Latinos leaving the Catholic Church? And where are they going? In Phoenix, Grace Walk Church has welcomed those searching for a spiritual home away from the Catholic Church
Dobbs did not dictate abortion policy at any level, but in overturning Roe after nearly 50 years, the court ruling did restore the right of states to set their own abortion policies.
It is within our capacity to move beyond yet another national nightmare; it is in the best interests of us all to do so.
Readers responded to Bishop Dolan's article about the mental health ministry he began in his diocese. Many people suffer and are in need of accompaniment, and the ministry is there to provide that aid.
As local newspapers close and newsrooms shrink around the United States, strong local Catholic journalism is increasingly crucial, and Catholic journalism faces additional challenges.
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell tells host Colleen Dulle what he has heard from sources who have spoken to the pope in recent days.
Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki plans to take legal action after investigators searched his residence and other buildings of the Archdiocese of Cologne June 27, the KNA news agency reported.
A journalist in Israel, dressed as a priest, was spat on by ultra-orthodox Jewish extremists. Attacks against Christian groups in the region are increasing over recent years.
In his homily at Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on June 29, Pope Francis called on the 32 new archbishops present to follow the example of Sts. Peter and Paul, whose feast the church celebrates today.
Thoughtfully administered affirmative action, as endorsed by the U.S. bishops decades ago, is an incontrovertible part of our shared task to fight racism and promote equal opportunity.
A policy of deterrence through intentional neglect has not had an impact on migration, but it has resulted in far more losses among migrants and refugees.
In his general audience, Pope Francis describes the evangelizing spirit of St. Mary MacKillop, who dedicated her life to the intellectual and religious formation of the poor in rural Australia.
The Catholic Church is not a faction of the Republican Party—and Democrats are not the only ones who sometimes view the defense of religious freedom as a pothole instead of a stop sign.
News reports, to the chagrin of the synod office, have focused primarily on the questions of the ordination of married men and women deacons—questions on which it invites discussion but makes no recommendations.
The Supreme Court “took away a constitutional right from the American people,” Biden, a Catholic who supports legal abortion, said in his statement marking the Dobbs anniversary.
July 2, 2023, Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Prophets communicate God’s wisdom, and display their own skill in creative interpretations of the Word of God.
More than half a million people formally left the Catholic Church in Germany last year, significantly higher than the previous record as the church wrestles with a long-running scandal over abuse by clergy.
Bishop Richard Stika of Knoxville, Tenn., and Bishop Joseph Strickland, of Tyler, Tex., have both been subject to apostolic visitations recently. Here’s what we do (and don’t) know about the Vatican interventions.
James Baldwin's novels and essays loomed large in the 1950s and 1960s, but they have fallen out of favor with teachers in many literature courses. Is it time for a revival of his works?
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi will be in Moscow June 28-29 “as the envoy of Pope Francis,” the Vatican announced today, on the second stage of a mission to explore ways to help bring an end to the war in Ukraine.
Twitter has done its best to make me cynical. But every once in a while, there is a Grimace Shake moment.
Bishop Richard F. Stika of Knoxville, 65, has resigned from pastoral governance of the diocese, after he has faced media interest in alleged sexual abuse cover-up and financial mismanagement.
Our hope is that, by the time a young person begins asking questions about their own sexual orientation, they already trust that there is a place for gay people in the Catholic Church.
After Dobbs, the pro-life movement must take the lead in supporting foster and adoptive parents—and in letting birth mothers know there is no stigma in giving a child a new chance at life.
Georgetown University announced Monday that it has appointed Dr. Fauci the Distinguished University Professor in the School of Medicine’s department of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases.
In this week's Preach, for the 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time, host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., speaks with Father Josh Whitfield, a formerly Episcopalian, now Catholic priest, husband and father of five, about preaching.
Speculation surrounding the return to Germany of Georg Gänswein is continuing unabated, not least because his status remains unclear now that he has been sent away from the Vatican.
The Argentine bishops knew for certain as early as 1979 that it was the military junta’s official policy to “disappear” people in order to quash opposition. The Vatican urged the bishops’ conference to intervene using all possible means.
At its heart, “Kiki’s Delivery Service” is a meditation on discovering—and pursuing—your vocation.
Catholics in Honduras prayed for the victims of a horrific massacre in a women’s prison—an attack underscoring the power of the country’s criminal gangs and their control over correctional facilities.
Church teachings on life beginning at conception and human dignity overall require us to have a more sensitive approach to miscarriages and other forms of pregnancy loss.
'People Get Ready' tells how an inner-city Boston parish managed to transform itself into a vibrant church community, an experience that Reynolds believes holds lessons for a new understanding of the role of the parish in Catholic ecclesiology.
Mark Williams has been playing Father Brown for 10 years, but “he never bores me,” he confides.
Since February, Pope Francis has appointed four men under age 60 to lead major archdioceses around the world, in what have widely been viewed as efforts to shore up his legacy.
What the church teaches about drugs and intoxication? How should Christians respond to psychedelic drugs being used in therapeutic settings?
Colleen and Gerry unpack the Synod on Synodality's working document and the clues it provides about the synod’s first global meeting in October.
When will the day come when we won’t see a headline about the church reluctantly admitting that they have spent several decades protecting yet another predator and feeding yet more victims into the flames?
Pope Francis has declared venerable Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange, founder of the first Catholic order of African American nuns, and Sister Lúcia dos Santos, one of the children who saw the Fátima vision.
With rapid advances in medicine and sweeping changes in the U.S. health care landscape, some are suggesting that the U.S. bishops’ Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services needs a complete overhaul.
There are deep questions that still need attention to understand how Father Rupnik’s abuses went unchecked for nearly three decades and to determine what further systemic reforms beyond his dismissal are necessary.
Pope Francis says he's still feeling the effects of anesthesia from abdominal surgery two weeks ago and that his breathing ‘isn't good.’
In the still-unsolved case of Emanuela Orlandi, which inspired the "Vatican Girl" Netflix show, Vatican officials said that new evidence reveals investigative leads to be studied.
A Reflection for Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time, by Cecilia González-Andrieu
How the international media covers the migration tragedy unfolding in the Atlantic in comparison to coverage of the Titan tragedy on the Mediterranean Sea seems a valid question to probe.
Is it my role to serve as witness to the death of something? Or should I be forging ahead to create something new?
America spoke with Dr. Bruchalski in May to discuss the future of the pro-life movement after the reversal of Roe v. Wade.
June 22, 2023, Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time: God is close to those who struggle for a different world and one might even find a sense of beauty in this awareness.
The synod’s working document, released at the Vatican on June 20, highlights three priorities for building a synodal church: communion, mission and participation.
At the end of 2022, according to the United Nations, more than 108 million people worldwide “were forcibly displaced as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations and events seriously disturbing public order.” The figure represents an increase of almost 20 million people over 2021.
Was Cormac McCarthy our greatest American novelist? Or did he take his readers to darker places than many of them wanted to go?
More U.S. Protestants are satisfied with the sermons and music they hear at services than Catholics, according to a Pew Research study. Catholics also feel less connected to their fellow congregants.
Joan Rosenhauer, the executive director of Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, discusses J.R.S.’s mission of “accompanying, serving and advocating” for refugees and forcibly displaced peoples.
The third annual Outreach gathering of LGBTQ+ Catholics was held at the Lincoln Center campus of Fordham University over the weekend.
In his conversation with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., after the homily, Sam shares how ancient monastic wisdom has inspired him to lean into the more difficult lines in the Scriptures.
Despite the heightened presence of Mexican military in the aftermath of the Jesuit murders, “violence is still very present” in the region, Father Javier Ávila said.
Here’s a thumbnail sketch of some standard guidelines, broken into three parts: things to know before or as you get engaged; things to know if one of you is divorced; and things to know about the process of preparing your wedding with the church.
“The pope is fine. He’s better than before,” said Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the chief surgeon who operated on the pope June 7 to repair a hernia; he also operated on the pope in 2021.
Paul Simon's new album, 'Seven Psalms,' piles up its own imagery for God, encompassing the biblical God of both comfort and destruction.
If you are faithful but unsure of yourself; if your heart is broken by a shattered relationship or the loss of a loved one; if you are an energetic young person, looking to set your heart on fire—the Sacred Heart is for you.
In his new memoir, a noted scholar of L.G.B.T. history describes a world of extended family, Catholic schools and parish life that offered a relatively safe space for him to discover himself as a politically progressive gay man.
‘Summer of Soul’ celebrates Black culture and joy, full of both good news and Good News.
While most Catholic hospitals already refrain from offering transgender surgeries and hormonal interventions, the vote means that the bishops will move to formalize such bans.
That day I spent in New Jersey, Taylor Swift would be my pastor, MetLife Stadium my parish, and the Swiftie community my congregation.
This week on Jesuitical, Ashley and Zac welcome Ricardo da Silva, S.J., their colleague and the host of the brand new podcast from America Media, “Preach: The Catholic Homilies Podcast.”
John Francis Regis, whose feast Catholics celebrate on June 16, is not the most well-known saint. Unlike other Jesuits of his time, Regis did not have a particularly notable mission or die a martyr.
Father Marko Rupnik is a remarkably gifted artist. He also stands accused of horrific spiritual, psychological or sexual abuse. What should we do with his many works?
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell tells host Colleen Dulle what he has heard from sources who have spoken to the pope in recent days.
How does the Vatican communicate about the pope’s health—and what accounts for their changing tactics?
In his book, “Nothing but the Truth: My Life Beside Benedict XVI,” Archbishop Georg Gänswein admitted that a “climate of trust” had never been created between him and Pope Francis.
Young adults with autism have few places to turn when the services they received as children end. This leads many autistic adults to live at home for years with parents who worry for their children as they age.
Pope Francis’ recovery from an operation for an incisional hernia on June 7 has “progressed in a regular way,” and he will be discharged from hospital and return to the Vatican on Friday morning, June 16.
Pope Francis’ Jesuit religious order said Thursday it has expelled a prominent Slovenian priest from the congregation following allegations of sexual, spiritual and psychological abuses against adult women.
Rather than make it easier to find affordable housing, governments at all levels are trying to “solve” homelessness by criminalizing the actions of homeless people.
All Catholics in Phoenix, on some level, felt the sting of the sexual abuse crisis. Dozens of priests and deacons were accused, leading many of us to question our faith. Have we come to terms with it?
A U.K. woman was sentenced to 28 months imprisonment for having an abortion when she was 32-34 weeks pregnant, whose jailing was supported by an English Catholic bishop.
In a message to the U.N. Security Council, Pope Francis expressed opposition to war: “We are all brothers and sisters, journeying on the same earth, dwelling in a single common home.”
Our notes may be practical or they may be impressionistic. They may be things that we cannot remember or that remain important to us. But is it going too far to say there is something holy in the hearing of them?
A Reflection for Wednesday of the 10th Week in Ordinary Time, by Ricardo da Silva, S.J.
A week after undergoing abdominal surgery, Pope Francis’ recovery is going well enough that his doctors are making plans to discharge him from Rome’s Gemelli hospital, the Vatican press office said.
June 18, 2023, Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time: Jesus and the first disciples let compassion pierce their own hearts and reaped great abundance. His disciples today must do the same.
Roger Haight, S.J., was honored by the Catholic Theological Society of America this past weekend in Milwaukee for his contributions to academic theology and the church, a well-deserved tribute to a scholar who has endured much for his vocation as a theologian.
The pope has been sleeping well at night and his recovery was going smoothly, according to daily updates from Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office.
It can take a lot of failure to get to success. When I think back on the things I failed at in my life, I see that the failures either taught me a hard lesson or nudged me forward on a better path.
Writers often have no experience at leading shows when they get that chance. It's similar for priests who become pastors.
Once deployed into orbit, the microsatellite was set to transmit papal messages of hope and peace in English, Italian and Spanish that any amateur radio receiver should be able to pick up.
On June 9th, America Media and staff were honored with 32 awards from the Catholic Media Association, including writer of the year and podcaster of the year.
In recent months, corporations and nonprofit organizations supporting L.G.B.T. Pride events have faced increased scrutiny from some conservative activists. Catholic celebrations aren’t immune.
“Kimberly Akimbo” is about two young people who have an incredibly hopeful perspective on life. But it’s also quietly about childhood trauma.
When it comes to his own Catholicism, Ron DeSantis is more guarded, rarely mentioning his specific faith practices.
Deacon Fritz Bauerschmidt explains to host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., why the rapper Post Malone provided the perfect hook for his homily in this week’s episode of “Preach.”
Pope Francis’ recovery from the operation for an incisional hernia is “progressing well,” but on the advice of his doctors, he will not recite the midday Angelus in public from Gemelli Hospital on Sunday.
Canadians experience wildfires each year owing to lightning strikes and “careless people,” but no one can recall conditions like this.
One cousin has already refused to accept the inheritance; four others have not yet responded. If they are smart, they will turn it down as well.
Rome’s Gemelli hospital shared photographs of some drawings, cards and crafts that children and young adults recovering in its pediatric oncology ward had sent to Pope Francis during his recovery.
Revelations about sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Conference underscore the fact that the modern corporate institution, whether religious or secular, can enable and conceal such abuse.
What is transpiring in Sacramento is part of a long, sorrowful litany of migrants being shuffled around as fodder for the propaganda of feeble, failed ideas.
This summer, I’ll reflect on films for America each week, with an eye toward pulling out spiritual themes. First up: ”The Princess Bride.”
This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley chat with Linda K. Wertheimer about her recent article about renewed efforts in some parts of the country to get prayer back into public schools.
The film adaptation of the 2021 novel of the same name, “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” misunderstands the potency of sustained nonviolent resistance.
Jonathan Ciraulo claims that “Balthasar’s theology as a whole is concerned, one could say consumed, with making the Eucharist the linchpin for all speculative dogmatics.” It is worth considering the ramifications of this view in four crucial areas of theology: Christology, theological anthropology, Trinitarian theology and eschatology.
The Vatican has governance norms when a pope resigns or dies, but none of those regulations apply to a sick, unconscious or hospitalized pope.
What happens when 70 artists and writers come together to discuss the Catholic imagination?
The Eucharist as the sacrament of unity constitutes the church not as just another social body, but as mystical and universal in its orientation toward the kingdom of God.
On “Inside the Vatican” this week, hosts Gerard O’Connell and Colleen Dulle discuss the pope's recent hospitalization to undergo surgery for a hernia causing intestinal blockage.
Four children from Bambino Gesú Children’s Hospital in Rome sent a colorful drawing to the pope, depicting him in a hospital bed, with the message, “Do not be afraid, we are with you!”
“Pope Francis is alert and conscious and [sends] thanks for the many messages of closeness and prayers that have reached him immediately,” said Dr. Sergio Alfieri.
June 11, 2023, Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ: The readings for this Sunday invite one to lean into a deep appetite for God.
The U.S. Catholic bishops are meeting in Orlando, Florida, next week for three days of prayer and business. If you were asked by your local bishop what topics they should discuss, what would you suggest?
A response by a historian to America's recent coverage of the path to completion by the Sisters of Charity of New York notes shock and disappointment at the lack of reckoning with the impact of the longstanding anti-Black and anti-brown admissions policies and practices that most European and white American congregations employed.
In his general audience, Pope Francis praises the apostolic zeal of St. Therese of Lisieux, who, although patroness of missions, was never sent on one herself, yet whose heart drew people closer to God.
Pope Francis will undergo surgery today in Rome to deal with an ongoing intestinal issue caused by a previous operation in 2021.
Much of the story of the Second Vatican Council was first told to Americans by Xavier Rynne in The New Yorker. But who was Rynne?
In a June 1 audience with Pope Francis, Sister Laura, a leader of the church in the Amazon, spoke about “the need to advance in recognizing the diaconal service that [women] provide to the church.”
Pope Francis’ peace envoy to Ukraine met President Volodymyr Zelensky amid breaking news of the destruction of a critical dam that Zelensky blamed on “Russian terrorists.”
It is not too early to imagine a ’just peace’ in Ukraine. But ending the armed conflict is not enough; Russia may need to undertake reparative measures including formal apologies and financial reparations.
Because his check-up was on Tuesday, a day on which he normally does not have any audiences in the Vatican, it seems reasonable to say the visit was scheduled in advance.
A state school board in Oklahoma voted Monday to approve what would be the first publicly funded religious school in the nation, despite a warning from the state's attorney general that the decision was unconstitutional.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could thrive as a presidential candidate among working-class voters, and his opposition to vaccines and Covid lockdowns could be an asset rather than a liability.
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi has begun a two-day peace mission in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, today, “as the envoy of the Holy Father Francis,” the Vatican announced on June 5.
For three seasons, ‘Ted Lasso’ has offered a potent vision of a better human condition.
“The most important thing for me when I enter into preparing a homily is just being able to authentically give witness to who I am and where I am in my relationship with Christ,” says Father John Gribowich, speaking to Preach host Ricardo da Silva, S.J.
According to many in the Vatican, Archbishop Gänswein’s tell-all book published shortly after Benedict’s death revealed a lack of trustworthiness, loyalty and reserve on the part of a man who was meant to be serving two popes.
Facts, as they say, are stubborn things. In defending abortion, some pro-choice activists can only ask women to ignore what their eyes evidently see.
An old teacher once said, “If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing well.” She was right. An even older Jesuit once said, “If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing poorly.” He was right, too.
It is important that safeguards for due process for those accused of sexual abuse be honored, even as we work toward guaranteeing the safety of all members of the church.
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell and host Colleen Dulle analyze the Vatican's new document on social media.
A Reflection for the Friday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time, by Cristobal Spielmann
Bishop John Dolan on how the church can better support those struggling with mental health issues.
In a May 25 video posted to Twitter, Bishop Robert Barron, a former LA auxiliary, said the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence “can only be described as an anti-Catholic hate group.”
Am I the only person in the world who got to the end of “Succession” and wanted a happy ending?
The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria launched a campaign that aims to plant 5.5 million trees over the next five years to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Ireland is becoming less religious, and the percentage of residents who identify as Catholic is down to 69% according to census data. More people identify with "no religion" than in previous years.
The statistical yearbook noted “a general downward trend in the relative number of baptisms, following closely the trend in the birthrate in most countries.”
While the path to creating a great story about Jesus is filled with good intentions, there are also a lot of landmines.
According to a police report, a 73-year-old man and an 80-year-old man were assaulted, one severely, outside of the Planned Parenthood in a building that shares a wall with a pro-life pregnancy resource center.
In his general audience, Pope Francis discusses the apostolic zeal of Matteo Ricci, the Jesuit who successfully taught and spread the Gospel in China in the 1500s.
June 4, 2023, The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity: This Sunday’s readings for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity reveal a divine deliberation, which encourages readers to place their trust in a God whose love remains constant even when humanity’s loving response does not.
At least $17 million has been transferred from the Vatican's U.S.-based missionary fundraising coffers into an impact investing vehicle run by a priest, the former head of the U.S. organization.
Among the 53,000 Americans killed in World War I was Joyce Kilmer, a distinguished poet and essayist who died in battle at the age of 31.
Maternal mortality has reached alarming levels in the U.S., especially in the Black community. The Catholic Health Association strongly supports a package of laws to better care for mothers and infants.
The Vatican on Monday urged the Catholic faithful, and especially bishops, to be “reflective, not reactive” on social media, issuing guidelines to try to tame the toxicity on Catholic Twitter.
Catholic artists, poets, writers and filmmakers serve the church not by trying to “domesticate” Christ but by helping people challenge and expand their knowledge of the Lord, Pope Francis said.
In his homily for Pentecost Mass in St. Peter's Basilica May 28, the pope said that the Holy Spirit is "the heart of synodality and the driving force of evangelization."
In the inaugural episode of Preach, host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., speaks with Greg Chisholm, S.J., about advice he received as a young priest, then Father Chisholm gives his homily for Holy Trinity Sunday.
Sister Lucía Caram, an Argentinian nun living in Spain, has made 18 journeys to the war-torn country over the past 15 months, usually bringing humanitarian aid and returning home with refugees or wounded soldiers.
Sister Lucía Caram, an Argentinian nun living in Spain, has made 18 journeys to the war-torn country over the past 15 months, usually bringing humanitarian aid and returning home with refugees or wounded soldiers.
Martin Amis leaves behind a remarkable corpus of fiction, essays and memoir—even if he cold be eminently dislikable.
Martin Amis leaves behind a remarkable corpus of fiction, essays and memoir—even if he cold be eminently dislikable.
Nida Manzoor’s goal is to show that the culture surrounding Islam is as three dimensional and dynamic as any other faith’s.
Nida Manzoor’s goal is to show that the culture surrounding Islam is as three dimensional and dynamic as any other faith’s.
In his first interview since the report was released Tuesday, Cardinal Cupich expressed surprise that the 125 new cases involved some priests he had never heard of.
In his first interview since the report was released Tuesday, Cardinal Cupich expressed surprise that the 125 new cases involved some priests he had never heard of.
Birth and death bookend our temporal experience, but we are called to fill everything between them with love and mercy and decency, not cling to fantasies of a fraudulent eternity.
Birth and death bookend our temporal experience, but we are called to fill everything between them with love and mercy and decency, not cling to fantasies of a fraudulent eternity.
Actor Shia LaBeouf portrays St. Pio of Pietrelcina in the new drama “Padre Pio,” which premiered at last year’s Venice Film Festival and will be released in U.S. theaters and on demand June 2.
Actor Shia LaBeouf portrays St. Pio of Pietrelcina in the new drama “Padre Pio,” which premiered at last year’s Venice Film Festival and will be released in U.S. theaters and on demand June 2.
The body of Benedictine Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster of the Most Holy Rosary was found to be incorruptible. She founded an interracial, contemplative Benedictine community that bridged racial divides in the Church.
The body of Benedictine Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster of the Most Holy Rosary was found to be incorruptible. She founded an interracial, contemplative Benedictine community that bridged racial divides in the Church.
This week, Jesuitical is joined by Sister Donna Dodge, the president of the Sisters of Charity of New York, which recently decided to embark on a “path to completion.”
This week, Jesuitical is joined by Sister Donna Dodge, the president of the Sisters of Charity of New York, which recently decided to embark on a “path to completion.”
While in Portugal, Pope Francis plans to visit Fátima, the site of a recognized Marian apparition. Gerry and Colleen explain how the “secrets of Fátima” revealed there relate to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
While in Portugal, Pope Francis plans to visit Fátima, the site of a recognized Marian apparition. Gerry and Colleen explain how the “secrets of Fátima” revealed there relate to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
While religious groups have been at the forefront of the movement to divest from fossil fuels, the campaign to divest from mining is moving more slowly.
While religious groups have been at the forefront of the movement to divest from fossil fuels, the campaign to divest from mining is moving more slowly.
Bishop Joseph Strickland recently accused Pope Francis of “undermining the Deposit of Faith.” It remains unknown whether Francis will publicly respond but past cases provide a clue of how the pope will approach this latest challenge.
Bishop Joseph Strickland recently accused Pope Francis of “undermining the Deposit of Faith.” It remains unknown whether Francis will publicly respond but past cases provide a clue of how the pope will approach this latest challenge.
Climate change activists faced trial at the Vatican on Wednesday (May 24) on vandalism charges for gluing themselves to the statue of “Laocoön and His Sons” in the Vatican Museums last summer.
Climate change activists faced trial at the Vatican on Wednesday (May 24) on vandalism charges for gluing themselves to the statue of “Laocoön and His Sons” in the Vatican Museums last summer.
How do we know who the Holy Spirit is? We do not hear the Spirit speak in the same way that God the Father or God the Son have spoken, yet its presence is equally here.
How do we know who the Holy Spirit is? We do not hear the Spirit speak in the same way that God the Father or God the Son have spoken, yet its presence is equally here.
May 28, 2023, Pentecost Sunday: A genuine concern for the church of tomorrow is the capacity to hear the sound of the Spirit speaking today.
May 28, 2023, Pentecost Sunday: A genuine concern for the church of tomorrow is the capacity to hear the sound of the Spirit speaking today.
Ron DeSantis has signaled that he will make Florida’s restrictive immigration policies a centerpiece of his presidential campaign. He is ignoring the fact that our nation relies on immigrant labor.
Ron DeSantis has signaled that he will make Florida’s restrictive immigration policies a centerpiece of his presidential campaign. He is ignoring the fact that our nation relies on immigrant labor.
Last week, the Dodgers announced that they would honor what you might call “drag nuns” during their Pride Night on June 16, a common promotional event at many Major League ballparks during the month of June.
Last week, the Dodgers announced that they would honor what you might call “drag nuns” during their Pride Night on June 16, a common promotional event at many Major League ballparks during the month of June.
I have heard it said that if the public could see the physical images of violence after a shooting, perhaps we would all be more fervent in our demand for radical change. I have seen it. Must I make you look, too?
I have heard it said that if the public could see the physical images of violence after a shooting, perhaps we would all be more fervent in our demand for radical change. I have seen it. Must I make you look, too?
In their quest to eliminate any threat to their operations drug cartels have killed journalists, environmental activists and priests, in addition to any average citizens caught in their way.
In their quest to eliminate any threat to their operations drug cartels have killed journalists, environmental activists and priests, in addition to any average citizens caught in their way.
St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon faced persecution as the first Korean priest. Yet he continued to spread the Gospel and evangelize the people of his nation.
St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon faced persecution as the first Korean priest. Yet he continued to spread the Gospel and evangelize the people of his nation.
A worker’s advocate, feminist leader and civil rights proponent whose work continues today at the age of 93, Dolores Huerta was an under-recognized leader.
A worker’s advocate, feminist leader and civil rights proponent whose work continues today at the age of 93, Dolores Huerta was an under-recognized leader.
Ron DeSantis was raised Catholic, but he and and his wife, Casey, rarely discuss the particularities of their religious beliefs in public.
Ron DeSantis was raised Catholic, but he and and his wife, Casey, rarely discuss the particularities of their religious beliefs in public.
Illinois’ attorney general released the results of a sweeping investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy on Tuesday; investigators found that 451 clergy sexually abused nearly 2,000 children since 1950.
Illinois’ attorney general released the results of a sweeping investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy on Tuesday; investigators found that 451 clergy sexually abused nearly 2,000 children since 1950.
Pope Francis has sent one of his top sex crimes investigators to Bolivia at a time when the Andean nation is being shaken by an escalating pedophilia scandal involving priests.
Pope Francis has sent one of his top sex crimes investigators to Bolivia at a time when the Andean nation is being shaken by an escalating pedophilia scandal involving priests.
The help Father Beotti “offered to many Jewish people persecuted by the Nazi-Fascists played a decisive role” in his death, according to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
The help Father Beotti “offered to many Jewish people persecuted by the Nazi-Fascists played a decisive role” in his death, according to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
Pope Francis will travel to Portugal for World Youth Day in the first week of August and include a stop at the popular Marian shrine in Fatima, the Vatican confirmed.
Pope Francis will travel to Portugal for World Youth Day in the first week of August and include a stop at the popular Marian shrine in Fatima, the Vatican confirmed.
I enjoyed being in "Succession," but should our church have been used for this abrasive show?
I enjoyed being in "Succession," but should our church have been used for this abrasive show?
In response to the crash in Brownsville, Bishop Flores said, “We must resist the corrosive tendency to devalue the lives of immigrants, the poor, and the vulnerable.”
There is no civil war in the Catholic Church, there is only Almighty God sifting us like wheat. There is no schism ahead, only the proper ordering of us into the right places for the salvation of our souls.
Cybersecurity at Catholic parishes is less robust than it could be, but several free and low-cost resources can bolster defenses.
Parents should take a lead in giving their children an accurate picture about sex and reproduction, but too many young adults never learn the basics about fertility.
The writing of Brian Doyle, who died in 2017, hummed with an undercurrent that honors children and invites the reader to adopt their posture of innocence.
Francis met the papal abuse commission at a time when many questions have been raised about its organization, governance and direction following the resignation at the end of March of Hans Zollner, S.J.
When we get behind the wheel, it is easy to see other human beings as mere obstacles. We need to acknowledge that driving can distort the moral sense of Catholics and all good people.
A distinct majority of those who pray (87%) said they believed they’d received an answer to their prayers in the last 12 months.
I am usually not one to call for big changes or support radical ideas. If the church has worked this way for 2,000 years, I used to think, who are we to change it now?
The coronation of a British monarch is a ceremony that at several points bears a marked resemblance to the consecration of a bishop and which, in its essence and most of its origins, is essentially Catholic.
This week on Jesuitical, we’re joined by Luke Russert, the son of legendary “Meet the Press” host Tim Russert and the author of the new memoir “Look for Me There: Grieving My Father, Finding Myself.”
The rest of Tucker Carlson’s racist text betrayed a self-confessional Tucker Carlson I can begin to identify with.
Archbishop Robert F. Prevost, who took the helm at the Dicastery for Bishops in mid-April, said because a bishop is called to serve an entire diocese, not just the priests, “listening to the people of God is also important.”
A new study exploring the relationship between religion and the English monarchy by Catherine Pepinster explores the impact Elizabeth II and the monarchs that preceded her have had on the Church of England as well as on other faith traditions in their realm.
In a video message, Pope Francis told young people going to World Youth Day in August should consult their grandparents on how to prepare.
On this week's show, Colleen and Gerry discuss the pope’s secret peace "mission" to Russia and Ukraine.
I would like to offer three anecdotes from my life that I hope will speak to what the Writers Guild of America is fighting for and why Catholics should care.
Sidestepping reservations individual party members must have about being associated with the pomp and ceremony of a very anti-republican spectacle, Sinn Féin hopes to demonstrate diplomatic gravitas and a mature capacity to lead all Ireland.
“There is a mission underway that is not public yet; when it is public, I will tell you about it,” the pope said of his plan regarding peace between Russia and Ukraine.
Too many disagreements cloud the profound and real communion shared among Christians. By literally coming together and meeting face-to-face, church leaders can demonstrate a better way.
May 7, 2023, the Fifth Sunday of Easter: Anyone who attends funerals often knows how storytelling reveals the life of the deceased. The stories of everyday life that mourners share frequently provide more insight into the deceased’s character than any listing of life accomplishments or honors.
Many Catholics like myself who have followed the development of synodality under Pope Francis have been convinced that the decision to open synod voting to non-bishops was all but inevitable.
Pope Francis reflects on the roots and bridges from his trip to Hungary—roots in the past, and bridges of peace between different peoples.
Dr. Michael Brescia, who prescribed love as an antidote to calls for assisted suicide, died at his home in Yorktown Heights, New York, surrounded by immediate family the evening of April 19. He was 90.
John Moffitt, the poetry editor of America, was also a regular correspondent with everyone from famous Hindu swamis to J. D. Salinger to Thomas Merton.
Weddings historically had served as an opportunity to “evangelize and re-engage” young couples, but that chance was being lost when brides and grooms bypass the church altogether when planning their ceremony.
The deeper kind of reporting that Evan Gershkovich was practicing when he was arrested in Russia is, in my mind, a practice of love.
When we listen to the resurrection stories during the Easter season, we often focus on what happened to Jesus. But it’s probably more important to look at what the resurrection does to the disciples.
While the Diocese of Providence flies relatively under the radar, it gained national attention in recent years in part because of the outspokenness of its outgoing bishop, Thomas Tobin.
“She would be happy about having a ferry named after her,” said Robert Steed, a former Catholic Worker and editor of The Catholic Worker newspaper, adding, “maybe even more so than being canonized.”
At his coronation, King Charles will reaffirm his Protestant identity, and while he has included other faiths in the ceremony, Catholics in Britain wish for more inclusion, especially given the country's past conflicts with them.
“I’m available to do anything,” Pope Francis said. “There’s a mission that’s not public that’s underway; when it’s public I’ll talk about it.”
To be Christian is to be open and welcoming to others, Pope Francis said as he celebrated Mass outside Hungary's Parliament building.
Francis' visit to Hungary is bringing him as close as he's come to the front lines of the war.
In this week's episode of Inside the Vatican, Gerry and Ricardo discuss women being able to vote in the synod, the pope's visit to Hungary and Archbishop Paglia's statement about euthanasia.
Senator Dick Durbin said: “Passing the Dream Act is a matter of simple American fairness and justice that would provide Dreamers the sense of stability they deserve and a path to lawful permanent residence.”
If anyone asked me what was the one thing they could do to start off on a better path spiritually, I would recommend resolving to make a morning offering.
The movement for restoring women to the diaconate is steeped in love and faith, not activism or anger. It is not just a “women’s issue” but a human issue.
In mid-century America, nuns and sisters were writing poems, and publishing them in the nation’s finest publications.
Sister Boniface reminds me of so many great women’s religious that I have had the good fortune of knowing—enormously competent, of deep integrity and undaunted in their commitment to helping people.
What is the Catholic Church’s approach to technology, and what do A.I. and ChatGPT have in store for it?
Mentioning some areas of common ground with Victor Orbán’s government, Pope Francis described as “ideological colonization” efforts to promote acceptance across Europe of “so-called gender theory.”
St. Peter Canisius deserves remembrance as more than a mere embodiment of 16th-century Counter-Reformation thought.
Pope Francis is expected to encourage solidarity in the face of the ever greater humanitarian crisis arising from the war in Ukraine and to appeal for an end to the war.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal gave Pope Francis a book of photographs documenting the damage inflicted by Russian bombings of his country in a war that has lasted 14 months already.
After a stint in rehab, a break up from his wife followed almost immediately by a new relationship and then a baby with the actress Olivia Munn, comedian John Mulaney is back with a new Netflix special, “Baby J.”
April 30, 2023, the Fourth Sunday of Easter: This passage is the result of multiple stages of editing as, over time, the fourth Gospel took its final form. Each of those stages reflects new pastoral concerns within the growing church. The resulting “shepherd” metaphor is therefore quite complex.
In his weekly general audience, Pope Francis describes the witness to evangelization provided by monks and nuns, whose prayer sustains the mission of the Body of Christ.
For the first time in the history of the synod, Pope Francis has given women the right to vote and has also made a radical change to the membership of the Synod of Bishops on Synodality.
Shusaku Endo may not have liked the title “greatest Japanese Catholic novelist,” but his works—including ‘Silence’—are powerful meditations on the nature of belief and the vitality and viability of Christianity.
Mexico’s military has been one of the most prolific users of Pegasus spyware since 2011, having “targeted more cell phones with spyware than any other government agency in the world.”
In recent weeks, the battle over abortion focused on mifepristone, a drug used in more than half of all abortions in the United States and which can also be used following a miscarriage.
America’s multi-platform media ministry ensures that the widest group possible can benefit from journalism that tells the stories of faith in action.
A profile of Shusaku Endo from 1992, three years after America awarded the famous Japanese Catholic novelist the Campion Award.
From the moment of her birth, my granddaughter has retaught me one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that we learn at Confirmation: a sense of wonder and awe.
“Personally,” the archbishop told his audience, “I would not assist with a suicide, but I understand that legal mediation may be the greatest common good concretely possible under the conditions in which we find ourselves.”
A tiny population of about 60,000 Armenian Christians remain in Turkey today. Most, uprooted from villages in eastern Anatolia, now live in neighborhoods in Istanbul.
A tiny population of about 60,000 Armenian Christians remain in Turkey today. Most, uprooted from villages in eastern Anatolia, now live in neighborhoods in Istanbul.
Pope Francis wants to visit Argentina, his homeland, in 2024 and has told Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the private secretary of the late Pope Benedict XVI, that he has to leave his Vatican apartment in the coming months.
The ambitions of these two comedies could hardly be more disparate, yet the craft employed in both is rooted in similarly precise calibrations of our attention and sympathies.
The ambitions of these two comedies could hardly be more disparate, yet the craft employed in both is rooted in similarly precise calibrations of our attention and sympathies.
Artist Angela Manno creates Byzantine Russian-style icons of threatened and endangered plant and animal species. And they are really extraordinary.
Catholic sculptor Timothy Schmalz has designed the most recent sculpture in the Vatican—the first there since the 1600s—and his many other works similarly show marginalized peoples in the church.
A federal judge donated tens of thousands of dollars to New Orleans’ Roman Catholic archdiocese and consistently ruled in favor of the church amid a contentious bankruptcy involving nearly 500 clergy sex abuse victims.
This week on Jesuitical, Zac and Ashley talk to Dorothy Fortenberry, a producer and screenwriter for “Extrapolations,” a new show from Apple TV+ that aims to shake us from our climate change complacency.
In this week's episode of Inside the Vatican, Ricardo and Gerry discuss the "Vatican Girl" case after Pope Francis defended Pope John Paul II, and the resignation of Hans Zollner, S.J.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America pushed back against a statement by Donald Trump, saying instead that “Life is a matter of human rights, not states’ rights.”
The commission gathered in Rome to reflect on findings from the continental stage of the process leading up to the assemblies of the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican in 2023 and 2024.
The commission gathered in Rome to reflect on findings from the continental stage of the process leading up to the assemblies of the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican in 2023 and 2024.
The crisis for teens is both psychological and spiritual, and it demands a response from both mental health and faith communities. How do we make our church again a place of belonging for young people who are hurting?
The crisis for teens is both psychological and spiritual, and it demands a response from both mental health and faith communities. How do we make our church again a place of belonging for young people who are hurting?
President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and First Lady Jill Biden donated $20,180 to charity in 2022 to 20 charities, including several Catholic parishes.
President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and First Lady Jill Biden donated $20,180 to charity in 2022 to 20 charities, including several Catholic parishes.
At King Charles III's coronation, the Cross of Wales will have two small relics of the True Cross incorporated within it, showing the connection between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.
Marriages between a Catholic and a non-Catholic may be becoming more common, but they are by no means easy, especially with regard to how to raise children.
April 23, 2023, the Third Sunday of Easter: Those who practice the Examen, a meditative daily habit, may recognize something familiar in the scene that unfolds in this Sunday’s Gospel passage.
Pope Francis continues with his series of general audiences on evangelization: “Today there are persecutions of Christians throughout the world, many, many. There are more martyrs today than in the first times.”
The key question in this case is not whether a charter would help or harm local education, but whether explicitly religious instruction at charter schools is constitutional.
The poetry of Amit Majmudar, whom America has published 10 times in the past few years, moves easily between the mystical and the ordinary, the one rooted in the other.
Zimbabwe bishops condemned “heinous violent crimes” after videos circulated of opposition political supporters being attacked by suspected supporters of the ruling Zimababwe African National Union Patriotic Front.
The best “time maximizing” methods can lead us to a space where God can maximize our souls and inhabit everything we do.
Despite the 24% decline over the last decade, Catholics remain the largest religious group among Latinos in the United States, the Pew report said.
Catholics should support universal free school meals both because it aids the poor and because it promotes the common good.
Father Hans Zollner clarified that his resignation was not intended to personally attack anyone or impede the work of the commission, which he called “a success in itself and a great idea by Pope Francis.”
A criminal complaint filed on Friday alleges that ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick sexually assaulted a Wisconsin man in 1977, when the alleged victim was 18 years old.
You need not worry that I will be outsourcing “Of Many Things” columns to our robot overlords in the future.
Hong Kong's Roman Catholic bishop arrived in Beijing on Monday, marking the first visit to the Chinese capital by the city's bishop in nearly three decades, despite signs of Sino-Vatican strains.
New forms of A.I. raise pressing ethical and philosophical questions that must be addressed by Catholics and, for that matter, all people of good will.
In a Sunday audience with pilgrims, Pope Francis denounced the “offensive and baseless allegations” made against St. John Paul II by Pietro Orlandi, the brother of Emanuela Orlandi, the 15-old “Vatican girl” who disappeared on June 22, 1983.
With church leaders slated to meet in October for the next phase of the Synod on Synodality, the bishops conferences of the U.S. and Canada released a report summarizing the virtual meetings conducted with lay and ordained Catholics earlier this year.
When J.F.K. visited Ireland in 1963, both Ireland and Irish-Americans celebrated the occasion. The visit of President Joe Biden this week inspired similar feelings—but in a situation far different.
China has breached its long-fought-for agreement with the Vatican on the appointment of bishops.
Three strong new revivals offer an instructive comparative lens through which to view the form’s development over the decades.
The conversation of “The Pope: Answers” offers a provocative image of what church could be.
In "The Pope's Exorcist," the story of Fr. Gabriele Amorth, known as "the James Bond of exorcists," is told with Russell Crowe as the main figure. It appears in theatres Friday, April 14.
Mr. Biden’s visit is not just a symbolic endorsement of the Good Friday Agreement. The future of the accords has been thrown into doubt by the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union via its Brexit vote.
“The Pope: Answers,” a new film on Hulu featuring the pope in conversation with 10 young Spanish-speaking people between the ages of 20 and 25, is a lived example of the culture of encounter to which Pope Francis exhorts us.
Sam Sawyer, S.J., editor in chief of America, and Traug Keller, America Media’s president, announced today the selection of three graduating seniors to serve as the 2023-24 Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J., Postgraduate Media Fellows.
Seamas O'Reilly mines a family tragedy for mirth and good storytelling in 'Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?' James T. Keane offers his thoughts on this latest selection for the Catholic Book Club.
Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-La., called for an end to the death penalty in Louisiana during his final State of the State address in an impassioned call for lawmakers to adopt legislative proposals reflecting its identity as a “pro-life state.”
April 16, 2023, the Second Sunday of Easter: This Easter might be a good time to recommit to one’s faith through the regularity of ritual, be it daily Scripture, prayer, meditation, or some other practice.
Catholic experts weigh in on the likelihood of Pope Francis resigning in office—and whether we need a 25th amendment for popes.
The end of a long-running Catholic pastoral care contract at a leading U.S. military medical center highlights broader concerns about the federal contracting process for such services, according to the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services.
In a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, alleged the FBI suggested that “certain kinds of Catholic Americans may be domestic terrorists.”
Enjoy this Easter music video featuring James Martin, S.J., and Terre Roche of the Roches, based on “A New Serenity Prayer.”
“One does not proclaim the Gospel standing still, locked in an office, at one’s desk or at one’s computer, arguing like ‘keyboard warriors’ and replacing the creativity of proclamation with copy-and-paste ideas,” the pope said.
The Vatican’s chief prosecutor said Pope Francis has given him free rein to investigate the 1983 disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi, a 15-year-old Vatican resident.
Starting in March 2023, victims of sexual abuse in Saint Paul-Minneapolis who still wish to receive the Eucharist but find it too traumatic to enter a church can have the sacrament brought to them.
Robert Schmuhl, professor emeritus of American studies at the University of Notre Dame, said that “the word ‘unprecedented’ is becoming the most common word associated with Donald Trump and his political career.”
The Ortega regime‘s ban on religious processions during Lent is only the latest action to effectively criminalize Catholicism in Nicaragua. Catholics in the U.S. must assist refugees and fight anti-religious authoritarianism.
After the death of Henri de Lubac, S.J., on Sept. 4, 1991, Avery Dulles, S.J. penned a long tribute to the theologian, a major influence on Vatican II and later theological developments.
Henri de Lubac, S.J., had a long career filled with many twists and turns—but he is recognized today as one of the giants of 20th-century Catholic theology.
On Easter Monday, Pope Francis marked the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which, he said, “put an end to the violence that had troubled Northern Ireland for decades.”
If “Succession” ends as a sort of Shakespearean tragedy, as all signs thus far have suggested that it will, this week’s episode may well be the moment we look back on as that tragedy’s core.
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center abruptly ended a long-standing contract with a community of Franciscan priests before Holy Week began, a move Archbishop Timothy Broglio called "incomprehensible."
He asked Christ to help the international community “to make haste to surmount our conflicts and divisions, to open our hearts to those in greatest need” and “to pursue paths of peace and fraternity.”
This is what the Pasch of the Lord accomplishes: it motivates us to move forward, to leave behind our sense of defeat, to roll away the stone of the tombs in which we often imprison our hope, and to look with confidence to the future.
"As believers, it is our duty to show what there is behind or underneath" proclamations of relativism and nihilism, that is, to show the truth and new life brought by Christ's resurrection, Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa said in his homily on April 7 in St. Peter's Basilica.
Instead of presiding over the torch-led procession at the Colosseum, Francis will watch from the hotel where he lives in the Vatican.
A Reflection for Holy Saturday, At the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter, by James T. Keane
In these Lenten and Easter days in which the church celebrates a man whose divinity was revealed in his willingness to sacrifice everything for love, consider "Sweeney Todd" to be that story’s dark, demonic twin.
In a Holy Thursday ritual symbolizing humility, Pope Francis washed and dried the feet of a dozen residents of a Rome juvenile prison, assuring them of their dignity and telling them “any of us” can fall into sin.
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” hosts Ricardo da Silva, S.J., and Gerard O’Connell discuss how the pope bounced back from bronchitis.
If irony is the opposite of what one might expect, then nothing is more ironic than God.
On March 27, 40 men died in a fire in a migrant detention center in Ciudad Juárez. The appalling loss of life has many more authors than the people likely to be punished for it.
In Holy Saturday meditations, the late pope engaged postmodern thought in exploring the thorniest of church beliefs.
More than the costumes and settings, it is that humanity at the heart of Molly Shannon’s comedy which makes it Catholic to the core.
Building harmony is not only a way of improving the church or being polite, Pope Francis told them, but “an intrinsic demand of the life of the Spirit.”
A state report released Wednesday revealed that more than 150 priests and others sexually abused more than 600 children over the past 80 years in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
Many young Catholics I know were compelled to be confirmed by family members who felt the sacrament was important. My situation was the opposite—I was confirmed of my own volition.
April 9, 2023, the Resurrection of the Lord: Today’s celebration is not just a challenge to increase in faith, but also a wake-up call not to pass away with the things of the earth.
Defenders of bankruptcy say it gives organizations a fair way to distribute assets to those seeking compensation. Some critics argue that the process allows church leaders to hide assets, especially real estate.
“Look at the closet of your soul—how many useless things you have, how many stupid illusions,” the pope said. “Let us return to simplicity, to things that are true, that don’t need to be made-up.”
After Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the Moon in July 1969, America's editors called the effort to reach the Moon "so much a symbol and product of human unity as to argue its distinctively religious character in itself."
Finding our place in the cosmos—whether that be via moon landings or our human origins in stardust—has been the subject of more than a few America articles.
Why do banking crises keep happening? When depositors are protected, some banks cannot resist making risky loans. And paying fines for doing so has become a usual cost of doing business.
In an apparent breach of the Vatican’s agreement with China on the appointment of bishops, the bishop of Haimen was installed as the bishop of Shanghai April 4.
For the early church, the reality of the Resurrection was central, not only in the structure of the liturgical celebration, but also in the pattern of the liturgical year. Easter was the greatest feast of the whole year.
Pope Francis didn’t wear Balenciaga. I can’t imagine he ever will. But if we keep our eyes peeled, it won’t be long before we see him do something just as eye-popping to reveal once again to us the challenging, merciful love of God.
To receive already baptized Christians into the church at the vigil may be well-intentioned, but liturgically speaking, it is akin to suggesting that the candidates were not actually Christians before being received into the church.
Catholic health care providers aim to heal the whole human person—body, mind and spirit. That means providing accommodations for to meet the needs of Muslim patients.
“Christ, in his abandonment, stirs us to seek him and to love him and those who are themselves abandoned. For in them we see not only people in need, but Jesus himself, abandoned.”
Pope Francis, recovering from bronchitis, delivered a forceful Palm Sunday homily asking us to remember the “many abandoned Christs” in our own time, or those who experience suffering and solitude.
Adding to its dizzying array of takes, America Media has announced four new options for would-be contributors.
We should focus on what today’s reading outlines as a uniter, that being a sanctuary under God.
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have been coming out into the streets for the past three months in escalating pro-democracy protests against the most politically and religiously extreme right-wing government Israel has ever had.
Ahead of the U.S. theatrical release of “In Viaggio: The Travels of Pope Francis,” America spoke with Gianfranco Rosi about his ideas for the documentary and how the film is a modern-day Stations of the Cross.
I was pleasantly surprised to realize that amid all the polarization and turmoil found online among Catholics, we can still come together to pray for an old man who happens to be our pope.
“If those full seminaries had forged holy pastors, and the traditional formation imparted to them (were) solid and true, we wouldn’t have to mourn so many scandals today,” Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher of the papal household, said.
Sister Jean discusses Loyola’s magical Final Four run, why she loves being around young people and where she believes the Catholic Church is headed.
The St. Monica Ministry is composed mostly of mothers but welcomes anyone who wishes to meet regularly to pray for people who have left the Catholic Church.
The director of the Vatican press office, Matteo Bruni, said that “last evening, Pope Francis had dinner, eating a pizza, together with those who have assisted him in these days in hospital.”
More than 24 hours after he entered the hospital, Pope Francis’ doctors reported a “marked improvement” in his condition, which they attributed to treatment with intravenous antibiotics.
On “Inside the Vatican” this week, Ricardo da Silva, S.J., and Gerard O’Connell look at the viral image of the pope in a puffer jacket, which led to a conversation on Vatican responses to A.I.
These trends should prompt an examen among Catholic educators. Do our schools lead people to drift from religion to money, from community engagement to private enrichment?
Becquart has been traveling the globe in recent weeks as an ambassador for the Synod on Synodality, planned for October in Rome.
Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley expressed his surprise, disappointment and disagreement with statements challenging the commission’s effectiveness made by Father Hans Zollner.
Pope Francis has asked the doctors not to give public reports on his health condition, as he does not want to dramatize his state of health.
A Vatican statement said the 15th-century papal bulls, or decrees, “did not adequately reflect the equal dignity and rights of indigenous peoples” and have never been considered expressions of the Catholic faith.
As Francis faces this new illness, help the doctors and nurses who care for him, help him to bear any pain with grace and help him to heal quickly.
April 2, 2023, Palm Sunday: As the church enters into Holy Week, the faithful endure and relive the passion narrative of Christ.
In his weekly general audience, Pope Francis reveals how Paul of Tarsus was the exemplary witness to what passion for the Gospel means, and he has the zeal to preach about Jesus and help others.
Pope Francis has “a respiratory infection that requires some days of appropriate medical therapy in hospital,” the Vatican press office said in a statement.
There are urgent “structural and practical issues that led me to disassociate myself” from the papal commission of sex abuse, Father Hans Zollner said.
Pope Francis went to Rome’s Gemelli hospital March 29 for “some previously planned tests,” the Vatican press office said, providing no further details.
Edwin O’Connor, whose life and literary career were abruptly cut short by his 1968 death at the age of 49, captured the imagination of his audience like few other authors of his time.
Nashville Bishop J. Mark Spalding celebrated Mass at the Cathedral of the Incarnation on March 27 to pray for the victims of the school shooting that morning at The Covenant School.
In Honduras, subsistence farmers on the small parcels around the village struggle with erratic growing conditions because of climate change; the people are pressed by poverty and hunger. For many in small towns just like this, there is only one option: immigration.
On the final episode of this season of “The Gloria Purvis Podcast,” Gloria welcomes Rev. Matthew Ichihashi Potts to discuss the subject of anger and forgiveness.
I have spent the last seven years working in the Roman Curia. My experience has been far from that of those who would claim that Pope Francis governs through fear.
The death of the suspect, José Noriel Portillo Gil, “in no way can be considered a triumph for justice, or a solution to the structural problem of violence,” the Jesuit province in Mexico said in a statement.
In a March 27 statement to OSV News, Archbishop Cordileone, who previously barred Pelosi from receiving the Eucharist in his archdiocese, said, “We know from science that life begins at conception.”
In a time when we felt isolated, afraid and increasingly divided, The Times gave us a means to better understand what was happening and to stay connected with one another.
Imprisoned Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Álvarez appeared unexpectedly on Nicaraguan television March 24, more than six weeks after refusing to be exiled from his country, opting instead to face his sentence of 26 years behind bars.
“Love,” a new play by Alexander Zeldin, is not a grim report on poverty nor a blistering call for social reform, but simply lets the poor speak their own stories.
Pope Francis has updated the procedures for investigating allegations of sexual abuse, expanding the rules of “Vos Estis” to include Catholic lay leaders, who have the same responsibilities over members as a bishop over priests.
Former Missouri senator John Danforth said he has revisited his 1999 report since learning about the Trump rally in Waco and noticed similarities between the rhetoric of Mr. Trump and the conspiracy theorists of the 1990s.
The protest was organized by women’s advocates and the family, friends and neighbors of Ana Lizeth Hernández, a 33-year-old woman who died of a gunshot wound to the head in her home on March 19.
Archbishop Listecki said “the false assertions of Father James Connell have caused understandable and widespread unrest among the People of God, causing them to question if the privacy of the confessional can now be violated.”
Human composting and alkaline hydrolysis do not satisfy the Catholic Church’s requirements for proper respect for the dead, the U.S. bishops said in a recent statement.
The new JesuitPilgrimage app provides photos, prayer and audio guides and interactive maps to bring users to the significant spots in the life of St. Ignatius and the Society of Jesus.
In a new interview, Cardinal Gerhard Müller said Pope Francis should correct or punish German bishops for approving “proposals directly against the Catholic faith,” including blessings for homosexual couples.
The decision “to provide an unanswered activist’s case that abortion is a tool of justice for the marginalized,” Bishop Kevin Rhoades wrote, “is a grave mistake in judgment that creates scandal.”
Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi cited the Gospel of Matthew as the motivation for her focus on social justice issues and said that U.S. bishops have focused too narrowly on abortion at the expense of other societal challenges.
I’ve been thinking about Adam Sandler’s body of work as a whole, and I’ve realized that the kind of characters he often plays may have something to teach us about, well, Jesus.
On this week's episode of Inside the Vatican, Ricardo and Gerry discuss the most recent happenings in the Vatican's mega-trial of the century with the Vatican bank.
On this week's episode of Inside the Vatican, Ricardo and Gerry discuss the most recent happenings in the Vatican's mega-trial of the century with the Vatican bank.
Fordham University’s Taking Responsibility initiative released its final report on Feb. 9, calling for both clergy and lay members of Jesuit institutions to face “entangled responsibilities” around the abuse crisis.
Fordham University’s Taking Responsibility initiative released its final report on Feb. 9, calling for both clergy and lay members of Jesuit institutions to face “entangled responsibilities” around the abuse crisis.
Father Phillip Larrey said conversations on AI must shift to what Pope Francis calls “person-centered AI.” The pope, he said, “is insisting that you need to put the human person at the center of this technology.”
Father Phillip Larrey said conversations on AI must shift to what Pope Francis calls “person-centered AI.” The pope, he said, “is insisting that you need to put the human person at the center of this technology.”
In Honduras, persistent drought can devastate crops and unexpected rains can flood fields and produce landslides.
March 26, 2023, The Fifth Sunday of Lent: The message of the transfiguration is incomplete on its own without the paschal mystery that is to come.
In the whale, in whatever trials we might face, God is still there. We can't learn the lesson later; we must learn to know God in the dark when our other helps are removed.
Pope Francis: We must be aware that the people to whom evangelization is addressed are not only others, those who profess other faiths or who profess none, but also ourselves, believers in Christ.
Charles Taylor, the Canadian philosopher and social theorist who has become one of the world’s most prominent thinkers in the last few decades, continues to influence American religious dialogues, including in the pages of 'America.'
The nonprofit Catholic Laity and Clergy for Renewal recently claimed it has been legally purchasing publicly available data to assess the use of “hookup apps” by seminarians and clergy.
We need a national eucharistic revival. However, after reviewing materials associated with the National Eucharistic Revival, I am not confident that it will accomplish what it sets out to do.
If there is one thing that pro-life and pro-choice advocates can agree upon, it’s that the cost of having a baby is significant and often a deterrent for mothers carrying their child to term.
Catholic social teaching has always acknowledged a role for government regulation of the economy. The economy is to promote the common good, not benefit owners and investors alone.
The bishops urged “particular care” be taken “to protect children and adolescents, who are still maturing and who are not capable of providing informed consent” for surgical procedures or treatments such as chemical puberty blockers.
President Biden said the right things during the 2020 campaign, but his immigration policy is beginning to resemble that of Donald Trump.
Ten people are on trial in the Vatican, facing multiple charges regarding the Vatican Secretariat of State’s investment in a property on Sloane Avenue in London. The Vatican lost more than $200 million on the deal.
President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua suspended diplomatic ties with the Vatican in what appears to be retaliation for Pope Francis’ likening his regime to “a communist dictatorship in 1917, or a Hitlerian one in 1935.”
A conversation with Bishop Brennan about what it’s like to switch dioceses as a bishop and the future of parish life in an era of church closings and reorganization.
What is the way out of polarization? And why does that question—along with the now-commonplace observation that society suffers from deepening divisions about everything from gun control to abortion to public funding for religious schools—seem so exhausting?
what he called my crab consciousness,merely his description for my either avoiding or digginga hole
'The Passenger' and 'Stella Maris,' Cormac McCarthy's elegiac, disputatious and deeply odd pair of new novels, offers a typically offbeat take on American culture and society.
Our task as sacristans is to attend to small acts of care in a world that is too often inattentive and careless.
In a way, maybe we are living all together as baptized Christians in the synodal process in the same way that the council fathers at Vatican II experienced collegiality in their role as bishops.
Technology is undeniably part of our lives. But when should it be introduced to children, used in schools or integrated into their social lives?
A recent Pew survey found that overall Catholics show a higher degree of worry about the impact of climate change than other Christian denominations, but the issue appears to divide U.S. Catholics along the same political and racial lines as within the wider public.
That the Lord seeks not to punish us for our sins but to call us all back to holiness is a conviction so strong among theologians in the church in the modern age that it risks becoming a truism.
Read the responses to Christopher J. Kellerman, S.J., on the Catholic Church's history with slavery. Comments were gathered from the online version of the article.
“Our communion is unsure of itself.” We must “recover a sense of what holds us together.” The stakes are very high for our church, and listening to one another is the first step on a much longer journey.
Sofia Bell was recently selected to play in the 2023 McDonald’s All-American Games and had offers from schools like Gonzaga, Notre Dame and Stanford.
With 'Botticelli’s Secret: The Lost Drawings and the Rediscovery of the Renaissance,' Joseph Luzzi has written a fascinating narrative that tells the story of the drawings and seeks to revise our understanding of the phenomenon traditionally known as the Renaissance.
In Dawn Eden Goldstein's biography of the Rev. Ed Dowling, we encounter a remarkable individual whose intellect, enthusiasm and humility helped Alcoholics Anonymous burgeon into a worldwide haven for spiritual growth for those struggling with addiction.
Learning a little more about Flipboard got me wondering what kind of vision of the Catholic Church you might find when the audience creating it is from around the world.
Erskine Childers went from being the John le Carré of his day to a convicted war criminal and nationalist martyr.
Under the bill, an abortion would be considered homicide, subject to sentences of 30 years in prison or the death penalty.
Even after decades of Ireland’s rapid societal secularization, clergy and laypeople have cause for optimism about the renewal of the Catholic faith first brought to the Emerald Isle by St. Patrick in 432.
The bishops of Poland announced they will create a commission of experts to investigate cases of abuse of minors by clergy from the past, including Karol Wojtyla's archbishopric.
This St. Patrick’s Day we can find Irish Americans at the height of political power, but they may not be what predecessors like John F. Kennedy and Patrick Moynihan expected.
March 19, 2023, The Fourth Sunday of Lent: The goal of this Lenten path is restoration between God and his creation.
Extremist and criminal violence is on the rise across Northern Africa from Somalia to Nigeria as local security forces face off against gangs and insurgencies they are often ill-equipped to contain.
Can (or should) you eat meat this St. Patrick's Day? Some archdioceses are giving out dispensations, while others insist upon fasting. Who is right?
Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the Synod, has named Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, and six others to be members of the preparatory commission for the general assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October.
A doctorate in theology does not qualify you for much outside of being a theology professor, and I have been nothing but a graduate student or professor since I was 21.
Pope Francis told the Latin American church leaders, “Anyone who lessens the impact of this history or minimizes the current danger dishonors those who have suffered so much and deceives those they claim to serve.”
While Éamon de Valera, the great politician and Irish patriot, is not always remembered fondly by all Irish, the writers and editors of America couldn’t get enough of him.
In advance of a visit to the United States in 1919, Irish patriot and politician Éamon de Valera argued in America's pages that Ireland deserved full independence from England.
Laura Masur joins “The Gloria Purvis Podcast” this week to talk about her work recovering fragments of Black American history from what she calls “sites of memory” or places where enslaved persons dwelled, often in Catholic-run institutions.
Reflecting on Pope Francis’ 10 years at the Vatican, Cardinal Robert McElroy says that “there has been a fundamental shift in perspective, of cultures and sometimes of priorities within the life of the church.”
President Biden's immigration policy and asylum rules are morally deficient, as vulnerable migrants are dying on their way to the United States from their home countries.
In a wide-ranging interview with America, Cardinal Blase Cupich reflected on what Pope Francis has accomplished so far, describing the Francis era as “a historic papacy” that comes at “a watershed moment” for the church.
Nicaragua’s government has proposed suspending relations with the Vatican days after Pope Francis reportedly compared President Daniel Ortega’s administration to a communist or Nazi dictatorship amid a crackdown on the Catholic Church.
The pope also talked about the resistance to his papacy, discussed the increasing poverty in his homeland, revealed he has no plans to write a new encyclical, and confirmed he would like to visit Argentina, his homeland.
We have a ways to go before our church reaches equality. But I refuse to allow my faith to stall until the Holy Father catches up to the Holy Spirit.
With Pope Francis' papacy reaching its 10-year mark, what we have right now is a church that talks endlessly about openness and welcome, but the front steps feel hopelessly broken down. Who will fix them?
The creative ways audiobooks are being embraced by like Bono or Bob Dylan are creating a new category of content that is different from conventional book publishing.
“All That Breathes,” an Oscar nominee for Best Documentary, echo aspects of Ignatian spirituality.
Germany's Catholic bishops and lay representatives agreed to call for the church in Germany to approve blessings of same-sex unions, despite Vatican statements.
Jordan Peele's film "Nope" exposes a worldview that prioritizes gain above all else and that reduces human life to a desperate race to the top.
HBO's “The Last of Us” is based on a 2013 video game of the same name, which itself earned widespread praise for its emotional storyline.
A conversation about “The Passion,” a new musical production from the Notre Dame Folk Choir.
While many L.G.B.T. Catholics have welcomed Pope Francis' emphasis on inclusion and welcome, they hope for future changes in policies and rhetoric around L.G.B.T. issues in the church.
Film-making in Ireland has been in the shadow of other cultural successes in literature and music. That may all be about to change. At this year’s Academy Awards, there are three movies with strong Irish connections up for Oscar consideration.
The number of women working in the Vatican has increased during Pope Francis' 10 years as pope, though women still face resistance from certain members of the church.
Pope Francis sees the embrace of migrants as a new ‘frontier’ for mission, a privileged opportunity to proclaim Jesus Christ and the Gospel message, in accordance with his Ignatian worldview.
The fact that Cardinal Karol Wojtyla—the future Pope John Paul II—knew about abuse when he was an archbishop of Krakow, Poland, is neither new nor surprising, experts say.
House Bill 74 would do away with the privilege in a sacramental confession by requiring priests to report information relating to child abuse and neglect that is shared in a confessional.
March 12, 2023, The Third Sunday of Lent: The Samaritan woman, socially marginalized by her impurity according to the Law, becomes a model for all Christians.
How many are willing to have their minds changed, to desire for something from this synodal process that goes deeper than their pre-existing agenda?
Pope Francis continues his audiences on evangelization: It is always an "ecclesial service, never solitary, never isolated, never individualistic."
Long before the earthquakes in February, the viability of the Christian community in Samandag had been under cultural and economic threat. Many from the city’s minority Christian community had already departed, seeking economic or educational opportunities elsewhere.
A Catholic university in Ohio is making alternate arrangements for students to attend what is commonly called the “traditional Latin Mass,” after the local bishop implemented recently issued restrictions from the Vatican.
Elizabeth Sweeny Block and Abigail Favale are two Catholic scholars who have modeled civil debate around sex and gender in the pages of America and do so again this week on “The Gloria Purvis Podcast.”
How does Pope Francis understand what he’s doing? We could argue that these past 10 years have been a journey of reception and implementation of Vatican II.
America isn't always great about sports coverage—but college basketball has been an exception, particularly when it comes to March Madness.
“Top-down” ecumenism has not reduced the distance between the Catholic church and other churches. We need grassroots ecumenical relationships now.
Pope Francis has renewed the Council of Cardinal Advisors that he first established soon after his election on March 13, 2013, to assist him in the governance of the universal church.
Theodore McCarrick, whose attorneys have argued he should not stand trial due to “progressive and irreparable cognitive deficits,” recalled the name of the man he allegedly sexually abused as a child, although he denied the sexual assaults.
A Reflection for the Optional Memorial of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, by J.D. Long-García
According to a TV report from a Polish channel, John Paul II knew about priests who sexually abused children in his archdiocese of Krakow in the 1970s.
Father Zelinksyy’s message to Fordham’s ROTC cadets and to U.S. Army chaplains was simple: Fight for the truth to be known about the war in Ukraine.
“The Society of Jesus is a mixed reality as the whole church is,” Father Zollner said, when asked about the lack of transparency in the Father Rupnik case. “We are not better at this. And it has been proven now, in the eyes of everybody, again.”
One of the more remarkable things in a pontificate full of surprises is the fact that Pope Benedict XVI's major writings involved a significant engagement with the thought of Friedrich Nietzsche.
The Lenten fish fry, a staple of many parishes and fire departments alike, has made its way into the digital age with an interactive map for the Western Pennsylvania region.
Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David G. O’Connell was remembered as a man “gripped by grace” as nearly 5,000 attended a funeral Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels March 3.
Jesuit Father Hans Zollner will be a consultant for the Diocese of Rome’s office dedicated to safeguarding minors and vulnerable people.
Meet Paul Haring, the CNS photographer who covered the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and the election of Francis, numerous international papal trips and the daily action of Vatican life for over a decade.
Pope Francis set a goal early in his pontificate to have dialogue with various religions, especially Islam, and from his many gestures and encounters with Muslims, some profound lessons emerge.
If you’ve recently retired from the workforce, you know that the question can assail you in unguarded moments: Did you retire too soon?
Liberation theology and hip-hop may seem like odd bedfellows, but in their roots and their motivations, they share more in common than many would presume.
The pope said that cardinals and senior Vatican officials will now have to pay "ordinary" rent payments on the apartments owned by the Vatican in Rome.
“If the women of South Sudan are given an opportunity to develop, to have space to be productive, South Sudan will be transformed.”
The pope prayed that “all who honor his memory will be confirmed in the resolve to reject the ways of violence and overcome evil with good.”
The Diocese of Albany has placed a hold on celebrations of Mass with the 1962 Roman Missal, which affects two parishes in the region. Latin Mass with the 2002 missal can still be performed.
Pope Francis is calling us to appreciate the vital interplay between the pastoral and doctrinal aspects of church teaching when it comes to sexual sin and the reception of the Eucharist.
Give yourself over to contemplation. Climb the mountain. Soon enough, you will be saying with Peter, “Lord, it is good that we are here.”
March 5, 2023, The Second Sunday of Lent: The message of the transfiguration is incomplete on its own without the paschal mystery that is to come.
Cardinal Wilton Gregory said that Pope Francis has made it difficult for Americans to be comfortable with just one aspect of Catholic Social Teaching—“you’ve got to have them all.”
As Catholics enter into Lent, a season that we mark by acts of both repentance and service, it is worth considering how we might move from alarm at antisemitism to action.
Three Jesuit astronomers and the 16th-century pope who commissioned the Gregorian calendar have recently been honored with having asteroids named after them.
The Catholic Bishops' Conference in Germany wants to create a Synodal Council out of both clerics and lay people, but the Vatican has declared its rejection of this plan.
John Hope Franklin wrote of the African American struggle for justice for seven decades. At his death, he was called "the first great American historian to reckon the price owed in violence, autocracy and militarism.”
“The [Second Vatican] Council was a visit of God to his church. It was one of those things that God produces in history through holy people,” Pope Francis said in an interview published in Belgium on Feb. 28.
Pope Benedict never ceased to argue that democracy must be judged by truth, a criterion it cannot measure but can only be measured by.
Comedian Chelsea Handler proudly champions her childfree lifestyle. But for Catholics, parenthood is not simply a lifestyle choice and has less to do with happiness than with purpose.
A lovingly crafted new revival of “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music makes a fresh case for reconsideration of Lorraine Hansberry's less well-known second play, which followed the classic “A Raisin in the Sun.”
In honor of Black history month, two intellectual giants and close friends, Cornel West and Robert George, join “The Gloria Purvis Podcast” to talk about what Black joy and resistance mean to them.
McCarrick, once one of the most powerful clerics in the Catholic Church known for his fundraising prowess, has been accused of sexually abusing both adult and child victims over decades.
Like St. John Paul II, Pope Francis takes seriously that the restoration of the liturgy was the result of the movement of the Holy Spirit.
At the end of April, Pope Francis will travel to Hungary, where he will meet with government officials, refugees, scholars and young people in the capital of Budapest.
“I do not condemn capitalism in the way some attribute to me. Nor am I against the market [economy],” Pope Francis stated in El Pastor, a new book by two Argentine journalists.
What sets Fred Rogers apart from so many other public figures is very simple. I believe wholeheartedly that, given the chance, he would have been glad to meet me. And you.
Having Mass announcements right before the liturgy ends is like having the director come out and stop “Hamlet” three minutes before it finishes in order to tell the audience where the best post-show night spots are.
Having Mass announcements right before the liturgy ends is like having the director come out and stop “Hamlet” three minutes before it finishes in order to tell the audience where the best post-show night spots are.
Prison reform advocates, including the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition and the Urban Institute, have praised the program for having “dramatically changed the field of re-entry in Colorado.”
Prison reform advocates, including the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition and the Urban Institute, have praised the program for having “dramatically changed the field of re-entry in Colorado.”
When Ukrainian artist Oleksandr Klymenko came upon thousands of wooden boxes being used to transport ammunition, he decided to use them as canvases for art.
When Ukrainian artist Oleksandr Klymenko came upon thousands of wooden boxes being used to transport ammunition, he decided to use them as canvases for art.
“Women Talking” is an exploration of the way that religion can be used to imprison people—and what’s worse, to teach them to imprison themselves.
“Women Talking” is an exploration of the way that religion can be used to imprison people—and what’s worse, to teach them to imprison themselves.
This week, Zac and Ashley join forces with the hosts of the universe’s leading Jewish podcast, “Unorthodox,” for our annual Lenten conversation.
This week, Pope Francis again confirmed restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass, making it clear that permission to celebrate the pre-Vatican II liturgy is reserved to the Vatican.
On the war’s first anniversary, there is little enthusiasm on either side for negotiations that might produce peace. The staff and volunteers of Caritas Ukraine accept a double duty—agents of humanitarian aid but also, with their families, victims and targets of conflict themselves.
In an exclusive interview on the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine, Archbishop Paul Gallagher emphasizes the need to end the war but says that “a just peace” is not on the horizon.
Carlos Medina was charged with one count of murder “and a special allegation that he personally used a firearm,” according to a news release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office.
What I experienced pales in comparison to what other young women say they endured at Mr. Pavone’s hand. But what makes grooming particularly insidious is how easily it allows a person to be manipulated.
With a “firm intention to proceed with measures to ensure that situations similar to those reported will not occur again,” Father Verschueren said the Jesuits will begin an internal process that “may result in disciplinary action.”
The changing demographics of the Catholic Church in the United States raises the question: How well do Cardinal Robert McElroy’s views reflect the various perspectives present in the growing Latino community?
“Pope Francis’ message is really about a personal relationship with Jesus,” Kizito Kiyimba, S.J., to America’s Vatican correspondent. “His message remains after him.”
Ahead of upcoming general elections on Feb. 25 and March 11, Nigerian Catholics want their next national leaders to address the difficult political and socio-economic issues facing the country.
“Today, I join Christians worldwide in observing Ash Wednesday,” Biden wrote on Twitter. “The Lenten season is a time for reflection and discernment and an opportunity to recommit ourselves to God and to one another.”
History and Ash Wednesday illustrate a mutual truth: Ideas are much easier to suggest than to suppress.
“The rite of the imposition of ashes serves as the beginning of this return journey. It exhorts us to do two things: to return to the truth about ourselves and to return to God and to our brothers and sisters.”
This week, I gave Playground, a more customizable version of ChatGPT, a series of prompts for Ash Wednesday homilies. And the results were pretty astonishing.
Each Ash Wednesday, our pews are overflowing. How can we turn our Lenten promises into a dialogue with those who might not usually attend Mass outside of this day?
I didn’t know Bishop Dave as well as others did, so part of me also feels like my sadness is unjustified. And then there is regret.
Feb. 26, 2023, The First Sunday of Lent: Lent is a time to hear Jesus clearly speak: “Get away, Satan!”
“If you take refuge in an idea, in an ideology, whether right or left or center, you are making the Gospel a political party, an ideology, a club of people,” Pope Francis said during his general audience on Feb. 22.
What book will you pick up this Lent? America editors have never been shy about making recommendations on this topic, and over the years, various contributors have also given suggestions on everything from Scripture to novels to devotional reading and more.
Pope Francis has unequivocally confirmed that bishops must obtain authorization from the Holy See before granting permission to celebrate the pre-Vatican II Mass in parish churches.
Two former F.B.I. agents who went on to hold leadership roles in the church say a memo characterizing traditionalist Catholics as possible domestic threats is a troubling example of the bureau not following its own guidelines.
Mardi Gras is not only Catholic, it’s French, Creole, African-American, African and Native American. And there are layers to this ornate carnival that reveal a powerful history of Black joy, resistance and rebellion.
Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David G. O’Connell was committed to ‘the ordinary person, not the rich Catholic,’ said Linda Dakin-Grimm, an immigration attorney who worked with the bishop. His death is being investigated as a homicide.
With the first anniversary of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine just days away, the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church spoke about gratitude and powerlessness in the face of a “blind, absurd, sacrilegious war.”
A prominent Jesuit artist whose mosaics decorate churches around the globe has been barred from pursuing his artistic activity after 15 more people came forward with fresh accusations against him of spiritual, sexual and psychological abuse.
Bishop David O’Connell, an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles known for his advocacy for peace, was shot and killed Saturday, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Traditional Catholic networks have evaporated, and professional marketing of our faith is needed to fill the void.
In his Lenten message for 2023, Pope Francis compares the ongoing synodal process to the strenuous mountain trek embarked in the Gospel of Transfiguration, with what awaits us at the end better revealing God's will and our mission to the church.
For someone with the right ears and eyes, Burning Man provides opportunities to become more engaged and more intentional in faith.
I introduced students to a worldview completely at odds with the one expressed by Pope Francis. In doing so, I rationalized greed and dismissed the idea of a common good.
I introduced students to a worldview completely at odds with the one expressed by Pope Francis. In doing so, I rationalized greed and dismissed the idea of a common good.
My Father’s House centers on Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, a real life Irish priest who, with the help of an electic group of accomplices, helped shuttle escaped prisoner of war captives to safety.
My Father’s House centers on Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, a real life Irish priest who, with the help of an electic group of accomplices, helped shuttle escaped prisoner of war captives to safety.
What does A.I. paint as the communion of saints? And what does that say about how we have taught it to visualize the saints?
What does A.I. paint as the communion of saints? And what does that say about how we have taught it to visualize the saints?
Cardinal O’Malley thanked the commission members and the Portuguese bishops who launched the study, but mostly the victims and survivors who came forward, many telling their stories for the first time.
Cardinal O’Malley thanked the commission members and the Portuguese bishops who launched the study, but mostly the victims and survivors who came forward, many telling their stories for the first time.
A survey by the Pew Research Center showed that Americans who have taken classes on world religions are more knowledgeable about members of other religions than those who have not.
A survey by the Pew Research Center showed that Americans who have taken classes on world religions are more knowledgeable about members of other religions than those who have not.
Catholics probably won’t hear hip-hop at Mass anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean the genre doesn’t have a lot to say about God and the plight of God’s people.
Catholics probably won’t hear hip-hop at Mass anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean the genre doesn’t have a lot to say about God and the plight of God’s people.
There is a new willingness in the Catholic Church, modeled by Pope Francis, to hold its disagreements in fruitful tension, allowing the Spirit to show new paths forward that transcend those divisions.
A new collective tribute by a baker’s dozen of erudite specialists adds up to an erudite, if in some parts abstruse, overview of the remarkable life and ecclesiastic career of Cardinal Sforza Pallavicino.
In 'Another Kind of Eden,' James Lee Burke offers literary speculations on the presence of evil in a fallen world—a post-Eden existence that nonetheless makes occasional stabs at goodness and light.
With his new novel, Randy Boyagoda has added a witty, rambunctious and occasionally touching entry to the list of authors inspired by Dante.
Sister Jean, the beloved chaplain of Loyola Chicago's men's basketball team, has 103 years worth of stories to tell in her new memoir.
I’ve realized that the approach we take in sex ed offers some guidelines that could be useful for the church as a whole as we seek to engage in honest conversations as part of the Synod on Synodality.
The doctrine of Real Presence is important for many reasons, not least because it is through the presence of love itself that every Catholic may discover anew the art of self-giving love.
St. Mary's Church in New Haven, Conn., has been combined with other local parishes due to declining numbers of priests in the archdiocese. Parishioners responded over the course of a year to how the transition went.
The Catholic Church has produced preachers whose inspiring words resulted in immediate conversions. Even today, there are many excellent Catholic preachers, but this does not seem to be the norm.
In many senses, Pope Francis has proven the most communication-savvy pontiff in history. Francis has proven willing to make himself available to a degree that previous popes never even considered.
Our readers offered a variety of perspectives on Pope Benedict XVI and his ministry after the publication of America's articles on his life and passing.
Mustard Seed Communities began as a response to the needs of abandoned and disabled children in Jamaica, and God is present even in the midst of the suffering faced by people there.
“What should I do for Lent?” That’s the wrong question. Rather, it is not the first question we should ask. It is the last one. Let me explain.
There is every reason to hope and even expect that pro-lifers will intentionally move with confidence into a Pro-Life 3.0 future focused on radical equality for both mother and child.
Catholics love their saints. But it’s not easy to become one. On this special Deep Dive episode of “Inside the Vatican,” we take you inside the grueling process of saint-making.
Students at a Catholic high school in Philadelphia are now "no longer members of the school community" after posting a video in which one of them is in blackface.
A Reflection for Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time, by Ricardo da Silva, S.J.
Pope Francis has dismissed the idea that he could soon resign and stated clearly for the first time, “I believe that the pope’s ministry is ad vitam [for life]. I see no reason why it should not be so.”
The history of the church was nothing close to a steady, if interrupted, march to eliminate slavery.
The history of the church was nothing close to a steady, if interrupted, march to eliminate slavery.
Feb. 19, 2023, The Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time: Like the call in Leviticus, the readings remind all the faithful to be set apart, to be holy, and this is fleshed-out in the love of one’s neighbor and more so in the love of one’s so-called enemies. In other words, the readings challenge us to grow up.
Feb. 19, 2023, The Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time: Like the call in Leviticus, the readings remind all the faithful to be set apart, to be holy, and this is fleshed-out in the love of one’s neighbor and more so in the love of one’s so-called enemies. In other words, the readings challenge us to grow up.
A Reflection for Wednesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time, by Michael J. O’Loughlin
A Reflection for Wednesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time, by Michael J. O’Loughlin
The Rev. David Misbrener welcomed a near-return to normal for residents of the village of East Palestine, Ohio, after “a really scary week.”
The Rev. David Misbrener welcomed a near-return to normal for residents of the village of East Palestine, Ohio, after “a really scary week.”
On “The Gloria Purvis Podcast,” Gloria speaks with Dr. Jason Blakely, a political scholar and professor at Pepperdine University, about this burgeoning trend of Catholic integralism.
Pope Francis explains the passion for evangelizing, which means that the disciples simultaneously stay with Jesus and go forth, having been sent by him.
Valentine’s Day has not historically been the favorite holiday of America writers, but reflections on love have always found a home in these pages.
A $50 million shrine in Oklahoma built to honor the slain missionary — killed by three masked assassins who entered his rectory during Guatemala’s civil war — is expected to draw thousands of pilgrims to his home state.
The singer's halftime performance illuminated some of the tensions experienced by pregnant women in the public eye.
Devastated by malnutrition and preventable diseases like flu, pneumonia, anemia, malaria and diarrhea, the Yanomami people have been called victims of a contemporary genocide by government authorities.
The Super Bowl ads are effective precisely because they’re less interested in Jesus and more interested in getting us to think about our choices.
Pope Francis today publicly denounced the sentencing of Nicaragua’s Bishop Ronaldo Álvarez to 26 years and four months in prison.
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Thomas Collins as archbishop of Toronto and appointed Bishop Francis Leo to succeed him as the 14th archbishop of Canada’s largest diocese.
Many Catholic nuns, in the Philadelphia area as elsewhere, are known to be among the country’s most rabid sports fans.
A conversation with Jenna Barnett, the host of the new podcast “Lead Us Not” from Sojourners.
The genre that spawned “Bridgerton” is perhaps the least Catholic type of fiction available today, but its relationships are more Catholic than expected.
“To me, placing survivors’ stories first is about cultural transformation,” said the Rev. Gerard McGlone in regard to the report involving case studies of abuse cover-up in Catholic diocese.
To face potential mortal illness with wry humor and a taste for the ironic takes a delicate touch, but that is what the United Church of Christ pastor and writer Molly Baskette does in her new book.
Is it sound theology to think God was on one's own side after a victory? Who can capture the mind of God; do we know that he doesn't care who wins a game?
This week on ‘Inside the Vatican,’ Ricardo da Silva, S.J., and Gerard O’Connell discuss Pope Francis’ six-day visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, which the pope called a pilgrimage of peace.
The Church of England banned church weddings for same-sex couples while allowing priests to bless same-sex marriages and partnerships.
A Catholic high school in Philadelphia is taking action after several of its students posted a racist social media video that has sparked community protests.
Brother Mary Joseph lay in state at Mepkin Abbey, his simple funeral liturgy soon to begin, fitting for a man who lived a simple life at the South Carolina Trappist monastery.
Nicaragua has released more than 200 political prisoners, including Catholic priests, students, and opponents of the regime, who were taken from detention in deplorable conditions and sent to the United States.
Pope Francis presents the good Samaritan as the prototype of the fraternity and social friendship that creates the “culture of encounter” and builds bridges of love among all.
“These are strong, courageous people of hope,” Daniel Corrou, S.J., the director of Jesuit Refugee Service/Middle East and North Africa, said. But even hope has its limits.
Six churchmen and a diocesan communicator were sentenced to 10 years in prison on conspiracy charges as Nicaragua’s increasingly tyrannical regime continues its persecution of the Catholic Church.
Biden’s “anti-life and anti-religious freedom policy agendas that destroy unborn life, harm the dignity of pregnant mothers, and violate the religious freedom and medical conscience rights of healthcare professionals.”
After two professors of theology engaged in a fruitful conversation in America on the 2019 Vatican document on “‘gender theory in education,” the editors invited them each to respond once again to each other on the subject of gender identity and transgender persons.
In his State of the Union address, President Biden called on Congress to codify Roe v. Wade “to protect every woman’s constitutional right to choose” while calling for national unity.
Catholic humanitarian agencies are launching emergency relief campaigns following Feb. 6’s devastating earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, which have so far killed more than 11,200 and injured upward of 40,900.
In his weekly general audience, Pope Francis reveals what he said on his apostolic journey to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, praying that “the seeds of God's Kingdom of love, justice and peace may germinate.”
Feb. 12, 2023, The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Is your definition of wisdom different from biblical wisdom?
Richard Nixon called McLaughlin one of the only good Jesuits among “all-out, barn-burning radicals” in a conversation with Billy Graham.
Anyone involved in choosing public policy, directly or indirectly, must consider the possibility that the wrong option will actually make a problem worse.
This week on The Gloria Purvis Podcast, Gloria speaks with Dr. Meg Chisolm, a Catholic psychiatrist, about mental illness and how should people of faith treat it.
In the report made public Friday, Bishop Robert McManus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester said he felt releasing the names “will not accurately reflect the various concerns and outcomes.”
In a sense, the pope’s messages all amount to the same thing: Hello and God bless you. But there is a care in the language that is striking.
Pope Francis expressed his “spiritual closeness” and “solidarity” with those affected by a pair of powerful earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria Feb. 6.
Pope Francis hit out strongly against the way people have sought to manipulate Benedict’s death. “People who instrumentalize such a good person, [a man] of God, almost I would say a holy father of the church, have no ethics,” he said. “They are of a party, not of the church.”
Pope Francis repeated his pressing call for an end to the violence that has forced millions into camps for refugees or the internally displaced in South Sudan.
Pope Francis is on an ecumenical pilgrimage for reconciliation and peace with Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury; and Iain Greenshields, the moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
In addition to the critique of Cardinal McElroy’s focus on welcome and inclusion, critics are also reacting to the process through which that could happen: the ongoing synod of bishops.
Prior to 1964, no pope had left Italy for 150 years. The advent of the 747 and long-haul flights enabled popes to finally visit the world, and the world to visit the pope.
In a candid account of his five decades in the Salvadoran church, the country’s first cardinal tells of calumnies against El Salvador’s St. Oscar Romero, but also of slights against him by other prelates.
In his Christmas message, he offered special greetings to “our soldiers at the front,” to civilians and soldiers who have been wounded and to all those mourning the loss of loved ones.
Instead of focusing on what some critic or pundit has to say about what was important from the last year, what would it be like if we went through our own calendars and credit card statements and made top 10 lists of our own?
Mario Puzo's novels are shot through with religious themes—but almost never with genuinely religious characters.
Tens of thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the pope’s message inviting people to pay less attention to presents and more to prayer,.
‘Why is the manger so important? Because it is the sign, and not by chance, of Christ’s coming into this world. It is how he announces his coming.’
On a special Christmas episode of “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley discuss the meaning of Christmas hymns and share their favorite (and least favorite) holiday songs and movies.
Something has started, something good, and we are going to be a part of it. But what is it exactly? Wait and see.
Something has started, something good, and we are going to be a part of it. But what is it exactly? Wait and see.
Twenty-two men from Espíritu Santo Island who were arrested between under President Nayib Bukele’s state of emergency decree in El Salvador.
Twenty-two men from Espíritu Santo Island who were arrested between under President Nayib Bukele’s state of emergency decree in El Salvador.
At Christmas we can rejoice in a uniquely rich and mysterious gift, the new personal presence of “God with us.”
"It is really important for [religious orders] to set the story straight immediately and to reveal all the known facts in a case."
Pope Francis’ message to the Roman Curia has often been challenging, even provocative, and this year’s address was no exception.
My go-to for holiday comfort is generally British TV shows. Any TV trip to the U.K. feels instantly like a vacation.
The latest boutique hotel to open its doors in Bethlehem’s Old City, just minutes away from Manger Square, is the Morcos Nassar Palace, which doubles as a humanitarian project unique in Palestine and possibly in the Arab world.
Kelly DeRoy, a core member, and John O’Connor, an assistant who has acted as a caretaker at L’Arche GWDC, share their insights about the community’s unique Christmas traditions.
Coinciding with the winter solstice, the Longest Night is a prayer service aimed at offering comfort to people who struggle with the in-your-face, over-the-top joy sometimes demanded during the Christmas season.
In the Gospel, the passion accounts are dramas. The infancy stories are tableaus. They simply want us to see something.
A number of responses to Pope Francis' interview with five representatives of America Media on Nov. 22, 2022 centered on the question of women's ordination and women's roles in the church. Here are five responses.
Dec. 25, 2022, The Nativity of the Lord: This Christmas night, Luke’s Gospel presents the image of an anointed and holy child between two world-spanning powers: The Roman Empire and the heavenly host.
Parliamentary inquests have been used in the past to dig deeply into unresolved Mafia crimes and terrorist attacks, and can be activated to conduct investigations “on matters of public interest,” according to the Italian Constitution.
In his final general audience on the theme of discernment, Pope Francis says, "The goal of discernment is to recognize the salvation God is working in my life."
Nation-states have modeled a holistic approach that involves all who were affected by injustice and may contribute to a solution. The church can do the same as a response to the clerical sex abuse crisis.
Electronic encryption allows people to keep a list of information secure and untouchable by centralized powers. To some investors and speculators, and apparently to some Catholics, that possibility holds enormous appeal.
Bishop Daniele Libanori also said the claims of the women about the Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik were true and that they had “seen their lives ruined by the evil suffered and by the complicit silence” of the church.
George W. Hunt, S.J., editor in chief of America from 1984 to 1998, wrote about some of our nation's most famous authors. But he was a gifted writer himself, as seen in his many Christmas essays for the magazine.
This week on “The Gloria Purvis Podcast,” Gloria speaks with Binta Niambi Brown, a talent manager in the music and entertainment industry, about the need for Catholics to denounce Kanye West’s anti-Black and antisemitic remarks.
As ever, Stephen Adly Guirgis writes hilarious, profane dialogue and puts his characters in contention over matters both petty and portentous.
Voters generally rejected “election denier” candidates this year, but barriers to full voter access remain significant. Catholics still have an important role to play in protecting democracy.
I have a confession to make: I have not been to confession yet this Advent. Every year, I bug people to go sometime during the season, and I think most of my family has been. But I have not yet gone myself.
Where a lot of Catholic Christmas hymns lean into the more fantastical elements—angels, stars, kings—“In the Bleak Midwinter” points us instead to the ordinary.
The Jesuits asked for new evidence against the Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik, and offered a timeline about his case in an effort to tamp down the scandal.
Pope Francis said he wrote a resignation letter in 2013, his first year in office, to be used in case he became physically or mentally impaired and unable to fulfill the duties of the papacy.
Frank Pavone, the head of Priests for Life, has been laicized by the Vatican for his social media posts and disobedience to his bishop.
The great Jesuit missionary to China, Matteo Ricci, was declared "Venerable" by Pope Francis today, the first step on the path to canonization.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center: “Seven of the 20 execution attempts were visibly problematic—an astonishing 37 percent—as a result of executioner incompetence, failures to follow protocols, or defects in the protocols themselves.”
“Downstate,” Bruce Norris’s new off-Broadway play about a group home for pedophile, raises the question: Who gets to write about pedophilia? And what are they allowed to say?
Martin McDonagh’s new movie “The Banshees of Inisherin” serves up sad enough stuff to leave viewers crying in our beer. But first we laugh.
This week on Jesuitical, Ashley and Zac talk to Father Dave Dwyer, the executive director of Busted Halo and the author of the new book ‘Mass Class: Your Questions Answered.’
France has long been known as “the eldest daughter of the church.” Argentina is the home of Pope Francis. What’s a Catholic to do?
The end of Title 42 could lead to the restoration of asylum on the border. The end of the measure could allow these families to, at long last, find safe haven.
In his latest novel, Julian Barnes returns to his strategy of merging history, fiction and memoir to pay tribute to a beloved teacher.
For a brief period in the 19th century, Mexico was ruled by a Hapsburg prince installed by France and named emperor. The story is told brilliantly in Edward Shawcross's new history, 'The Last Emperor of Mexico.'
Marshall McLuhan's media theories proved prophetic for the age of mass communications—and his religious beliefs played a role in his theories.
Louise Perry's argument against the sexual revolution raises a difficult question for readers: Given the fraught situation in which the sexual revolution has left many women and men, where do we go from here?
I hope the lessons I learned in caring for my mother, in forgiving my father, help me to forge a better path forward with my children.
Responses to Kerry Weber’s “Stop saying the Latin Mass is more reverent” were varied, with strong feelings on both sides. These are a selection of reader reactions.
A close look at the Catholic moral tradition around sin, mercy and confession shows that it developed from its inception pathways to holiness that were collective, merciful, hospitable, inclusive, exemplary and grace-filled.
Given that so many converts come into the church precisely because they have discovered the Eucharist, it seems sensible we should listen to them especially.
There is a reason the Catholic Church often speaks of abortion and euthanasia together as life issues.
Pastoralidad is not a normal word in Spanish any more than pastorality is in English. Yet as soon as you hear it, you know what it means, or at least you think you do.
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell give an update on the new facts that have emerged in the case of the Jesuit artist Marko Rupnik.
Catholic Charities USA officials pushed back strongly against allegations from Republican House of Representatives members that its humanitarian responses to the U.S. border crisis were potentially criminal acts.
The Respect for Marriage Act upholds a principle that most Americans can agree on: We are not going back to the 1950s.
The case of prominent Jesuit artist Marco Rupnik has exposed two main weaknesses in the Holy See’s abuse policies: sexual and spiritual misconduct against adult women is rarely if ever punished, and secrecy still reigns supreme.
The Vatican has had diplomatic contact with Russia regarding comments Pope Francis made about Russian minorities being responsible for the worst acts of cruelty in the country’s war on Ukraine.
From Masses to baptisms, weddings and confessions, the church provides a window into the religious life of Catholic expatriates in Qatar.
The 84-year-old Jesuit died in a hospital while imprisoned in Mumbai in July 2021 after being denied bail on medical grounds, despite suffering from multiple age-related ailments.
The Jesuit superior general admitted that a famous Jesuit priest had been convicted of one of the most serious crimes in the Catholic Church some two years before the Vatican decided to shelve another case against him.
Dec. 18, 2022, The Fourth Sunday of Advent: The fact that women hold central roles in biblical narratives is nothing new.
How the Catholic Church—from Jesus to Dom Perignon to modern monks—has helped perfect the art of winemaking
“We love Caleb!” a group of purple-clad Gonzaga students chanted during a Heisman Trophy watch party at the Jesuit boys’ high school.
Bishop Rolando Álvarez Lagos of Matagalpa was accused of conspiracy to undermine the country and propagate false news, according to a statement from the courts in the national capital, Managua.
Most Catholics only hear the Bible interpreted by men—priests and deacons—in the context of Sunday Mass. America’s “The Word” columnist Jaime Waters wants to change that.
“Let’s reduce the level of Christmas spending a bit,” the pope said. “Let’s have a simpler Christmas with more modest gifts. Let’s send what we save to the people of Ukraine, who are suffering so much.”
In his weekly general audience, Pope Francis speaks about the necessity of diligence when entering the final phase of the journey of discernment.
Fans of Colm Tóibín will no doubt be pleased at the news that he has a new book of essays coming out.
Sister Daly spent parts of five decades as a religious in corporate accountability and shareholder advocacy.
In a stunning move, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, 78, has filed a lawsuit for defamation against a Canadian woman for making “unfounded accusations of alleged sexual assault” against him.
A look back at Thomas Mann's 'Reflections of a Nonpolitical Man' and 'The Magic Mountain' reveals an author perpetually in exile—literally and figuratively.
“The Swimmers” follows the now-famous story of the Mardini sisters, competitive swimmers who escaped the war in Syria in 2015, crossing the sea from Turkey to Greece on a rubber dinghy.
The expanded child tax credit kept millions of children out of poverty last year, but it expired amid partisan bickering. Making it permanent would be pro-family, pro-child, pro-life and anti-poverty.
Why would President Biden—who has done so much to repair America’s alliances abroad—have us side with Iran, Saudi Arabia and North Korea in voting for continued use of the death penalty in the world?
Jesuit missionary Jacques de Brébeuf worked with the Indigenous Huron people for years and wanted to give the people a carol of their own, in their own language.
“Whether it be directed towards people of color, immigrants, Jews, Muslims, hatred is never acceptable,” said the archbishop of Washington and Catholic co-chair of the National Council of Synagogues consultation for the U.S.C.C.B.
Many Argentines have been rooting vocally for their national team, but taking care to pray to the country’s many folk saints.
A prominent Roman Catholic priest known for his activism has been reinstated as leader of his Chicago parish after being cleared by church officials of allegations that he sexually abused a minor decades ago.
“Any case like this is very painful, [but].... we have not hidden anything,” says Arturo Sosa, S.J., the superior general of the Society of Jesus.
In an interview with America, Cardinal Wilton Gregory said that Catholics have an obligation to be well-informed about the news, especially when antisemitic comments or actions are prevalent.
“The Church could welcome more artists by creating more events to showcase the talents within their parishes and to foster artist/patron relationships.”
Pietro Di Donato wrote 'The Penitent' because he thought it to be a profoundly human story—though both the murderer and the victim became larger than life in reality.
This week on Jesuitical, Ashley and Zac are joined by Matt Maher. Matt is a nine-time-GRAMMY nominee and three-time-GMA Dove Award winning musician. His latest album is “The Stories I Tell Myself.”
There are some truly excellent films about monks, with deep insights into the love of God and the nature of sacrifice. But why aren’t there more?
Some people might wonder how I felt so connected to others from afar, but there are many ways that I connected with my parish, and I really felt like I belonged.
That is what the Madonna represents: the initial whole, the divine unity of us, the world and God, is something that must be lost.
On this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen and Gerry cover the case of Marko Rupnik, a well-known Jesuit artist who has been barred from hearing confessions or offering spiritual direction after allegations of abuse.
The pope started crying and had to pause for a moment after he prayed, “Immaculate Virgin, today I would have liked to bring you the thanksgiving of the Ukrainian people for the peace we have long asked the Lord for.”
As the pope’s step faltered, his cries for peace increased, although not without controversy and criticism.
The Rev. Hans Zollner said the recent statement by the Jesuit order about the Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik “raised questions that, as far as I see, can only be answered by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.”
After Dorothy Day's death in 1980, her biographer William Miller wrote her obituary for America, noting that "the amazing thing about her life was the improbability of it all."
I typed “Why does God…” into Google to see what would auto-populate. The question, “Why does God hate me?” was number three on the list.
I typed “Why does God…” into Google to see what would auto-populate. The question, “Why does God hate me?” was number three on the list.
Dec. 11, 2022, The Third Sunday of Advent: This week’s Advent message reminds us to take seriously the slow work of anything meaningful.
Dec. 11, 2022, The Third Sunday of Advent: This week’s Advent message reminds us to take seriously the slow work of anything meaningful.
Look at the people with whom you live and work. How are they doing? How are they because of your role in their lives? These questions might reveal as much about your standing with the Lord as your list of sins.
Look at the people with whom you live and work. How are they doing? How are they because of your role in their lives? These questions might reveal as much about your standing with the Lord as your list of sins.
“I am not suggesting that we ignore disagreement, but that we handle it in an evangelical fashion, ” Archbishop Timothy Broglio writes.
“I am not suggesting that we ignore disagreement, but that we handle it in an evangelical fashion, ” Archbishop Timothy Broglio writes.
In his weekly general audience, Pope Francis says the goodness of a choice benefits all areas of our lives, and there are signs to confirm these decisions.
More than four decades after their murders, the four churchwomen of El Salvador remain powerful examples of faith and commitment to the Gospel.
Diocesan newspapers in New York and Portland, Ore., are shutting down this year. With fewer Catholic print publications in the United States, who will tell the story of the local church?
The 117th Congress, now in lame-duck session, has a last-ditch opportunity to approve the first significant agricultural worker reform bill in a generation.
Results of a poll of 9,000 Christian churches last December were released this Dec. 1. What Christmas carols made the Top 10?
People who hope to escape Haiti’s cholera outbreak and life-threatening insecurity cannot wait for a more welcome climate to emerge in the United States.
Dan Lipinski, one of the last pro-life Democrats to serve in Congress, calls on the pro-life movement to come together on federal legislation that limits abortion and supports pregnant women and their children.
Slovenian Jesuit and artist Father Marko Rupnik has been barred from hearing confessions or offering spiritual direction after complaints about his ministry.
Reflecting on the horror and the events of the intervening years, Msgr. Weiss said: “Gratitude sustains me. I pray a lot and try to keep myself in the Lord’s hands.”
Who is this King Wenceslas fella? What makes him good? And why does he merit a song at Christmas?
Stopping to gaze at and perhaps pray before a Nativity scene is one of the best ways to remember the real meaning of Christmas, Pope Francis said.
The graces of the sacraments of Anointing of the Sick, Ordination, Baptism, Matrimony and Eucharist compounded as they were being lived out.
This imaginary scene depicts the dreams of many Catholics: a church that welcomes LGBTQ people, allows women to be ordained and gives young Catholics a platform for their ideas.
The judges ruled that the trial would continue, urging prosecutors to investigate Perlasca’s earlier testimony over the winter holidays.
Too many of us are attracted to a “spatial” life because we can control spaces and stop them from changing. But time, even when managed, is always beyond our control. In his new book, James K. A. Smith seeks to reorient us to the reality of human life as temporal.
With most of the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic removed, Pope Francis is scheduled to return to a full slate of public liturgies in December and January.
This week on “Jesuitical,” we’re talking to Kerry Weber about what it was like to be a woman asking PopeFrancis about women’s ordination, a question considered by many to be off the table, within the walls of the Vatican.
A decades-old memorial for people who died from AIDS-related complications has found a new home in a New York City church.
In “Andor,” Tony Gilroy paints the Empire at its most oppressive. Surveillance has become near total: Anyone can be found almost anywhere.
As a Catholic and a Republican, I can say without a doubt that Nick Fuentes does not represent the values of either group.
Peace, unity and reconciliation also are the themes Pope Francis is expected to focus on in Congo, a nation rich in natural resources but torn apart by ongoing violence.
On this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell and host Colleen Dulle analyze the pope’s comments on two Russian minority groups and give the story behind America's exclusive interview with Pope Francis.
A Reflection for the Feast of St. Edmund Campion, S.J., patron of America Media, by Sam Sawyer, S.J.
On my last day as America’s editor in chief, I am humbled by this extraordinary show of support that will enable us to leverage the momentum of the last, transformative 10 years into our next exciting phase of growth.
Dec. 4, 2022, The Second Sunday of Advent: This Sunday’s readings challenge the hearer to surrender easy theological answers and false security in order to attain a more expansive sense of the kingdom of heaven.
Matt Malone, S.J., compiled this list of his top 10 features from America and his top 10 columns over his 10 years as editor in chief.
In his Wednesday general audience, Pope Francis asks, “How can we recognize true consolation?”
As the new prefect, Maximino Caballero Ledo becomes the second lay man to hold a top position in the Vatican.
This week on “The Gloria Purvis Podcast,” Gloria sits down with Father Matt Malone to discuss their interview with Pope Francis and Father Malone’s 10 years as editor in chief of America magazine.
In a 50-year career as a columnist, Mary McGrory wrote some of the most prescient political journalism around—including for America.
Your gift today - of any size - will help America continue to tell the stories and ask the questions that matter most. Donate today to join us in transformation.
The Kremlin's ambassador to the Holy See, Alexander Avdeev, told the RIA Novosti agency that he met Monday with a Vatican official to express his “indignation” about Francis’ comments.
As many restrictions put in place for the COVID-19 pandemic have been lifted, some Catholic dioceses around the country are returning to offering consecrated wine in the chalice for Communion.
Beijing and the Vatican are once again tangling over the prickly issue of appointing Chinese bishops.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan called the bill “a bad deal for the many courageous Americans of faith and no faith who continue to believe and uphold the truth about marriage in the public square today.”
Some part of me hoped that the interview would help teach me how to be more like Francis. But it’s clear the only thing he wants is for us to want to be more like Jesus.
In an unusual move, the Vatican issued a public statement of regret, essentially accusing the Chinese government of violating its agreement with the Vatican.
Pope Francis called for overcoming polarization in the life of the Catholic Church in an exclusive interview with America magazine.
Pope Francis sits down with America for an exclusive interview on polarization, racism, Ukraine, Vatican-China relations and church teaching on the ordination of women.
Social justice issues, including climate change, consume not only the majority of our public relations, but also our staffing resources at the U.S.C.C.B.
For Thanksgiving week, “Inside the Vatican” is bringing you a brief update on a few of the top Vatican stories.
Mere “survival should not be the utmost ambition for a people in democratic countries, but rather prosperity and welfare. I believe that Israel is going to be more Jewish and much less democratic, and we’ll all pay the price for that.”
John T. Noonan, a consummate polymath, was perhaps one of the most lauded, influential and recognizable Catholics engaged in the public square in the last 50 years.
Will Toledo, the founder and lead singer of the band, often uses his music as an outlet to examine his teenage feelings as a young gay man in northern Virginia.
Praying for peace in Ukraine, Pope Francis remembered both the victims of Russia’s current aggression and the millions of victims of a Soviet-engineered famine 90 years ago.
Pope Francis continues his weekly audiences on discernment: Spiritual consolation “is an experience of interior joy, consisting in seeing God’s presence in everything.”
I got lost in a maze of darkness and could not get out. Christ is like the great hero, rushing into the cold and dark to save us.
The bishops adopted the more liberal guidelines for the approximately 800,000 employees of the Catholic Church and the Caritas social services organization.
The election Archbishop Timothy Broglio to lead the conference suggested to Bishop Stowe that “we’re definitely not going to be going in the direction of Pope Francis any more than we have, and that’s unfortunate.”
If you’re looking at Turkey Day with a certain amount of apprehension, here are a few tips from Jesuit life that we’ve found help make things not only manageable but sometimes unexpectedly great.
The characters of Kirstin Valdez Quade's stories often find grace to be just out of reach—but they still pursue it.
Pope Francis has suspended the secretary-general and other top officers of Caritas Internationalis, appointing a temporary administrator to oversee improved management policies.
In the face of a changing climate and polarized politics, the people of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Cut Off, La., have learned to trust in God’s care and the care of one another.
A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr, by Cecilia González-Andrieu
This week on “The Gloria Purvis Podcast,” Gloria speaks with the Rev. Thomas Burke about the importance of establishing personal parishes for Black Catholics.
Catholic leaders have condemned the Nov. 19 attack on an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, that killed at least five people and injured at least 25.
With several of his cousins and their children and grandchildren present, Pope Francis celebrated Mass in the Asti cathedral, giving a nod to his family roots and drawing people’s attention to the root of Christian faith: the cross of Jesus.
Christian leaders should “be courageous and search together” for a solution that will bring a common celebration of Easter every year, the pope said.
A Reflection for the Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by Rachel Lu
Asking the pope for voluntary laicization is unusual, especially for a bishop and particularly for a cleric who denies abuse allegations against him.
After meeting with Pope Francis and other Vatican official, the president of the bishops’ conference said claim that German church is moving toward schism are ‘meant to intimidate us.’
Nov. 27, 2022, The First Sunday of Advent: We have an opportunity for thoughtful reflection on the past and planning for what is on the horizon.
A conversation with Kathryn Judge, the author of "Direct: The Rise of the Middleman Economy and the Power of Going to the Source."
Despite the headlines of worker deaths, FIFA corruption and L.G.B.T. human rights violations (and yes, banned beer), billions around the world welcome the World Cup with relief.
Increased rates of malnourishment, greater discrimination against women and widening restrictions on religious freedom have contributed to a higher rate of material and spiritual poverty worldwide.
An advisory body to the U.S. bishops has called for the development of practical and pastoral guidance on gender dysphoria to help laypeople and clergy in their ministries.
Viewed in the aftermath of the over-hyped midterm elections, Pope Francis’ description of the distortion of politics sounds pretty accurate.
“The Holy See is willing to do everything possible to mediate and end the conflict in Ukraine.”
A Reflection for Friday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time, by Jim McDermott, S.J.
It is not often that you find stained glass on the 11th floor of a mid-century skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan.
Since 1992, Hour Children has aimed to prepare women during their sentence for re-entry into society and then provide support after it ends.
David Henkin explores the history and development of the week as a unit of time—the only one that has no basis in astronomical rhythms.
Most of us agree that stained glass is lovely and can elevate our experience at church. But how often do we consider the men and women who created these uplifting works of art?
The Christmastime sing-along and re-enactment of the Holy Family’s quest for lodging is a joyous Latino tradition that can be shared by all Catholics.
How is a song used in 100 holiday ads somehow connected to Ukraine? It turns out every carol that we sing at Christmas has a story behind it, some inspiring, some strange.
I just know that “I am,” that God made me this way, and that God made me this way for a reason.
How does religious faith affect jurisprudence? And will the sheer number of Catholics on the Supreme Court mean anything for future cases before the Court?
Matt Malone, S.J., sat down with executive editor Ashley McKinless for a final interview to discuss his ten years as editor.
More employers are promising to cover the costs of getting an abortion. They do not seem as eager to to expand paid parental leave and other benefits for workers who want children.
For the Christian, hope is the virtue that lives where optimism claims to abide: trust in the assurance of God’s fidelity and the belief that we can participate in God’s faithful action in the world.
In October, America Media released a groundbreaking documentary meant to deepen the ongoing conversation about the Catholic Church in the United States.
Through all the triumphs and tragedies of the church in its American pilgrimage, we kept the faith; we helped others to find their faith again.
The attorney general's report summarizes the sexual abuse and physical torture perpetrated by 158 priests and the Archdiocese’s response to that abuse.
Let us all pause to imagine Donald J. Trump saying, “I can only ask your forgiveness” to anyone.
Describing herself as “a devout Catholic” and invoking the prayer of St. Francis, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced on Thursday that she will not seek a Democratic leadership post in the next Congress.
The way we talk about the liturgy matters, and to describe something as “irreverent” assumes a level of malicious intent on the part of worshipers that other terms do not.
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Father Martin joins hosts Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell to discuss his meeting with the pope, which focused mostly on ministry to LGBT Catholics.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops are opposed to the bill—even with a newly added amendment aimed at attracting Republican support—saying it is a dire threat to religious liberty.
The appointment of Gleison De Paula Souza as secretary means that now three out of the four senior positions of responsibility at the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life are held by laypeople.
Every movie is like a pilgrimage. It invites us into a journey with the promise of some holy destination, and a good one calls us to an appreciation of community.
The Solemnity of Christ the King is not an old feast. It was created by Pius XI in 1925. What does it mean in our lives today?
If his first press conference is any indication of what is in store for him over the next three years, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, the president-elect of the U.S.C.C.B., may be in for a bit of a bumpy ride.
Can a song save your life? Can a canticle change your life, fundamentally alter its course?
“Do not fear desolation; face it with perseverance, do not evade it,” Pope Francis said in his weekly general audience, continuing on his theme of discernment.
The Rev. Thomas J. Shelley, who died on Monday, taught generations of priests, men and women religious and lay scholars the ins and outs of Catholic history.
The centuries-old silver fir tree that had been destined to become the centerpiece Christmas decoration in St. Peter’s Square will now live, perhaps to see another century.
What can the 21st-century educator offer his or her students in the wake of all the violence, anger and hate they see in the media?
Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services was elected Nov. 15 to a three-year term as president of the U.S.C.C.B. during the bishops’ fall general assembly in Baltimore.
A Reflection for Tuesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time, by Ricardo da Silva, S.J.
The March for Life will take place Jan. 20, but the Washington archdiocese has canceled the Youth Rally and Mass for Life, which have taken place ahead of every march for more than 25 years.
When you talk to Catholics about the church today, especially younger Catholics, a frequent complaint is that the church is not a welcoming place. How are we responding?
This will be the first meeting of U.S. bishops following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision, a long-time goal of many Catholic activists that continues to drive U.S. politics.
When our superior told us that Jerry Huyett had died in Florida, I realized, in a way I never quite had before, a very basic thing; maybe the most basic thing of all: Life ends.
“Loss and damage” because of climate change—the idea that the worst affected emerging economies receive compensation from affluent nations that have contributed the most to global warming—has for the first time been included on the agenda.
In his homily for the sixth World Day of the Poor, the pope advised Christians not to yield to resignation but instead to “seize opportunities” to spread the Gospel and help the weakest.
Nov. 20, 2022, The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe in Ordinary Time: We have an opportunity for thoughtful reflection on the past and planning for what is on the horizon.
A Reflection for Saturday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time, by Valerie Schultz
David McPherson's new book on the importance of placing limitations on our ambitions and desires touches on existential, political, moral and economic questions.
Priorities for Mr. Lula as he becomes president include addressing the food insecurity that affects more than half of the Brazilian population, as well as the restoration of the economy and democratic normalcy after Mr. Bolonaro’s populist rule.
The former conference president Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard admitted he behaved in a “reprehensible way with a 14-year-old girl” 35 years ago. Here’s where his case stands at the Vatican.
‘Death of a Salesman,’ ‘The Piano Lesson’ and ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ showcase the strivings for Black economic independence and self-determination.
It’s no secret that the priesthood in the United States is aging, quickly. But what if part of the solution to the priest shortage is actually ordaining more older priests?
Pope Francis received James Martin, S.J., for the second time in private audience in the papal library of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace this morning, Nov. 11.
This “All Quiet on the Western Front” does not need special effects to hold its own. It is matter-of-fact, and that is its strength.
Father Michael Quealy, the first military chaplain killed in action in Vietnam, was honored on the day of his death in the Reading of the Names ceremony.
The mission of a seminary “is not to form ‘supermen’ who pretend to know and control everything,” but to help seminarians become priests who are humble servants, Pope Francis said.
A Reflection for Friday of the Thirty-second week in Ordinary Time, by Michael O’Loughlin
On “Inside the Vatican” this week, host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell explain what is known about Cardinal Ricard's confession that he "conducted himself in a reprehensible fashion" with a 14 year old girl.
If nothing changes, we should expect abortion-related referenda in all but the deepest conservative states to produce results similar to what we saw Tuesday night.
In 1993, America executive editor Thomas H. Stahel, S.J., interviewed the prominent political pundit Andrew Sullivan on, among other issues, homosexuality and the Catholic Church.
It may be a stretch to say that space made baby Boomers believe in God, but the possibilities and potential of space shaped us. The spirituality of space has stayed in our souls.
Homosexuals have a right to church support and blessing, said Bishop Helmut Dieser, who is the spokesman on abuse issues for the German bishops’ conference.
Libero Milone said he is ready to share proof of the financial mismanagement he said he witnessed at Vatican-owned hospitals and in the church bureaucracy.
Nov. 13, 2022, the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time: Even in the midst of persecution, Jesus lived out a ministry rooted in love, and we are called to do the same.
Nov. 13, 2022, the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time: Even in the midst of persecution, Jesus lived out a ministry rooted in love, and we are called to do the same.
Besides casting votes in the flashier congressional races, Catholic voters will get to speak up on any number of local and regional concerns through local ballot measures.
Besides casting votes in the flashier congressional races, Catholic voters will get to speak up on any number of local and regional concerns through local ballot measures.
In their first private one-on-one conversation, the president of the Australian Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, S.D.B., told Pope Francis, “The church in Australia is alive!”
In their first private one-on-one conversation, the president of the Australian Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, S.D.B., told Pope Francis, “The church in Australia is alive!”
Leaders of the California Catholic Conference warn that passage of Proposition 1 in California would open the door to abortion at a level that far surpasses what was allowed under the Roe v. Wade decision.
Leaders of the California Catholic Conference warn that passage of Proposition 1 in California would open the door to abortion at a level that far surpasses what was allowed under the Roe v. Wade decision.
With age comes wisdom, and that is certainly true for Taylor, whose latest album, “Midnights,” is almost entirely introspective, even a little retrospective.
With age comes wisdom, and that is certainly true for Taylor, whose latest album, “Midnights,” is almost entirely introspective, even a little retrospective.
Pope Francis joined Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders on Friday in calling for the great religions to work together for peace.
Pope Francis joined Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders on Friday in calling for the great religions to work together for peace.
Jim Towey tells of his long friendship and collaboration with Mother Teresa in 'To Love and Be Loved.'
Jim Towey tells of his long friendship and collaboration with Mother Teresa in 'To Love and Be Loved.'
We are all called to a close and yes mystical relationship with God and to lead lives of contemplation. And today's guest on Jesuitical, Kelly Deutsch, wants to help people do just that.
We are all called to a close and yes mystical relationship with God and to lead lives of contemplation. And today's guest on Jesuitical, Kelly Deutsch, wants to help people do just that.
This selection from our conversations about the Trappist monk Thomas Merton is one of the fascinating threads in the book, which turned out to be about more than it seemed.
This selection from our conversations about the Trappist monk Thomas Merton is one of the fascinating threads in the book, which turned out to be about more than it seemed.
During the Reformation, Catholic vestments were targeted for destruction. At the end of the 16th century, only one of these Henry VII copes was left: the one on display today.
During the Reformation, Catholic vestments were targeted for destruction. At the end of the 16th century, only one of these Henry VII copes was left: the one on display today.
The first global report for the Synod on Synodality came out last week, and it’s the Vatican’s first official word on what they’ve been hearing in listening sessions since August 2021.
The first global report for the Synod on Synodality came out last week, and it’s the Vatican’s first official word on what they’ve been hearing in listening sessions since August 2021.
Commitments to protect tolerance and religious freedom need to be put into practice constantly so that these rights may be fully experienced, Pope Francis said.
Commitments to protect tolerance and religious freedom need to be put into practice constantly so that these rights may be fully experienced, Pope Francis said.
The editors have put together this guide to some of the most important issues facing voters this fall, with a focus on how Catholics can make choices that respect life and consider the common good.
The editors have put together this guide to some of the most important issues facing voters this fall, with a focus on how Catholics can make choices that respect life and consider the common good.
Life in a multicultural parish is like a marriage: It can only work if people are listening to each other.
Life in a multicultural parish is like a marriage: It can only work if people are listening to each other.
Let’s have the arguments. Let’s go vote. And then let’s argue some more. Many of the issues at stake are indeed very important. But let’s do this fully grounded in our Catholic family.
Let’s have the arguments. Let’s go vote. And then let’s argue some more. Many of the issues at stake are indeed very important. But let’s do this fully grounded in our Catholic family.
Before I’m a baseball fan, I’m a Christian. And Jesus is pretty clear about forgiveness.
Before I’m a baseball fan, I’m a Christian. And Jesus is pretty clear about forgiveness.
A Reflection for Thursday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time, by Christopher Parker
A Reflection for Thursday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time, by Christopher Parker
The pope will meet with the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, at the interreligious meeting “Bahrain Forum for Dialogue: East and West for Human Coexistence."
The pope will meet with the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, at the interreligious meeting “Bahrain Forum for Dialogue: East and West for Human Coexistence."
On this Feast of All Souls, let us remember "our people," living for God and for each other. We can live for both, and die for both.
On this Feast of All Souls, let us remember "our people," living for God and for each other. We can live for both, and die for both.
Live baseball is more sublime and spiritually satisfying than any other sporting event—even when your team loses.
Live baseball is more sublime and spiritually satisfying than any other sporting event—even when your team loses.
Pace yourself. Don’t overdose on political news thinking that it will all be over soon.
Pace yourself. Don’t overdose on political news thinking that it will all be over soon.
The Gospel teaches people how to live while awaiting death and God’s judgment, loving because he is love, Pope Francis said during a Mass at St. Peter's on All Souls' Day.
The Gospel teaches people how to live while awaiting death and God’s judgment, loving because he is love, Pope Francis said during a Mass at St. Peter's on All Souls' Day.
A Reflection for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, by Cristobal Spielmann
A Reflection for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, by Cristobal Spielmann
Ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections, Arizona’s Catholic bishops alerted voters to “unapproved political efforts” they said are being carried out by a number of organizations and publications claiming to represent the Catholic Church.
Ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections, Arizona’s Catholic bishops alerted voters to “unapproved political efforts” they said are being carried out by a number of organizations and publications claiming to represent the Catholic Church.
All Saints Day is a day to venerate holy men and women—and also to recognize the saints in our midst, complicated though they might be.
All Saints Day is a day to venerate holy men and women—and also to recognize the saints in our midst, complicated though they might be.
This week on “The Gloria Purvis Podcast,” Gloria interviews Chris Kellerman, S.J., about his new book, ‘All Oppression Shall Cease: A History of Slavery, Abolitionism and The Catholic Church.’
This week on “The Gloria Purvis Podcast,” Gloria interviews Chris Kellerman, S.J., about his new book, ‘All Oppression Shall Cease: A History of Slavery, Abolitionism and The Catholic Church.’
In a new episode of Voting Catholic, host Sebastian Gomes discusses abortion after the reversal of Roe with America magazine contributor Jacqui Oesterblad, ethicist Richard Doerflinger and Marcia Lane McGee of New Wave Feminists.
In a new episode of Voting Catholic, host Sebastian Gomes discusses abortion after the reversal of Roe with America magazine contributor Jacqui Oesterblad, ethicist Richard Doerflinger and Marcia Lane McGee of New Wave Feminists.
The Solemnity of All the Saints reveals the relationship between who we are and who we should become, between time and eternity, between ourselves and the saints.
The Solemnity of All the Saints reveals the relationship between who we are and who we should become, between time and eternity, between ourselves and the saints.
The multitude of men and women honored on the feast of All Saints lived according to the Eight Beatitudes.
The multitude of men and women honored on the feast of All Saints lived according to the Eight Beatitudes.
Church leaders need to reckon with the fact that many people my age don’t feel that they need the institutional church to help them live happy, spiritually fulfilling lives.
Church leaders need to reckon with the fact that many people my age don’t feel that they need the institutional church to help them live happy, spiritually fulfilling lives.
In a new episode of Voting Catholic, host Sebastian Gomes discusses the American ”idolatry” of guns with Gonzaga University’s Patrick McCormick and Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio.
In a new episode of Voting Catholic, host Sebastian Gomes discusses the American ”idolatry” of guns with Gonzaga University’s Patrick McCormick and Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio.
How does a Catholic priest minister in a town famous for its devotion to the occult? Well, first you try to be a good neighbor.
How does a Catholic priest minister in a town famous for its devotion to the occult? Well, first you try to be a good neighbor.
“I am deeply grieved over this violence, which should have no place in our communities, our political process, or our great nation,” said Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles.
“I am deeply grieved over this violence, which should have no place in our communities, our political process, or our great nation,” said Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles.
Catholic bishops in South Korea expressed sorrow and offered prayers after more than 150 people died in a stampede during Halloween celebrations in Seoul.
Catholic bishops in South Korea expressed sorrow and offered prayers after more than 150 people died in a stampede during Halloween celebrations in Seoul.
“More than objects, they are human beings.” said Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State.
“More than objects, they are human beings.” said Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State.
Nov. 6, 2022, the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time: Today we gain insights into some of the philosophical and theological debates at the time when Luke was writing.
Nov. 6, 2022, the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time: Today we gain insights into some of the philosophical and theological debates at the time when Luke was writing.
A Reflection for Monday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time, by Jim McDermott, S.J.
A Reflection for Monday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time, by Jim McDermott, S.J.
A Reflection for Saturday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time, by Cecilia González-Andrieu
A Reflection for Saturday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time, by Cecilia González-Andrieu
Host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell dig into three eye-catching Vatican stories this week.
Host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell dig into three eye-catching Vatican stories this week.
In a new episode of Voting Catholic, Sebastian Gomes speaks with the economist Tony Annett about the causes of inflation—and with Catherine Orr, a pastoral associate in Wisconsin, about the pressure of rising prices for gas and other goods.
In a new episode of Voting Catholic, Sebastian Gomes speaks with the economist Tony Annett about the causes of inflation—and with Catherine Orr, a pastoral associate in Wisconsin, about the pressure of rising prices for gas and other goods.
Catholicism’s decline was especially noticeable in Quebec, the French-speaking and historically Catholic province where secularism is considered a key cultural value.
Catholicism’s decline was especially noticeable in Quebec, the French-speaking and historically Catholic province where secularism is considered a key cultural value.
Listening to the album anew, I can see how Carey’s songs shed light on the spiritual and psychological struggles of children of divorce (like Mariah Carey and I).
Listening to the album anew, I can see how Carey’s songs shed light on the spiritual and psychological struggles of children of divorce (like Mariah Carey and I).
Roger Haight’s latest book is a master class in Christian apologetics. Haight’s study rises from pointed questions put to the believer, questions that cannot be ignored or wished away.
Roger Haight’s latest book is a master class in Christian apologetics. Haight’s study rises from pointed questions put to the believer, questions that cannot be ignored or wished away.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of “The Waste Land.” The 433-line poem is important, but it’s not very user-friendly.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of “The Waste Land.” The 433-line poem is important, but it’s not very user-friendly.
When you have thoroughly internalized the idea that you ought to be taking up less space than you do, Lizzo is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen.
When you have thoroughly internalized the idea that you ought to be taking up less space than you do, Lizzo is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen.
In his million-selling “How the Irish Saved Civilization,” Cahill cited Ireland's crucial—and unappreciated—preservation of classical texts after the fall of the Roman Empire.
In his million-selling “How the Irish Saved Civilization,” Cahill cited Ireland's crucial—and unappreciated—preservation of classical texts after the fall of the Roman Empire.
New data offers insight into the beliefs of U.S. Catholics ahead of the midterm elections, with differences among white and Hispanic Catholics .
New data offers insight into the beliefs of U.S. Catholics ahead of the midterm elections, with differences among white and Hispanic Catholics .
As an outstanding student of the Gospels, the Rev. John Meier set himself to present the historical Jesus to the world, producing in five volumes one of the longest works ever published on the life and person of Jesus.
As an outstanding student of the Gospels, the Rev. John Meier set himself to present the historical Jesus to the world, producing in five volumes one of the longest works ever published on the life and person of Jesus.
Following the listening phase of the Synod on Synodality, a mix of religious, clergy and lay people gathered in Frascati, Italy, to synthesize reports from around the world. Austen Ivereigh took part and gives this insider’s account.
Following the listening phase of the Synod on Synodality, a mix of religious, clergy and lay people gathered in Frascati, Italy, to synthesize reports from around the world. Austen Ivereigh took part and gives this insider’s account.
We neither chose nor fashioned the wounded and scary worlds in which we live. And this is the meaning of the sin which the Catholic Church calls “original.” We ourselves are wounded before we ever set out to reject or to wound.
We neither chose nor fashioned the wounded and scary worlds in which we live. And this is the meaning of the sin which the Catholic Church calls “original.” We ourselves are wounded before we ever set out to reject or to wound.
I have covered this growing pessimism about our political system in previous columns, but the evidence keeps coming.
I have covered this growing pessimism about our political system in previous columns, but the evidence keeps coming.
How many of us know real-world cheaters who have just plain gotten ahead, not despite their short-cutting but because of it?
How many of us know real-world cheaters who have just plain gotten ahead, not despite their short-cutting but because of it?
Four years later, Father Nixon and the St. Dominic’s community are still picking up the pieces after Hurricane Michael.
Four years later, Father Nixon and the St. Dominic’s community are still picking up the pieces after Hurricane Michael.
While a new book of letters between Jack Miles and Mark C. Taylor uses the early months of the pandemic as the background and occasion for their letters, the friendship they display is vastly more interesting.
While a new book of letters between Jack Miles and Mark C. Taylor uses the early months of the pandemic as the background and occasion for their letters, the friendship they display is vastly more interesting.
As you might imagine, there has been a lot of investigation into how exactly a Ouija board works. How is it possible that you can place your fingers on a little plastic planchette and have it start moving at all?
As you might imagine, there has been a lot of investigation into how exactly a Ouija board works. How is it possible that you can place your fingers on a little plastic planchette and have it start moving at all?
This week on Jesuitical, Ashley and Zac are joined by Father Thomas Joseph White, O.P., of the all-Dominican bluegrass group, The Hillbilly Thomists.
This week on Jesuitical, Ashley and Zac are joined by Father Thomas Joseph White, O.P., of the all-Dominican bluegrass group, The Hillbilly Thomists.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act has yet to pass in the Senate, even though it has broad support from Democrats, Republicans, the USCCB and even the Chamber of Commerce.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act has yet to pass in the Senate, even though it has broad support from Democrats, Republicans, the USCCB and even the Chamber of Commerce.
In a message sent Oct. 7 by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, the pope offered prayers for the victims “of the horrific attack” that claimed the lives of 36 people, including at least 24 children, Oct. 6.
In a message sent Oct. 7 by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, the pope offered prayers for the victims “of the horrific attack” that claimed the lives of 36 people, including at least 24 children, Oct. 6.
While Lin-Manuel Miranda’s popular Founding Fathers remix was built for performers of color, “1776” has been retrofitted onto this troupe of talented women.
While Lin-Manuel Miranda’s popular Founding Fathers remix was built for performers of color, “1776” has been retrofitted onto this troupe of talented women.
What is most endearing about “Hocus Pocus 2” is the way that it brings to the fore an aspect of the original film that you don’t often see portrayed today: sisterhood.
What is most endearing about “Hocus Pocus 2” is the way that it brings to the fore an aspect of the original film that you don’t often see portrayed today: sisterhood.
America interviewed Father Holt at the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, to learn a little more about his life and journey to the priesthood and his secrets to living a fulfilling and happy life.
America interviewed Father Holt at the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, to learn a little more about his life and journey to the priesthood and his secrets to living a fulfilling and happy life.
In an exclusive interview, Joe Donnelly, U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, discusses his diplomatic work with the Vatican—including on the war in Ukraine—with America associate editor Colleen Dulle.
In an exclusive interview, Joe Donnelly, U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, discusses his diplomatic work with the Vatican—including on the war in Ukraine—with America associate editor Colleen Dulle.
Advocates from three faith traditions lobbied together for a program that would help fund science and math education in New York state’s religious schools.
Advocates from three faith traditions lobbied together for a program that would help fund science and math education in New York state’s religious schools.
A recent study from the international humanitarian agency Catholic Relief Services (CRS) found that American Catholics were more likely to express that climate change is a shared responsibility than their non-Catholic counterparts.
A recent study from the international humanitarian agency Catholic Relief Services (CRS) found that American Catholics were more likely to express that climate change is a shared responsibility than their non-Catholic counterparts.
We cannot help but draw dividing lines, but the Gospel wants us to know that they are our lines, not God’s. They are a consequence of sin’s entrance in the world.
We cannot help but draw dividing lines, but the Gospel wants us to know that they are our lines, not God’s. They are a consequence of sin’s entrance in the world.
Swiss Cardinal Kurt Koch apologized for offending people and said he never intended to imply that supporters of the German church’s Synodal Path were acting similar to a group of Christian supporters of the Nazis in the 1930s.
Swiss Cardinal Kurt Koch apologized for offending people and said he never intended to imply that supporters of the German church’s Synodal Path were acting similar to a group of Christian supporters of the Nazis in the 1930s.
Are there extremists on the fringe of the pro-life movement? Yes. But on the pro-abortion side, extremism is very much in the driver’s seat—and mainstream media protect it through bias and misinformation.
Are there extremists on the fringe of the pro-life movement? Yes. But on the pro-abortion side, extremism is very much in the driver’s seat—and mainstream media protect it through bias and misinformation.
To kick off October’s “Respect Life” month on “The Gloria Purvis Podcast,” Gloria speaks with Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy about how a Catholic vision of restorative justice must guide our advocacy against the death penalty.
To kick off October’s “Respect Life” month on “The Gloria Purvis Podcast,” Gloria speaks with Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy about how a Catholic vision of restorative justice must guide our advocacy against the death penalty.
“It is important to know ourselves, to know the passwords of our heart, what we are most sensitive to, in order to protect ourselves from those who present themselves with persuasive words to manipulate us.”
“It is important to know ourselves, to know the passwords of our heart, what we are most sensitive to, in order to protect ourselves from those who present themselves with persuasive words to manipulate us.”
A Reflection for Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time, by Kevin Clarke
A Reflection for Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time, by Kevin Clarke
Powers’s chosen subjects—in cassocks or nay—are inevitably All-American, and his stories are careful studies of American mid-century life and ambition.
Powers’s chosen subjects—in cassocks or nay—are inevitably All-American, and his stories are careful studies of American mid-century life and ambition.
When the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops meets this November to elect a new president, it will be the first time in several decades that the race is wide open.
When the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops meets this November to elect a new president, it will be the first time in several decades that the race is wide open.
On the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the Vatican hosted the global premiere of a documentary on the need to address climate change using ideas from Laudato Si'.
On the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the Vatican hosted the global premiere of a documentary on the need to address climate change using ideas from Laudato Si'.
U.S. District Judge Richard Young said the Indianapolis Archdiocese and its schools can select, retain or dismiss faculty according to their religious standards.
U.S. District Judge Richard Young said the Indianapolis Archdiocese and its schools can select, retain or dismiss faculty according to their religious standards.
A Reflection for Tuesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time, by Christopher Parker
A Reflection for Tuesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time, by Christopher Parker
Just below those top-line figures on religious affiliation, significant changes in national identity also become clear—29 percent of the Northern Irish population now see themselves exclusively as Irish. This is just three points behind the 32 percent who consider themselves British.
Just below those top-line figures on religious affiliation, significant changes in national identity also become clear—29 percent of the Northern Irish population now see themselves exclusively as Irish. This is just three points behind the 32 percent who consider themselves British.
Cardinal Pedro Barreto Jimeno, S.J., explained that the now officially recognized body “involves bishops, priests, women and men religious and the lay faithful from the nine countries of the Amazon region.”
Cardinal Pedro Barreto Jimeno, S.J., explained that the now officially recognized body “involves bishops, priests, women and men religious and the lay faithful from the nine countries of the Amazon region.”
One of the lesser-known facts about the story of the seven days of creation is that it was written in response to a disaster, and its comforts can be applicable even today.
One of the lesser-known facts about the story of the seven days of creation is that it was written in response to a disaster, and its comforts can be applicable even today.
The president of the German bishops' conference demanded an apology from a cardinal who seemed to compare the German Synodal Path with a Nazi ideology.
The president of the German bishops' conference demanded an apology from a cardinal who seemed to compare the German Synodal Path with a Nazi ideology.
Hurricane Ian has left many parishes in the the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Fla., devastated as the system continues to move north from the state.
Hurricane Ian has left many parishes in the the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Fla., devastated as the system continues to move north from the state.
As a large voting bloc that is “split down the middle,” Catholics have an outsized role in determining this year’s election results. Will they focus on abortion, the economy or some other political issue?
As a large voting bloc that is “split down the middle,” Catholics have an outsized role in determining this year’s election results. Will they focus on abortion, the economy or some other political issue?
Reflecting his profound concern at the danger of an escalation of the war in Ukraine and the potential use of nuclear arms, Pope Francis called today for “an immediate ceasefire” to that war.
Reflecting his profound concern at the danger of an escalation of the war in Ukraine and the potential use of nuclear arms, Pope Francis called today for “an immediate ceasefire” to that war.
A Reflection for Monday of the Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time, by J.D. Long-García
A Reflection for Monday of the Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time, by J.D. Long-García
Oct. 9, 2022, the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time: The Gospel reminds us that it is putting the teachings of the kingdom into practice, not only identifying with them, that is the true measure of discipleship.
Oct. 9, 2022, the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time: The Gospel reminds us that it is putting the teachings of the kingdom into practice, not only identifying with them, that is the true measure of discipleship.
J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy world was in many ways a direct reflection of his understanding of reality.
Several Catholic school districts throughout the United States are grappling with changes around gender identity, and in some systems, students and staff are now subject to new policies about gender.
In a congratulatory note to Liz Truss, Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster said many people in the U.K. would be facing the choice between “heating and eating” this winter because of rampant inflation and soaring fuel bills.
Priests remain at a parish in remote northern Mexico even as the suspected killer of two other Jesuits is on the loose and continues to allegedly lead a local drug gang.
Let us pray to John Paul I “to obtain for us ‘the smile of the soul,’ a transparent smile that does not deceive.”
The beatification of John Paul I took place on a rainy but joyous Sunday in St. Peter’s Square, with a homily by Pope Francis on the beauty of a church “with a happy, serene and smiling face.”
Sept. 11, 2022, the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Reflecting on these parables on the anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, a day when many lives were lost, can be challenging, and we should recognize the ongoing struggles associated with loss and grief.
A Reflection for Monday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time, by Christopher Parker
Pope for only 33 days, John Paul I is known both as "The Smiling Pope" and "The Forgotten Pope." On Sept. 4, he will be beatified. What were his life and papacy like?
Chileans will get to vote on Sunday as to whether or not to adopt a new constitution. Chilean Catholics face a document that supports some Catholic ideas of equality and community yet also codifies abortion and euthanasia.
Nonwhite voters naturally do not have much affection for America as it existed before the civil rights movements.
In the second part of his interview with America’s Vatican correspondent, Cardinal McElroy describes the discussions of Vatican finance and sexual abuse reforms that happened in the cardinals' meeting this week.
How did Mother Teresa's ubiquitous presence in the media hinder us from really knowing her?
For all the buzz surrounding its publication, the Irish synod synthesis is both sober and humble in tone and yet inspiring and hopeful.
Florence + The Machine have a number of Catholic allusions and ideas hidden within their music; the lead singer's upbringing as a Catholic can still be seen in some of her lyrics.
Today we allow the existence of a societal system that literally kills people of color, through lack of good medical care, unequal legal rights and the effects of poverty. This curse on people of color lives side by side with white Christianity.
This year’s annual Labor Day statement from the U.S. bishops touts two bills awaiting action in Congress as being helpful to children, women and families: the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and an expansion of the federal child tax credit.
The new "Lord of the Rings" prequel series is a confident, well-conceived and often gorgeous addition to the previously adapted work of J.R.R. Tolkien.
“Inside the Vatican” is back from summer break this week, just as the Vatican wraps up an unusually jam-packed late August.
Cardinal Robert McElroy reflects on receiving the red hat from Pope Francis and discusses the points of consensus as well as disagreement at the first worldwide meeting of cardinals since 2014.
Pope Francis used this year's World Day of Prayer for Creation to comment on the need for humanity to address climate change by refocusing centrality toward Christ and away from our own "consumerist excesses.”
The Indiana Supreme Court ruled that a Catholic high school was protected from being sued by a teacher who was fired for being in a same-sex marriage.
When asked why he does not want to hire Catholics, the Connecticut public school principal said that if someone is “raised a hardcore Catholic, it's like they're brainwashed. You can never change their mindset.”
A Reflection for Thursday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time, by Valerie Schultz
Marianite Sister Ann Lacour said that fellow Sister Suellen Tennyson, who was kidnapped from the convent of her educational and medical mission in Yalgo, Burkina Faso, is now safe and on American soil.
“Capital punishment offers no justice to victims, but rather encourages revenge. And it prevents any possibility of undoing a possible miscarriage of justice,” the pope said in a video message Aug. 31.
Joshua Masterson, the writer and illustrator of "The Catholic Cartoon," uses modern technology to embrace an old-school cartoonist's style.
A post-Dobbs narrative breezily associates all anti-abortion activism and policies with racism.
When Mikhail Gorbachev, who died on Aug. 30, first met with Pope John Paul in December 1989, less than a month after the Berlin Wall’s collapse, the two leaders “understood each other immediately.”
A Reflection for Wednesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time, by Sebastian Gomes