Commentaries
Abortion explanations won’t work anymore
The logic that abortion is about women's reproductive and health care rights has led to the dark place of selling the organs of aborted babies. We must treat all people, unborn and not, as sacred.
Do you aspire to God or the idol of consumerism?
The term "aspirational crimes" got Carolyn Woo thinking about what we want, and whether that leads to God or to idols. We must choose which master we will serve.
Dad has had enough of the Jersey shore vacations
Deacon Paul and Helen McBlain counsel a couple to broaden their holiday horizons, even though the mother has grown up "down the shore."
Walking through real life, with real-life saints
Columnist Effie Caldarola admires saints because they weren't always walking around in ecstasy but fighting life's hardships and hassles.
Parish is place where ecology encyclical can sink roots
It's good to read Pope Francis' encyclical, but now it's time to act, writes Father Eugene Hemrick. Situated in neighborhoods, parishes have excellent means for creating green projects in the community.
Miracles come to sinners as well as saints
If you've got a problem with anger, you may be in the company of some saints, writes Father John Catoir. He advises asking humbly for God's will to be done.
The roots of same-sex marriage run through the pill
Unless heterosexual couples recover the virtue of chastity -- viewing sex as connected to marriage and fertility -- they have no moral warrant for imposing it on their gay friends, writes John Garvey.
Learning to take the wheel of your own life
Karen Osborne advises young people not to sit passively as in the back seat but to stay alert and actively participate in the everyday moments of their life.
Pope Francis startles the world
Deacon Bill Masapollo believes the pope is exciting people around the world because he is reminding us of the profound beauty of living as Jesus would have us live.
Love your neighbor to combat the culture of violence
On the day that a Colorado jury was to announce its verdict in the case of a man who opened fire in a crowded movie theater killing 12 people, Tennesseans were trying to make sense of another deadly shooting, this time in our state.