Commentaries
No more turning away
Sexual abuse survivor Gina Christian reflects on several reasons why people fail to report suspected molestation and harassment.
McCarrick scandal shows the harm clericalism has done
Commentator Russell Shaw was hopping mad 25 years ago, and he still is, over the damage from the "ecclesiastical old boys network." He offers ideas for three reforms, marked by accountability and transparency.
Keep holy the commute and the car pool
A cluttered minivan full of kids headed to soccer practice can be an authentic encounter with God, writes Laura Kelly Fanucci. In the chaos of family life, much of it spent in transit, grace transforms us.
A church of sinners, clerical and lay alike
Ongoing clerical scandals, including the resignation of Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, can wrongly divide the church, writes Richard Doerflinger. The body of Christ as a whole struggles with sexual sin, and all are called to repentance and rebuilding.
Renewed betrayal
As further revelations emerge in the case of Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick's alleged sexual abuse, not only of a minor but allegedly of numerous young seminarians and even priests subordinate to him, the church in the United States once again has been shaken to the core.
Are we listening? Are we ready to love?
It's not the fault of the ever-breaking news cycle or our cell phones when we only half listen to people who need our whole presence in conversation, writes Effie Caldarola. We must prioritize loving in the present.
Another painful revelation of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church
The church can't guarantee its members won't sin, only that sins of sexual harassment will be dealt with transparently -- whatever the cost and for however long, writes Greg Erlandson.
Same-sex identity beginning to trump 10 Commandments
Courts in Canada and the U.S. might say that sexual intimacy is not a sin outside of heterosexual marriage. Rather, it is a practice "central to (personal) identity" and "human dignity," writes John Garvey of this revision of the Decalogue.
Pot-ful of trouble in Canada
An editorial in Canada's national Catholic newspaper argues the nation's new law legalizing marijuana disregards the documented harm that legal pot will inflict on public health, family life and spiritual well-being.
Abortion puts spotlight on role of judges in America
Realizing how unwarranted Roe v. Wade is might be a good test for a judge's competence, even if abortion as a moral issue shouldn't be a litmus test for a Supreme Court justice, writes Richard Doerflinger.