Commentaries
History’s greatest inaugural speeches
Elise Italiano Ureneck looks at the inauguration speeches of three presidents -- Washington, Lincoln and Kennedy -- and one of Jesus, calling us to renewal and the most important truth.
The church must go out
Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia writes that we must bring Christianity back to the streets, and through diverse participation, profoundly rethink humanity's toughest questions, a task which needs everyone's help.
My fellow Catholics: Let our faith drive our politics, not the other way around
A Catholic editor believes Catholics can lead Americans to relearn how to talk with one another, how to listen, how to disagree with respect and how to compromise for the good of all.
St. Joseph: Sign of hope amid the pandemic
Sister Lorraine Bruno advises young people to dream and to follow God’s will as Joseph did, as they respond to our culture’s many challenges with prayer, faith and action.
Stepping back from the brink
The attack on the Capitol was both the nadir and a foretaste of how bad it will become if we don't commit to a different path, writes Greg Erlandson. We need to find ways to dismantle the barriers so many of us have helped erect.
After carnage at Capitol, rely on virtue and grace to keep democracy
Observing this week's assault on the U.S. Capitol, editor Matthew Gambino recalled the last inaugural address. Americans are divided over what is right and what is true, but diligence and prayer point the way forward.
Laying the path to a better future
In the new year, Effie Caldarola is enjoying a new book by Pope Francis in which he envisions of a redesigned economy, a new respect for nature and a renewed focus on the poor. He calls for fraternity, not individualism.
‘Creative courage’ for the new year
The elderly who have survived COVID do so because they are experts at crisis competence, observes Sister constance Veit, who urges trust in God with confidence and perseverance.
Norbertines see sign of growth across tumultuous 900 years
It may be a precarious time for the religious order with its local monastery in Paoli, but in its long history something new has emerged: a collaboration with lay men and women.
A final requiem for extraordinary nun, Black Catholic champion
The death of Oblate Sister Mary Reginald Gerdes and all that she did to recover, preserve and disseminate the history of the church's Black faithful was especially wrenching, writes Shannen Dee Williams.