Commentaries
Remembering a titan of the Second Vatican Council
We recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council. I was a young priest when the council began, and my heart was with the reform movement within the hierarchy of the church. Cardinal Leo Jozef Suenens was the single most influential church leader in that momentous Catholic Church assembly. He was also an idol of mine throughout my life.
Seminarian reflects on journey from budding sports writer to following God’s call
Now in his second year at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, the life change for Brendan Monahan has been quick and drastic. Far from his college days at Penn State where he was living a dual life of partying on the weekends while falsely trying to give God attention on Sundays, now he recalls the interior rise of his vocation, especially his attraction to the Eucharist and confession. Some Sundays at home in Plymouth Meeting, he'd peer at Epiphany of Our Lord Church’s stained-glass windows. During those days the sun seemed to shine brighter through the words, “The Call” next to “of Abraham” and “of Moses.”
Through pots of fire
When I was a young Jesuit Volunteer, the Diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska, where I taught school for three years, was served by Jesuit priests. The diocese was vast but sparsely populated, and many of the Jesuits were pilots who flew to villages not on a road system.
Don’t be a bully
Let's be clear: People are not things. In general, things are to be used. You use a fork to eat. You use a cellphone to call your mother. You use a bus to get from Point A to Point B. Everyone uses things -- computers, cars, restaurants, shoes.
From mission statement to student pledge
I was struck during the 20th birthday celebration of AmeriCorps in Washington, D.C., last September particularly by the applicability of the AmeriCorps pledge to the strategic connection so many Catholic colleges and universities are trying to forge between their institutional statements of purpose or mission and the real lives of their students.
Same-sex marriage in the family: What’s a parent to do?
Marriage columnists Deacon Paul and Helen McBlain address their hypothetical dilemma: A gay son plans his wedding, and parents try to apply church teaching.
Alzheimer’s disease, caregiving and when to let go
There are some considerations to think about and pray over as you try to evaluate and reconcile reality, resources and the deep commitment and ties that come with being a husband, wife, parent or child of someone with Alzheimer's disease. Caregivers may agonize over a deeply emotional question: When is it time to let go and move my loved one out of the home?
He said what? A deeper look at Pope Francis’ words, in plainer English
There are lines in Pope Francis’ latest interview, with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, that could be construed in alarming ways. But reading the interview in its entirety, carefully and considering its poor translation into English, you can see how Pope Francis is profoundly evangelical. Pope Francis’ intent is to soften hardened hearts. The lesson for Catholics who want to follow him is to convert our own hearts as we adjust to a more patient and perhaps more gracious way of doing things, confident that the bedrock teaching isn't going anywhere.
The unchanging gift of celibacy
The issue of clerical celibacy is once again in the news when Archbishop Pietro Parolin, Pope Francis' recent choice for the all-important position of Secretary of State, made headlines when he said celibacy represented a discipline, and not a dogma, of the church. Nothing he said was revolutionary, nor merited the headlines suggesting the church was ready to reject the tradition of a celibate clergy.
Good religion: Living a coherent Christian life
In a lecture at Philadelphia's St. Charles Borromeo Seminary on Sept. 19, Ross Douthat pondered whether the Church might need to look for additional ways to reach single young adults who have grown up in the age of cell phones, the internet, and social media. How can the Church supplement parish life in ways that speak directly to the young adults of the 21st century?