Commentaries
After pandemic, to what ‘normal’ are we returning?
COVID revealed extraordinary goodness and serious dysfunctions in society and the church, realities that we must reckon with, writes Hosffman Ospino. Catholics must rethink the meaning of normalcy.
Supporting women in the transition to motherhood
Before the birth of her second child, Elise Italiano Ureneck is thinking of the ways the church can build a "motherhood movement" in which "reproductive rights" means strengthening women contemplating motherhood.
Reckoning with the church’s constellation of unmarked graves
The church will not be able to facilitate racial justice and peace until all Catholic faithful acknowledge the truth that the American church's early leaders were slavers and segregationists, writes Shannen Dee Williams.
More than a social agency, the church lives out teachings of Christ
The Supreme Court's decision allowing the Philadelphia Archdiocese to work without an undue burden from the government reminds all that the church isn't an NGO, but is expressing Jesus' commands of the Sermon on the Mount, writes Father Eric Banecker.
Trust restored by child’s innocence, ‘the Father’s blood’
Augustinian Father Paul Morrissey tells how his chance encounter with a little girl helped him rediscover the sense of trust that was lost in the clergy abuse scandal.
The seven ways St. Joseph models fatherhood
During this year of St. Joseph, Sarah Hanley takes the time ahead of Father's Day to remember the saint's strength and wisdom, and how today's fathers can follow his lead.
Learn the whole story, good and bad, of race in America
Two historical events -- Juneteenth and the Tulsa massacre -- were unknown to Greg Erlandson growing up. But those stories and new ones of bravery, of wrongs overcome and success achieved, make us wiser for knowing and sharing them.
From the Vine: New growth in Catholic media, thanks to you
Ten years after it began, CatholicPhilly.com keeps growing, reports editor Matthew Gambino. It's nourished by today's readers and the legacy of the former Catholic Standard and Times.
Going buggy with Brood X cicadas
Though one can appreciate the splendor of all of God's creatures, writer Greg Erlandson has seen and heard quite enough of the loud, mobile bugs in their billions. He looks forward to their 17-year slumber, not a moment too soon.
Gazing on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we learn in his ‘school of love’
When we contemplate the image of Jesus, he looks back at us, drawing us into a personal encounter with him, writes Father Thomas Dailey. Jesus wants only for us to know how much we are loved and for us to return love by how we treat one another.