The week before Pope Benedict announced his resignation, I found myself at my parish on both Saturday and Sunday without quite managing to go to Mass. I did facilitate a workshop with a good friend on Saturday and attended yet another planning meeting on Sunday, but didn’t take the few steps upstairs to the sanctuary,… Read More Pope Francis: Side with the Victims and Heal This Church

We are all aware of the challenges that being a Catholic can bring.  The Church is often presented in a negative light by the media due to huge scandals like the sex abuse crisis and controversy over statements like Benedict’s comments regarding homosexuality last Christmas. But in the past week, the tone of that attention… Read More Faith, Reason, and the Secular Perspective

The media has been full of stories about Pope Francis’ alleged complicity with the junta that ruled Argentina between 1976-1983. Some have claimed that, as the young Jesuit Provincial of Argentina, he was complicit in the kidnapping, torture, and imprisonment of two Jesuit priests at the junta’s most infamous torture center. (Fr. Tom Reese and… Read More Pope Francis and the Dirty War: Why His Role Then Matters Today and Reasons for Hope

The Catholic Church is a global community that transcends national borders and identities, uniting people on all continents who share certain fundamental beliefs and practices.  But the daily life and experiences along with the hopes and concerns of Catholics can vary widely across the globe.  These differences have shaped the way Catholics from around the… Read More A Pope for the Universal Church

[This article by Sam Sawyer, SJ is also featured on The Jesuit Post, where the author is an associate editor] What does this Pope want to change? Us. That’s his plan, his agenda for the Church  — because change is basic to faith, as he explained in a 2007 interview: “Fidelity is always a change,… Read More What Pope Francis Wants to Change

Is there a war on women?   As much as it pains me to say, it is very difficult to conclude that women and girls are not under attack in the United States of America in 2013. Upon graduation, 1 in 4 women will have been a victim of sexual assault. And if by chance they… Read More What about the “Promising Future” of Rape Victims?

The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI produced an incredible array of responses from Catholics, Christians, and non-Christians all around the world.  After the initial shock (and sadness, appreciation, and/or bewilderment) wore off, the pope’s decision was described in a variety of ways, from admirable to destabilizing, cowardly to the epitome of humility. The only things… Read More Let Us Pray