Words like ‘racism’ and ‘white supremacy’ make people uncomfortable. But as El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz points out in a new letter, we must reckon with them.
Guadalupe began as a paradoxical figure, both symbol of indigenous faith and tool of colonialist oppression. Now, she demands we listen to the poor and marginalized.
There are some things we'd rather not remember: old wounds, moral lapses, humiliating failures. But there are also things we have a duty to never forget, like historical traumas and present injustices.
In dealing with bishops who engage in sexual misconduct, the USCCB seems to think that bishops can police themselves, without lay input. We need a better system.
USCCB spokesperson Judy Keane’s recent pro-Trump tweets are symptoms of a larger problem. The bishops need to be transformed, especially in their use of power.
Like most human institutions, the church has long avoided telling the truth about much of its past. But that doesn’t mean its understanding of human life is false.
The Equality Bill, designed to bolster LGBTQ protections, provoked fierce opposition from the USCCB. But fears of infringement on religious liberty are unfounded.
The only adequate response to the clergy sex-abuse crisis is a paschal response: death to one way of being and resurrection to a truly new way of life.
New York State’s new Child Victims Act allows people who were sexually abused in childhood to sue public institutions. What does the law mean for the church?
The whistle-blower in the McCarrick affair narrates the steps he took to report the former cardinal’s abusive behavior, but also the ways in which it was ignored
On the ground reporting from the Philippines, where President Rodrigo Duterte’s attacks on the Catholic Church have called forth a renewed sense of solidarity.
An interview Fran Lebowitz, the writer, speaker, wit, and archetypal New York personality, on everything from the AIDS crisis to the heart of the Christian religion
The church is hardly a criminal organization, and prosecuting it under the RICO statute doesn’t make sense. Bankruptcy laws, however, offer a better way
The grand-jury report does not substantiate the prevailing script about how bishops let predators get away with committing and recommitting their crimes
Scapegoating gay priests and pining for a world in which most Catholics agree with church teaching on birth control is no way to confront the abuse crisis
The sex-abuse scandal has raised strong emotions on all sides of the debate. But we need clarity, and transparency, especially in the McCarrick investigation
Even though four billion dollars have been spent on sex-abuse settlements, a 2017 survey of diocesan financial records found mixed results on transparency
One way for civil prosecutors to circumvent the statute of limitations on abuse cases is to use RICO, an anti-corruption law. But is it really the best approach?
Walks through Rome on the eve of the Synod reveal that the church’s unruly irregularity is not a liability, but instead its greatest, most precious asset
If, as Viganò claims, Benedict XVI only sanctioned McCarrick “informally,” why did he force the resignation of another bishop for far less serious concerns?
The Chilean bishops are on the ropes right now, but their appointment of two women to lead abuse prevention has the potential to transform the Chilean church
If there is something to seize from this moment, it is the opportunity to envision—with vigor, clarity, and discernment—meaningful and measurable reform
Steven P. Millies new book traces the recent history of the American Catholic vote, with particular emphasis on abortion and an increasingly politicized USCCB
Changing a clerical culture that prizes secrecy and loyalty over truth and transparency will be tedious and challenging work, but it’s more necessary than ever
