“How are LGBT people supposed to feel welcome in the Catholic Church when church officials will not allow them to speak?” asked Francis DeBernardo, executive director at New Ways Ministry, one of the organizers of the workshop.

'Junípero Serra,' by Rose Marie Beebe and Robert M. Senkewicz

'The Brothers,' by Masha Gessen

'Contrition,' by Maura Weiler

I never realized the power of stories until I began working with refugees in East Amman. The stories I hear vary. Some are extremely happy, filled with vivid memories of times that were present with love and laughter, enough to fill a large Middle Eastern sitting room. These are the stories where yo

After years of steady declines in U.S. cities, homicide rates are once again on the rise.

A vision of the future of religious education—from 1974

The period following the Beijing Olympics has not been particularly bright.

In 1974, the Chicago Cubs had gone almost seven decades without a World Series championship. Much has changed in the last 40 years: Lights were installed in Wrigley Field for night games, a new jumbotron has been added and seating capacity has increased, generating more income. And yet, 107 years af

A cause for healing or controversy?

To promote a reflection on the need for a “conversion of mind and heart” open to the needs of others, Pope Francis has chosen “Overcome indifference and win peace” as the theme for the church’s celebration of the next World Day of Peace. Announcing the theme for the cel

The Price of PowerRe “Of Many Things,” by Matt Malone, S.J. (8/3): Canon law as well as civil law in most jurisdictions makes the ordinary/diocesan bishop the actual owner or at least the principal trustee of all the property of the church, so that in many and varied actions that affect

Cardinal John Tong Hon of Hong Kong has issued “an urgent appeal” to the Chinese authorities in Beijing to halt the demolition of crosses in the province of Zhejiang in eastern China. “The cross is the sign most representative of the Christian faith,” the cardinal reminded Ch

The migration paintings of Jacob Lawrence

The Conference of Major Superiors of Men passed a resolution on Aug. 7 committing to “a deeper engagement” to protect the earth and “cherish all creation.” The conference, made up of leaders who represent more than 17,000 Catholic religious brothers and priests in the United

In his work On Christian Doctrine, St. Augustine argued that Christians should make use of rhetorical insights offered by pagan writers, like Cicero. If Augustine were writing today about how parents, ministers and teachers communicate with their children, parishioners and students, what secular wis

In the early days of August 2014, as the summer heat scorched the plains of Nineveh, Islamic State militants began ethnic cleansing around the city of Sinjar, driving thousands among the province’s Yazidi, Christian and other religious and ethnic minority communities from their homes in just a