“Our communion is unsure of itself.” We must “recover a sense of what holds us together.” The stakes are very high for our church, and listening to one another is the first step on a much longer journey.

Reflecting on Pope Francis’ 10 years at the Vatican, Cardinal Robert McElroy says that “there has been a fundamental shift in perspective, of cultures and sometimes of priorities within the life of the church.”

How many are willing to have their minds changed, to desire for something from this synodal process that goes deeper than their pre-existing agenda?

“Top-down” ecumenism has not reduced the distance between the Catholic church and other churches. We need grassroots ecumenical relationships now.

Cardinal Wilton Gregory said that Pope Francis has made it difficult for Americans to be comfortable with just one aspect of Catholic Social Teaching—“you’ve got to have them all.”

Each Ash Wednesday, our pews are overflowing. How can we turn our Lenten promises into a dialogue with those who might not usually attend Mass outside of this day?

“If you take refuge in an idea, in an ideology, whether right or left or center, you are making the Gospel a political party, an ideology, a club of people,” Pope Francis said during his general audience on Feb. 22.

A survey by the Pew Research Center showed that Americans who have taken classes on world religions are more knowledgeable about members of other religions than those who have not.

A Reflection for Friday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time, by Ashley McKinless

In many senses, Pope Francis has proven the most communication-savvy pontiff in history. Francis has proven willing to make himself available to a degree that previous popes never even considered.