The debate about whether the Catholic Church should ordain women to the diaconate often focuses on theological and historical arguments. Rarely, though, do we hear from women who themselves feel called to this ministry.

“I found it sad that the pope has to defend himself,” Gerard O’Connell said this week on Inside the Vatican. “EWTN is based in the United States. Can not the [U.S.] Catholic bishops’ conference defend the pope on this?”

As with much of his pastoral approach overall, the pope’s outreach to L.G.B.T. people can be characterized by the word “accompaniment.”

The beloved artist died Sept. 23. His works are the fruit of encountering sacred texts, accompanying the vulnerable and living every moment awake to God’s loving closeness.

Maybe in this time of uncertainty, fear and doubt, it would be worth recruiting some young people like BTS, Greta Thunberg or Malala Yousafzai to officially join the pope in his fight for the future of our planet.

Faith, justice and unity still matter. So too do prudence, charity and patience. The latter are not chains upon the former. They are channels that direct them to their source in God.

Today I would like to speak to you about my Apostolic Journey in Budapest and in Slovakia. I would summarize it as follows: it was a pilgrimage of prayer, a pilgrimage to the roots, a pilgrimage of hope.

Not only is the immigration system broken, but the conversation around it is as well. Far too frequently, we become polarized.

John Garvey, president of The Catholic University of America in Washington since 2010, announced Sept. 22 that he will be stepping down from the role he described as “an honor and a privilege” at the end of June.

From 1995: Mother Angelica, devout and well-inten­tioned as she may be, has some big problems.