Too often, our bishops respond by answering the questions that they wish people had instead of the ones they actually do have, Sam Sawyer, S.J., writes. It is a pastoral failure of communication that stems from a failure to listen.

The coronavirus is drawing attention to the essential roles of many low-paid workers, writes Joseph J. Dunn, and Washington is treating them better than it did in the stimulus laws passed during the last recession.

Central governments must be able to respond to crises, writes Bill McCormick, S.J., but President Trump’s claim of “total” authority is a reminder that democracies must also be able to maintain limits on power.

The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed a kind of American Catholic exceptionalism, writes Michael Bayer. In fact, other Catholics, now and throughout history, have not had regular physical access to the sacraments.

The far right denounces the European Union as anti-Christian totalitarianism, but Michael Daniel Driessen writes that the E.U. has its roots in Catholic universalism and a suspicion of the nation-state.

The Trump administration is moving toward a new nuclear arms race with Russia, warns David Cortright of the University of Notre Dame, but there is still a chance to turn back.