Collaboration and compassion are two keys to a bishop’s role in a synod church, argues the Most Reverend W. Shawn McKnight, the bishop of Jefferson City, Mo.
Cover Story
Posted inFeatures, Politics & Society
A lesson from Punxsutawney: The United States will always be divided—and that’s O.K.
With Pennsylvania widely considered the most crucial of the seven 2024 swing states and America feeling stuck in a winter of discord haunted by the specter of political violence, I decided to report on the election from Punxsutawney.
Posted inFaith, Interviews
Interview: Timothy Radcliffe on how he prepares to give homilies—and preach to synod delegates
On an episode of “Preach,” Timothy Radcliffe discussed his approach to preparing for retreats, including the one he gave—and has just given again—to the synod delegates.
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
A century of James Baldwin’s prophetic voice
The centennial of James Baldwin’s birth is an invitation to join the ranks of “the relatively conscious” who will help the nation engage in the metanoia needed to become the country that Baldwin constantly believed and hoped it could become.
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
Latin chant or folk music at Mass? A debate on what makes liturgy ‘reverent’
One of the recommendations of the first meeting of the Synod on Synodality was to explore ways to improve the quality of liturgies. America asked two contributors to reflect on how we worship.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
What does Pope Francis’ ‘no’ mean for the Catholic debate over women deacons?
Any decision requires some development in the church’s understanding of the tradition.
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
Heaven and hell in post-Vatican II Catholicism: How to move from fear to love
There is no bigger question for Catholics today than this: Why should anyone become or remain Catholic?
Posted inFaith, Features
Catholic disability ministry is personal to me. Here’s where it’s thriving today—and where it still needs to grow.
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities have a part to play in the church’s work.
Posted inFaith, News
Interview: Gerard O’Connell on his friendship with Pope Francis and reporting from the Vatican
Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell describes his journalistic ministry in the city at the heart of the Catholic faith.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
The Jesuit roots of the synod’s ‘conversations in the spirit’
The method has deep roots in a form of communal discernment that was developed in Canada after the Second Vatican Council.