Despite the formalities that accompanied Pope Leo’s presence, the experience was strikingly familial. I was moved by the perceptible sense of interconnectedness that enveloped the space. Surrounded by the warmth of the sun, a cool breeze and the soft chirping of birds, I found myself completely calm and fully present.
Fratelli Tutti
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
Why Pope Francis sees the good Samaritan as the parable for our times
Pope Francis presents the good Samaritan as the prototype of the fraternity and social friendship that creates the “culture of encounter” and builds bridges of love among all.
Posted inFaith and Reason, Politics & Society
Bishop Stowe: U.S. politics are broken. Pope Francis’ vision can show us the way forward.
Viewed in the aftermath of the over-hyped midterm elections, Pope Francis’ description of the distortion of politics sounds pretty accurate.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
The Great Resignation and anti-work movement: Catholics should celebrate the changes to our labor market
Last year, a record 47 million Americans quit their jobs, and it was not because of laziness. Here are five major reasons for what is being called The Great Resignation.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
We all love Zillow browsing. But there’s a dark side to the real estate app.
Zillow got burned by paying too much for houses. U.S. families are getting burned by skyrocketing housing costs. Artificial intelligence may be making things worse for both.
Posted inFaith and Reason, Politics & Society
Pope Francis has shown the U.S. a new path for ending the death penalty—for good.
Last year, Pope Francis said, “There can be no stepping back” from the church’s opposition to the death penalty. It is time to put this teaching into action and stop executions in the United States for good.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Sally Rooney writes for millennials in a post-Catholic world
Sally Rooney writes for an audience that lacks faith in an institutional church, yet yearns for something to believe in. She writes for me and my friends.
Posted inFaith, Politics & Society
St. Francis taught us that animals are our brothers and sisters. So let us weep for the newly extinct species.
On this feast of St. Francis of Assisi, we take a moment to give praise to God for some of our siblings now forever gone from this planet, and to try and deepen our union with all of God’s creation.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Amid rising gun violence, Chicago’s Cardinal Cupich calls for solidarity—not retreating to safe spaces
With violent crime rising in a number of U.S. cities, Chicago’s Cardinal Blase Cupich is urging Catholics to consider how they might contribute to a more just and peaceful society.
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
To understand Pope Francis, you have to know what he actually means by the word ‘fraternity’
In a world that trivializes kinship more and more, Pope Francis’ retrieval of the concept of fraternity is timely and challenging.