Readers respond to Father Sam Sawyer’s article about how St. Ignatius’ ideas could offer a way out of current ecclesial, cultural and political polarization.
Polarization
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Pope Francis’ hospitalization actually gave me hope for the Catholic Church
I was pleasantly surprised to realize that amid all the polarization and turmoil found online among Catholics, we can still come together to pray for an old man who happens to be our pope.
Posted inFeatures, Politics & Society
Catholicism, authentic communion and the way out of our polarization trap
What is the way out of polarization? And why does that question—along with the now-commonplace observation that society suffers from deepening divisions about everything from gun control to abortion to public funding for religious schools—seem so exhausting?
Posted inEditorials, Faith
Repentance and Holiness: The True Meaning of Lent
That the Lord seeks not to punish us for our sins but to call us all back to holiness is a conviction so strong among theologians in the church in the modern age that it risks becoming a truism.
Posted inOf Many Things, Politics & Society
The synod is not an event. It’s a new way of being church.
“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.
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
A gentle warning for Pope Francis critics (and cheerleaders): The synod is about conversion, not winning an argument
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?
Posted inFaith, News
Cardinal Gregory: Pope Francis makes Americans in both parties ‘uncomfortable’
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.”
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
Three steps for more civil political debate in the Trump era
Since the 2016 election, many have simply stopped trying to understand those with whom they disagree. But we can discuss politics if we ask fair questions and listen, then listen some more.
Posted inLast Take, Politics & Society
Would Jesus eat with Sarah Sanders?
The way Jesus used table fellowship in the Gospels was morally transformative—but by inclusion, not by exclusion.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
How can fiction help us during polarized times?
In the wake of my reading The Dark Is Rising, one of my New Year’s resolutions is to try to keep pace with time, not lag behind it as I usually do.