I recently attended a meeting in Racine, Wis., organized by New Ways Ministry, that deepened my pastoral concern, understanding and right judgment about the lives of L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics.
Synod on Synodality
Posted inFaith in Focus
Why ‘Magnifica Humanitas’ is Pope Leo’s most important action on synodality yet
Leo tells us the the church must bear witness to its own social teaching by becoming a more synodal church.
Posted inFaith and Reason
Where synodality shows up in ‘Magnifica Humanitas’
In addition to all it offers us about human dignity in an A.I. age, the pope’s new encyclical also offers a synodal approach to authority that the world beyond the Catholic Church, hungry for a moral voice on this topic, will find compelling.
Posted inShort Take
The Synod called for lay people to have more influence in choosing bishops—Pope Leo should listen
These are sensible recommendations that Pope Leo should accept.
Posted inFaith and Reason
Pope Leo’s unique approach to synodality
In the days after his election, Leo told the gathered cardinals that he intended not only to continue the synodal process but also to be a more synodal pope.
Posted inFeatures
Pope Leo at year one: The progress of an American pope
As we approach the one-year anniversary of Pope Leo’s election, we can see the outlines of a papacy that combines measured deliberation with a prophetic voice on many issues of the day.
Posted inPodcasts
Roundtable: Catholic women react to the Vatican’s report on women’s leadership
In March 2026, the Vatican’s doctrine office released its final report on women’s participation in the life and leadership of the Catholic Church. The report brings to a close the two-year work of Study Group 5, which, as part of the Synod on Synodality, was tasked with studying women’s ministries and leadership. In this special roundtable conversation, editors at America magazine discuss the report’s content and proposals, and ask if the document changes the status quo for women in the Catholic Church.
Posted inFaith and Reason
Where the women deacons question stands at the Vatican
Plus: The first full English translation of the ‘Petrocchi Commission’ report on women deacons.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Why the Jesuits are going all in on training Catholics for synodality
The Society of Jesus has started an ambitious transcontinental project linked to synodality. Its aim is to form diocesan priests, women and men religious and lay people in countries across the globe to accompany the discernment processes in the synodal journey of local churches.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
The final synod report on women: what it says, what it means and what’s next
The report denounces “male chauvinism” and “clericalism,” making the case that in his brief pontificate, Pope Leo XIV has continued down Francis’ path of appointing women to positions of leadership in the Curia.