In his artful account of American participation in the sacrament of confession, ‘For I Have Sinned: The Rise and Fall of Catholic Confession in America,’ James O’Toole offers a succinct analysis of when and why American Catholics partake of the sacrament.
US Church
Posted inFeatures
The Catholic Committee of Appalachia’s half-century mission to heal a wounded land
For more than five decades, the group has listened to the people affected by forces of destruction and shared their stories in a series of pastoral letters.
Posted inShort Take
Latinos are leaving the U.S. Catholic Church in droves. Pope Leo could bring them back.
It is precisely Pope Leo’s ability to speak English, along with his identification with Latin America, that could help the U.S.-born pope stem the exodus of U.S. Latinos from the church.
Posted inNews
Catholic diocese fights Trump administration plan to seize pilgrimage site for border wall
The land targeted by the federal government is at the base of Mount Cristo Rey, a mountain and pilgrimage site topped by a 29-foot-tall limestone statue of Jesus Christ.
Posted inFaith and Reason
How Leo is approaching his role as the first American pope
When it comes to his home country, Pope Leo is playing the long game.
Posted inNews
Pope Leo XIV appoints Jesuit priest as new bishop of Honolulu
Michael T. Castori, S.J., earned a doctorate in Near Eastern Religions from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2008. He speaks English, Spanish, Hebrew, Greek, Latin and Tongan.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo encourages Catholic Charities USA to continue work amid political turbulence
Alluding to the current turbulent political, social and economic situation in his homeland, Pope Leo said, “I am fully aware that the Catholic Charities agencies in the United States of America are by no means immune from these challenges that continue to manifest themselves in our own day.”
Posted inThe Weekly Dispatch
Catholic aid groups hope for a recovery after 2025’s deep cuts in global health assistance
After a historic collapse of U.S. and E.U. humanitarian and development assistance in 2025, finding new money to address persistent global health problems may be more challenging in 2026.
Posted inNews
Pope Leo accepts resignation of West Virginia bishop, names D.C. auxiliary as successor
A native of El Salvador, West Virginia’s new bishop migrated to the United States in 1990 and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Washington on May 29, 2004.
Posted inShort Take
Unpacking the data behind the ‘Catholic revival’
Is the U.S. Catholic Church seeing a sustained upswing—or merely a return to the pre-pandemic norm?