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Not being a television fan, on free evenings I tune in to some classical music on National Public Radio. The music serves as background for reading. Early in the morning, I turn on the radio again for the news in Spanish as part of my efforts to learn that language.As a child, however, listening to

Has there ever been anything like it in the history of the church? That is a question I have been asked a number of times since the sexual abuse scandal swelled to its present din. Not a day goes by without allegations of improper conduct by Roman Catholic clergy. Not a day goes by without evidence

The expectations surrounding the meeting in Rome on April 23-24 of the U.S. cardinals, the leaders of our bishops’ conference and members of the Roman Curia were enormously unrealistic. Those hopes ranged from a quick and final plan to end decades of child abuse in the church to a Third Vatica

Compassion

You’ve done something wrong, repented and have spent the following years, even decades, in faithful, compassionate service to others. Then, without warning, you’re placed on extended medical leave, and your calling is gone overnight (4/22). The resultant trauma is mind-

It’s the conservatives’ fault. It’s the liberals’ fault. It’s because they wore cassocks. It’s because they stopped wearing cassocks. It’s because Rome is too much in control of the bishops. It’s because the bishops are too independent of Rome. It&rsqu

Hillaire Belloc, an English Catholic writer from the first half of the last century, once remarked apropos of Catholic leadership that any organization whose leadership was guilty of such knavish imbecility must have the special protection of God. As we ride the turbulent waves of the latest reprise

Expectations are high for the spring meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Dallas, Tex. Priests, bishops and laity hope that the meeting will resolve the credibility crisis that has afflicted the church since the latest round of sexual abuse scandals exploded in Boston. The