Voices

Michael J. O’Loughlin is national correspondent at America and author of Hidden Mercy: AIDS, Catholics, and the Untold Stories of Compassion in the Face of Fear.
FaithNews
A poll released Tuesday found that 69 percent of U.S. Catholics believe the clergy sexual abuse scandal is “an ongoing problem.”
Politics & SocietyNews
After 14 years at the helm of the Catholic Health Association, Sister Carol Keehan is ready to let others lead—but she still has strong opinions about the importance of Catholic hospitals and the state of U.S. health care.
FaithFaith in Focus
Many stories of ordinary people responding to suffering in extraordinary fashion have not yet been captured in forms that will last.
Arts & CultureBooks
A new memoir by Elaine Pagels plumbs some of the deepest questions about what it means to be human and how ritual and faith can help make sense of the unfathomable.
FaithDispatches
In the survey conducted online in early May and just published by the British Columbia-based Angus Reid Institute, 78 percent of all Canadians (including non-Catholics) gave the church a poor grade.
Politics & SocietyNews
While Mr. Tennes’s attorneys argued that their client was being targeted because of his religious beliefs, Mr. Bogren said that discrimination against same-sex couples is not protected by religious liberty statutes. He compared discrimination against gay people to prejudice against racial minorities.
Politics & SocietyDispatches
With the House of Representatives expected to vote this week on a bill that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to existing federal nondiscrimination laws, Catholic leaders find themselves on both sides of the debate.
FaithDispatches
“We would have been far more impressed if this new law required church officials to report to police and prosecutors instead. Oversight from external, secular authorities will better protect children and deter cover-ups.”
FaithNews
Addressed to “the bishops of the Catholic Church,” the 20-page letter was written to “accuse Pope Francis of the canonical delict of heresy, and second, to request that you take the steps necessary to deal with the grave situation of a heretical pope.”
FaithDispatches
The story of Chiacgo’s Father Gary Graf illustrates the challenges facing priests who are falsely accused at a time when hundreds of true stories of horrific abuse dominate the news.