In my last reflection, I looked at how the expansion of voting privileges at this October’s Synod of Bishops emerged from lay participation in previous Synods, ...read more

Each year on the feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of journalists, the Vatican releases a message from the Holy Father for World Communications Day (also called World Day of Social Communications). The 57th World Communications Day will be celebrated on Sunday, May 21, 2023. This year’s theme is “Speaking with the heart.” ...read more

I mentioned in my last reflection that the Synod Secretariat has released a communiqué outlining the new make-up of the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops this October. ...read more

“Blessed are you among women…” (Luke 1:42) How many times have we said those words? Thousands of times, maybe not even thinking about what we’re saying. ...read more

Last week, I wrote about three stand-out themes from the North American Ecclesial Assembly's Final Document: Communion through co-responsible structures, Naming the tensions alongside the opportunities, and Formation for synodality and mission. ...read more

The Continental Stage of the Synod on Synodality is now complete, which among other things means that the North American Ecclesial Assembly has released its Final Document. ...read more

“Mother Teresa: No Greater Love” is a hagiography, but the experience of viewing it is almost like a Novena. The moving new documentary produced by the Knights of Columbus is surprisingly meditative and prayerful, even as it recounts the compassionate work of the Missionaries of Charity and the holiness of their founder, St. Teresa of ...read more

The Old Testament reading for this Sunday seems to be a series of non sequiturs, or sentences cobbled together like the collection of Proverbs. The “Servant of the Lord” goes from a teacher, to a listening and obedient student, to a victim of horrendous torture. ...read more

Thanks to dialogue with Indigenous peoples, “the Church has acquired a greater awareness of  their sufferings, past and present, due to the expropriation of their lands … as well as the  policies of forced assimilation, promoted by the governmental authorities of the time, intended to eliminate their Indigenous cultures,” according to a “Joint Statement” issued by the Dicastery  for Culture and Education and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and published on Thursday.   ...read more

Speaking of historical injustices and war crimes in his encyclical Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis says "it is easy to be tempted to turn the page, to say that all these things happened  long ago and we should look to the future. For God’s sake, no! We can never move  forward without remembering the past; we do not progress without an honest and  unclouded memory." (Fratelli Tutti #249)  ...read more