“Sometimes we live in a spirit of a ‘parking lot’; we stay parked, without the impulse of desire that carries us forward. We do well to ask: where are we on our journey of faith?”

Your sins cannot cancel the identity you were given in your baptism. But it is possible to forget who you are.

We have learned a lot about sexual abuse by Catholic clergy since The Boston Globe unveiled its investigation in 2002, writes an expert in child protection. That is bringing us closer to the goal of seeing no new cases.

Robert Pape, a political scientist at the University of Chicago, talks with Gloria Purvis about how the people who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 are not as different from ordinary Americans as you might think.

For the first time, a layman and a nun provided the English and Spanish translations of Francis’ weekly catechism lesson rather than a cloaked monsignor, a small but revolutionary change for the Vatican.

“It is a risk, yes: having a child is always a risk, either naturally or by adoption,” Pope Francis said. ”But it is riskier not to have them.”

Joan Didion was capable both of conjuring up the horrors of modern life and of offering solace that there was still a point to it all.

My neighbors lost homes because our political and economic institutions have failed to respond to a crisis they have long known was coming.

The temptation is to fight the ghosts of Modernism by denigrating those working for social justice and “elites” as anti-religious co-conspirators. But this would be a disservice to the truth and to the church.

In mid-January, a law firm is scheduled to publish a report into the handling of clerical sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, where Pope Benedict XVI was archbishop.

In a video message released by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, Pope Francis offered his prayer intention for the month of January, which he dedicated to people who suffer from religious discrimination and persecution.

“All the prices are ridiculously high,” said Manuel Jeremías Ake, a father of six in California. “We were struggling to buy what we could afford. But now, forget about it. I’ve never seen anything like this in this country.”

A synod on synodality is a process about a process. And that stuck with me. A process about a process seemed to be without content. Where would this lead us?

If it depends on supporting the fake meat industry, vegetarianism is not a superior ethical or moral stance. But there is an alternative in the “ideal kind of farm” described by Pope John XXIII.

“As the omicron variant of Covid sweeps through our area, I ask that you please continue to be extremely cautious,” Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory said.

Preaching on the feast of Mary, Mother of God, Pope Francis denounced widespread violence against women.

John Padberg, S.J., the noted Jesuit historian, died on Christmas Day. He is remembered here by his longtime friend and colleague, John W. O'Malley, S.J.

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle gives a summary of the pope’s Christmas messages, which focused on the theme of humility.

My dad was and is an alcoholic. Al-Anon gives me a framework for naming my situation, taking responsibility for my actions and making changes so that I can live a (more) emotionally sober life.

Can we ultimately trust the smirking ones in our midst, the sarcastic with a clever quip for our every move, for each vulnerable moment?