Instead of a point of pride and hope among all U.S. Catholics, the announcement of Cardinal-designate McElroy’s impending elevation became just another opportunity for Catholic twitterati to have at it.

I can assure Texans that very few New Yorkers want to arm themselves to ride the subway, just as few teachers want to pack heat in the classroom.

“Do not hide old age, do not hide the fragility of old age,” Pope Francis said in his Wednesday audience. “This is a teaching for all of us.”

Bishop McElroy said he and the pope share a view that the church should focus on “more inclusion” and “outreach to people who have been alienated from the church in the past.”

With the appointment of 16 new cardinal electors, Pope Francis continues remaking the College of Cardinals with an emphasis on the person rather than the location of the bishop.

Jon Hassler wrote novels that examined with infinite compassion the lives of the residents of small-town Minnesota.

Having begun the process of synodality, we should not let the process go dormant until after the pope’s apostolic exhortation on the universal synod is released in 2024.

It is Christ who sets the table and draws up the guest list. Who are we, serving at that table, to amend his invitation?

Police say someone busted into the altar at a New York City church, stole a $2 million gold relic and removed the head from a statue of an angel at some point late last week.

Bishop McElroy has demonstrated that he is one of the strongest supporters of Pope Francis’ vision of church among the American bishops.