The appointment of Holy Cross Sister Joan Marie Steadman as executive director of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious bodes well for the organization that serves superiors of about 80 percent of the women rsquo s religious orders in the United States Aptly named Steadman brings experience

Since the end of the Oct 5-19 Synod of Bishops on the family news outlets have portrayed the outcome as a quot setback quot or quot loss quot for Pope Francis mdash even a quot rebuke quot to him Journalists have pointed to the absence in the synod 39 s final report of an earlier version

Fitness has become a religion of sorts for many people We set fitness goals and seek out endurance events such as Tough Mudder and Crossfit to prove ourselves to others I will be the first to admit that I relish these kinds of challenges But what are we hoping to gain from these experiences Th

Ross Douthat rsquo s article in the nbsp New York Times on Sunday sounded the alarm Pope Francis through his Synod on the Family has brought the church to the edge of a precipice If the synod continues on its present trajectory it will ldquo sow confusion among the church rsquo s orthodox adhere

As the occasional wag has said The New York Times is fascinated by the Catholic Church because it cannot imagine any other institution that claims infallibility That came to mind October 26 when columnist Ross Douthat cavalierly suggested that Catholics help Pope Francis exercise his Petrine minis

Sister Mary Prudence Allen R S M is an American Catholic philosopher and member of the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma Michigan A member of the Catholic chaplaincy team at Lancaster University in England since November 2013 Sister Prudence was previously chair of the philosophy department a