Many carried signs emblazoned with “Enforce Canon 915,” a section of church law that they believe requires the denial of Communion to Catholic politicians who support legal abortion.

That morale is down for priests across the country is not exactly stop-the-presses material. But I wonder if it isn’t the canary in the coal mine of the Catholic Church today.

“This could have a profound change in the life of the church.”

Sunday, Nov. 14, marks 25 years since Cardinal Joseph Bernardin’s death. Do Catholics today want a church that is “alive and rooted, public in its service to the city” and the world?

It is not sufficient for contemporary Catholics simply to repeat the formulas of the past.

Archbishop José Gomez is an immigrant, a minority and the president of the U.S.C.C.B. When he speaks on the issue of racism and social injustice, it is worth paying attention.