The racial divide in American society and within the Catholic Church is one that needs to be bridged so that healing and progress can take place, said retired Bishop Edward K. Braxton of Belleville, Illinois.

Olga Segura’s book charts her personal journey of resisting systemic racism and her pain at finding herself unaccompanied on that path by many Catholics or by the institutional church.

Not every conclusion that comes out of critical race theory is compatible with Catholicism. But how could it be the case that Catholics would not want to engage with an intellectual tool that helps deepen understanding?

I wondered if I could even be Catholic anymore, much less continue pursuing the priesthood somewhere else.

When people meet me, at the Capitol or in a church, they may wonder or even ask me politely, “Are you a conservative or a liberal?” I smile and say, “I’m just a Catholic.”

Joyce Coleman sings the soul of a community whose faith has been tested by fire across generations, centuries, in this country. To sing such a faith is, for this white Catholic, to be filled with wonder and gratitude—beyond words, beyond speech, beyond concept.