Amid all the wrestling with theology we do, maybe our job is also to notice what is being done to us. To behold the way God uses vexing things like conflict in the church to work on us, to purify us. 

It is necessary that we grapple with hard facts, even if it means wearing scars. But let us not yield when confronted with the racism, sexism or other sins of any saint.

Where did our modern conception of hell and its torments come from?

The great danger of artificial intelligence is not that it is ineffective. It can also perform quite effectively. In fact, it is already transforming modern warfare.

After the publication of "Laudato Si'," rumors circulated that Pope Francis had personally asked Leonardo Boff for his input on the writing of the encyclical. It marked an ironic turn in the theologian's long career.

Is hell empty? Pope Francis hopes so. Among the thinkers of the past century who speculated it could be so was Hans Urs von Balthasar, a favorite of the past two popes and a prominent theologian of his time.