Dogma, doctrine and papal authority: What do you need to believe to be Catholic?

When I imagine how the next 11 months can be used most fruitfully, I think about something, or rather someone, who is largely missing from the synod in Rome: the parish priest.

If you regret not taking part in your local synod, do not despair.

A Reflection for the Optional Memorial of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, virgin, by Ashley McKinless

Surely the problems facing the modern family, the Amazon, the universal church cannot be boiled down to a single headline.

An inauspicious first day in Rome was also a chance for me to hit pause and and try to shed some of my own fears about the synod process.

A Reflection for the Tuesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time, by Ashley McKinless

A Reflection on the Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle, by Ashley McKinless

A Reflection for the Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Ashley McKinless

A Reflection for the Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time, by Ashley McKinless