Dawn Eden Goldstein’s new book, Sunday Will Never Be the Same, is a captivating work of storytelling, but you would miss the point if you thought it was just her story. Sure, Goldstein recounts her life’s trajectory with evocative vignettes. We learn in visceral detail about formative childhood experiences, her absorption into the...
I was asked to give a talk about Pope Francis at the Catholic Information Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan. While I’m only one member of the WPI team and this isn’t an official WPI event, I wanted to let you all know about this event and extend an invitation to any faithful readers...
“As I have often repeated, a Christian cannot be an anti-Semite; we share the same roots. It would be a contradiction of faith and life. Rather, we are called to commit ourselves to ensure anti-Semitism is banned from the human community.” – Pope Francis, “Greetings of His Holiness Pope Francis to a Delegation...
When Silence, Martin Scorsese’s epic film adaptation of the 1960s Japanese historical novel of the same title, hit theaters in late 2016, I was a master’s student at a mainline Protestant school of theology attached to a prominent private university. I was also in the process of entering the Catholic Church. I have...
This morning in his homily on the feast of Pentecost, Pope Francis spoke at length about the work of the Holy Spirit. Excerpt: The Holy Spirit does not bring only harmony within us but also among us. He makes us Church, building different parts into one harmonious edifice. Saint Paul explains this well when, speaking of...
This is just a quick post about comments on our site, for those who might be confused. Our more regular commenters seem to be generally aware of our policy — it’s more of a “practice” than a formal policy, but we often receive questions from new commenters. Please don’t consider these to be...
What is grace, and how exactly does grace “work”? I don’t want to suggest to anyone that I have the full answer, but over the last few years, Pope Francis’ theology has reminded the Church, in important ways, about what grace actually is and what it is not. When I say, “Pope Francis’...
UPDATE 6/3/19 CNA has published an English translation of the entire press conference. Here are Francis’s comments in fuller context. On ecumenism: I always have this idea: Ecumenism is not reaching the end of the game, of the discussion. Ecumenism is walking together, walking together, praying together… The ecumenism of prayer. In history,...
Pope Francis recently gave a 40-minute interview to a Mexican TV station, the full transcript of which has not been released in English (full Spanish transcript here). Several English-language outlets have translated portions, including America magazine, CNA, and Vatican News. Much is covered in the wide-ranging interview, including abortion, immigration, sexual abuse, Amoris...
You often find the charge among critics of Pope Francis that his apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, is opposed to Pope John Paul’s encyclical Veritatis Splendor. The differences between the two are exaggerated in order to set these two documents of the papal magisterium against each other; Amoris Laetitia against Veritatis Splendor, Pope John...
Do you believe everything the Church teaches? But do you really? When candidates make their profession at the Easter Vigil, they are asked, “Do you believe and profess all that the holy Catholic Church believes, teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by God?” The question cannot really be asking, “Do you in...
For the past week, and up until just a couple days before Pentecost, the Gospel readings for daily Mass are from John’s recounting of the Last Supper. Here Jesus repeatedly speaks about, and prays to, “the Father.” I want to step back and reflect on that for a minute. God is completely and...
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