If Catholic bishops hope to reclaim their moral credibility after revelations about covering up clergy sexual abuse, the hierarchy might start by sending a simple but potent message: Church leaders should take a year of abstinence from preaching about sex and gender. It might seem obvious that a church facing a crisis of legitimacy caused Read more
The first two states to legalize recreational marijuana are starting to grapple with teenagers’ growing use of highly potent pot, even as both boost the industry and reap huge tax windfalls from its sales. Though the legal purchase age is 21 in Colorado and Washington, parents, educators and physicians say youths are easily getting hold Read more
Years ago, a man about to be ordained was told by an older priest, “The hardest thing you will find is to be called Father.” The new priest found this was indeed true and he dropped the title, although doing so made some lay people uncomfortable. One parishioner said calling a priest by his first Read more
Critics and supporters of the Vatican’s latest document on gender and sexuality may find little common ground on the issue, but they can agree on this: The church needs to further a dialogue about transgender individuals. “Male and Female He Created Them: Toward a Path of Dialogue on the Question of Gender Theory in Education,” Read more
A young pastor once asked me a great question. He appeared to be doing a great job leading, but he wanted to do better. I always admire someone who wants to improve. His question went like this. Knowing what you know now about leadership, what would you say are the biggest traps to avoid? What Read more
Recently, La Civiltà Cattolica published a transcript of the Holy Father’s conversation with the Jesuit community working in Romania. Pope Francis typically meets with the local Jesuits whenever he visits a country and the conversations really show the wisdom and the personality of this pope. For example, we know the first pope from Argentina likes Read more
Following the Christchurch massacre, Justice Minister Andrew Little announced a review of our hate speech laws. Little wants the review to focus on “whether our laws properly balance the issues of freedom of speech and hate speech”. He seems to want a bob each way on this question. On the one hand, he has defended free Read more
St. Stephen’s, an Episcopal church in Center City Philadelphia, isn’t open on Easter. There are no sermons on Sunday. It doesn’t have any members. And yet this castlelike Gothic Revival building on 10th Street is still a functioning, active church — just not in the ways you might expect. Rather than opening on Sundays, the Read more
According to Barna.com, Generation Z (people born between 1999 and 2015) are the “first truly ‘post-Christian’ generation.” In fact, the number of teens who associate themselves with atheism is twice as much as the general population, according to Barna. The decline in religion among teens is at a staggering 29% among 8th graders, 25% among Read more
Whenever I wonder what it will take to stop us from attacking our adversaries, I think back to my first experience of hating my neighbour. I was 27 when I landed an early-morning anchor job at the ABC News affiliate in Dallas. Each weekday, I set my alarm for 2:30 a.m., showered, put on makeup Read more