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Pope Francis energized American Catholics and others with his message of peace, compassion, justice, and human dignity; and some Catholics hope that the Church under Pope Francis will be open to reform on divorce, contraceptives, and marriage More
American Catholics, says Rev. Thomas Reese of National Catholic Reporter, live out their faith in the local parish, and “they want to meet somebody like Pope Francis. And if the clergy and the bishops and the people aren’t like Pope Francis, or namely like Jesus, more welcoming, compassionate, loving, they’re going to turn around and never come back.” More
The Roman Catholic Church’s understanding of the permanent nature of marriage “is really meant to be a countercultural position,” says Professor Susan Ross of Loyola University Chicago’s theology department. “The Church’s challenge is to find a way to hold marriage as this sacred bond, while recognizing the very human situation in which it falls apart.” More
“The American post-Enlightenment contractual idea of marriage—that is, marriage is what we decide it is—is an incredibly powerful idea that haunts the minds of American Catholics…The under-65 crowd is much more into contractual understandings of marriage than covenantal understandings of … More
Excitement builds for American Catholics ahead of the pope’s arrival Tuesday for five busy days in Washington, New York and Philadelphia; and a coalition of demonstrators organized by the NAACP march from Selma, Alabama to Washington, DC to call for an end to discrimination and economic inequality. More
Pope Francis arrives in the US on Tuesday, September 22nd, for five busy days in Washington, New York, and Philadelphia. Managing editor Kim Lawton asks American Catholics about the beliefs that shape the Pope’s view of the world, and Stephen Schneck and Tom Roberts joins host Bob Abernethy in the studio for a conversation about their expectations for the pope’s trip. More
“We are trying to convey to the folks that the right to vote is a civic sacrament, and the voting booth is in fact the altar of our democracy. And for us to allow voter disenfranchisement and suppression to go on is a desecration of both,” says NAACP president Cornell Brooks, who led the America’s Journey for Justice march to Washington, D.C. More
The case of Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis and same-sex marriage has raised questions about the limits of religious freedom; residents in San Juan County, Utah are fighting a proposal to create a national monument that protects Native American land; and Jews in the Reform movement begin using a new prayer book for the High Holy Days More
“There are extraordinary circumstances under which people may be able to break the law and claim higher authority, but being an elected official is not one of them,” says Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. But Roger Severino of the Heritage Foundation’s DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society disagrees. “The law actually requires religious accommodation where it’s reasonable. It’s part of our traditions, it’s part of our history, and it’s part of our law,” he says. More
Twenty-five Indian tribes want the federal government to protect nearly two million acres of land sacred to Native Americans. But the proposal has created tension with local residents who want access to the land for recreation and development. More