Category: Essays & Profiles
“Our Souls Are Destroyed but We Still Pray and Hope”: A Report on Relief Efforts for Ukraine by Michael Ford
A Ukrainian couple coordinates relief efforts from their home in rural England.
Editorial: “A New Covenant of Nonviolence”: On Archbishop John C. Wester and the Work of Nuclear Disarmament
The archbishop's pastoral letter makes an impassioned case for rebuilding the structures of peace.
Simplifying the Formula: A Note on the Validity of Baptisms
Sorting through the controversy caused by a shift in a single pronoun.
Organized Vibration: A Profile of Evelyn Glennie by Michael Ford
Lessons in listening and the power of silence from a world-renowned percussionist.
The Divided Church and the Next Phase of Synodality by Robert Mickens
The next stage of synodality needs to be centered on a spiritual revival that helps Catholics discover the tools for building a deeper and richer interior life.
Valentine’s Day and Eucharist: Bonds of Love by Gene Ciarlo
The communal aspect, the total environment that feeds our spirits, must be embraced when we come to worship.
Mission by Mission: A Soldier’s Journey of War, Faith, and Healing by Jane M. Bailey
A new memoir processes the pain of war and its aftermath. Featuring an interview with author TB Stamper.
Words and Music: On the Work of Niall Williams by Leonard Engel
Novelist Niall Williams renders the essence, the spirit of place, of an Irish parish at a particular moment in time.
When Coming of Age Was Horror Time by Joe Pagetta
I’d never put together who I was then with the Catholic writer I am today until I went back and listened to those songs.
Evaluating the Synod, Part III: The Jesus Story Is the Answer by Gene Ciarlo
We need the voice of the faithful to remind us all, and especially the Catholic Church hierarchy, where we have gone wrong.
Jesus as a Priest for Our Time according to the Order of Melchizedek by Fr. Bob Bonnot
An excerpt from a new book on the priesthood from Fr. Bob Bonnot, as well as a video interview with the author.
“God Is Good to Us” by Michael Ford
Michael Ford recalls his friendship with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who died last month at age 90.
The Tenacity of Hope by John Alonzo Dick
Beginning the New Year on a note of hope.
A Christmas Story in Another Pandemic by Michael Harank
A family gathered in a small room of a public hospital for the poor recalls the love, mercy, and compassion of the first Christmas morning.