Commentary: Helping young people to be fiercely Catholic in today’s world
The Catholic Church is facing a crisis of faith among young people. In recent years, there has been a steady decline in the number of young people who identify as Catholic, and those who do remain...
View ArticleCatholics can ‘sanctify’ the minefield of social media
Social media is well named. It’s media that is truly social, and it is a gift to the Church because it gives us a way to evangelize and reach people who may never step foot in a church. The flip side...
View ArticleEarly voting underway: Christ calls us to be faithful citizens
In the coming weeks and months, voters will elect members to all 140 seats in the Virginia General Assembly, as well as other offices in some localities. Much is at stake! Early voting begins September...
View ArticleArchbishop Wenski: ‘Change the narrative about migration’
We need to change the narrative about migration. Cities like New York and Chicago are using the language of burden, of being overwhelmed, of not being able to handle the number of newcomers. Yet these...
View ArticleCommentary: Families are the solution, not the problem
Our culture continues to view families as a problem. The declining birth rate of the United States is evidence that people think happiness will be found outside of family life. Birth rates initially...
View ArticleCommentary – Pilots and priests: sometimes they have to be ‘preachy’
In the realm of aviation, a video of an American Airlines pilot delivering a stern but compassionate pre-flight announcement has sparked a wide variety of reactions online. The pilot’s speech, which...
View ArticleEmpty words: AI homilies might sound good, but …
With all the talk about ChatGPT, and Pope Francis’ ongoing criticism of bad preaching, a dark question crossed my mind: What if the homilies we heard at Mass were composed by artificial intelligence?...
View Article‘We used to be Catholic’ —how to respond to loved ones leaving the Church
I didn’t sleep well this week. My heart aches. I had dinner with some dear friends. The conversation light, the perch dusted and tender and served up. Then, our hosts unexpectedly announced they were...
View ArticleCommentary: Wait until Christmas to eat Christmas cookies
When my sisters and I were young, my mother would spend all of Advent baking cookies and making candy. That may hardly seem remarkable; after all, countless millions of Christmas cookies are baked and...
View ArticleCommentary: I’m fine with being called ‘a big loser’ for being Catholic
It took place only a couple of days after I was ordained auxiliary bishop of my home archdiocese of St. Louis, back in 2001. De Smet Jesuit High School had invited me to offer the opening Mass of the...
View ArticleBlack History Month: The legacy of Venerable Father Augustus Tolton
Editor’s note: A cause for canonization is underway for Father Augustus Tolton, declared venerable by Pope Francis in 2019. Venerable Father Augustus Tolton is known as the first Black Catholic...
View ArticleGeneral Assembly session update: Action, advocacy crucial to combat dangerous...
The 2024 Virginia General Assembly session began Jan. 10 and is scheduled to end March 9. Feb. 13 was “crossover,” the date after which – with the exception of the budget – the House can only consider...
View ArticleCommentary: Do we need a fake Father Justin to find the Truth?
Years ago, I remember a supermarket tabloid cover story about the Vatican creating a robot priest. The image on the cover was an R2D2 type of robot with a confessional stole draped over it. It was good...
View ArticleCommentary: AI that looks human still has no soul, cannot know the Truth
To be a Christian means, fundamentally, to have encountered Christ and to have allowed him to change your life. Few understand the centrality of this personal and relational encounter with Christ...
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