Today, many women’s religious orders and congregations seem headed for a very insecure future (to put it mildly), or worse, extinction.
Read moreTag: Viewpoint
Viewpoint: Advancing the Roles of Women in the Church
The Church continues to be at a loss as to how to advance the roles of women in its administrative structures.
Read moreViewpoint: Is Ash Wednesday Still Relevant in the 21st Century?
Catholics who show up for work after Mass on Ash Wednesday wearing ashes on their foreheads will likely be thought by fellow-workers to be indulging in a quaint and harmless old Catholic practice with not much contemporary relevance.
Read moreViewpoint: In Favor of the Restoration of “Sunday Best”
When Miss Manners proposes a return to wearing “Sunday Best” when going to church, I leap to her support. – M. Francis Mannion
Read moreViewpoint: Which is the Real Catholic Church?
“While the liturgy is, as Vatican II put it, ‘the source and summit’ of Catholic life, love of the poor neighbor is the fundamental social calling of all who call themselves ‘Catholic’.” – M. Francis Mannion
Read moreViewpoint: Thanksgiving Day Invites a Generous Attitude of Blessing
“The ability to give thanks is the mark of the truly religious person.” – M. Francis Mannion
Read moreViewpoint: A Spirituality of Ruins
Ruins remind us that every aspect of life does not have a happy ending. All we can do is recognize our ruins, accept them, lament over them—and then commend them to God in the firm faith that only he has the power to rebuild in the day of eternity.
Read moreViewpoint: Papal Styles
Most of all, Pope Francis wants a Church that is close to the people, is compassionate to sinners, and is merciful to those who live in imperfect situations.
Read moreViewpoint: The Good Old Days in the Church were not always so great
Recently I have been reading up on cathedral and monastic life in the Middle Ages. Things, it turns out, were not always as great as we might expect in that glorious age of faith.
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