Phyllis Zagano

"The Christian celebration of Easter is about new life, yet the world's consciousness remains flooded with ideas of death," writes Phyllis Zagano. That includes war and famine, plus euthanasia and abortion, she writes. 

"When presumably educated, responsible politicians sound as if they are preaching from a bar stool," Phyllis Zagano writes, "what can the rest of us do to remove angry denigration from whatever other pulpit we might be near?" 

Rome's move to allow LGBTQ couples to be blessed has been misunderstood by many, and misrepresented by others.

"There are too many hurting people frightened today," writes Phyllis Zagano. "Can we not quietly and with respect focus on their needs and discard the noise and disrespect that fuels the wars large and small?" 

Pope Francis' opening to women in church management is promising. Getting women into the sacristy is trickier.

The back-and-forth is dizzying, and it will not end soon. The synod is the synod. Parts of the Catholic world are involved. Some are not. 

Too many U.S. Catholics don't know about the global discussion of the church's future, argues Phyllis Zagano.

Why did Texas Gov. Greg Abbott put razor wire and a floating barrier in the Rio Grande? Do migrant children not have heartbeats? 

The people of God agree that the mission of the church is to carry the Gospel to the world. That task is the principal duty of the deacon, argues Phyllis Zagano.

The optics of the latest meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, June 14-16 in Orlando, tell the story. It is not about us, Phyllis Zagano writes. The view from the pews is of men talking about men.

Anger-plus-fear-plus-guns destroys too many lives. Whether for random shootings or the horror of war, individuals or entire nations are picking up guns to solve their real or imagined disputes.

Book review: The Nature of Theology presents three intellectual problems attacking Christian theology that all relate to the question of what is real. If God is real, then the task of theology is to answer these attacks.

We see everywhere news of children murdered in their classrooms, soldiers suffering in their homelands, people displaced by famine and politics, and a dying planet. Where is the Easter promise in all this?

Some bishops and lay groups have become the de facto Catholic morality police. Is this evangelization?

If people want to spend their millions promoting Jesus, they can, because the United States is a free country.

So-called traditionalists have lost two icons in recent weeks, deflating opposition to reform on women's roles.

Lately, the question of ordination for women seems restricted to the growing requests for women priests. Even Francis uses that shorthand. But the tradition of ordaining women as deacons could easily be restored.

At their fall plenary meeting, the bishops spent less time on the Gospel than on internal church matters.

Members of the pope's opposition are well situated to gather like-minded cardinals in the sort of conspiratorial meetings not known since the Middle Ages. 

Govs. Abbott, Ducey, DeSantis and their minions are trafficking human beings. These migrants are people, not numbers, who have risked everything for a chance at a better life, for a chance at survival.