In the U.S., the early weeks of the diocesan phase of the synod on synodality so far reveal an uneven response to Pope Francis' vision of a more decentralized, listening and discerning church that "journeys together."
At the conclusion of the U.S. bishops' two-day virtual meeting, Archbishop Gomez issued a warning to President-elect Biden, a Catholic, saying his position on abortion rights creates a "difficult and complex situation."
Archbishop Allen Vigneron offered the opening prayer for a Sept. 30 virtual fundraising event for Right to Life of Michigan, during which the organization offered an endorsement of President Donald Trump.
Your thoughts: More NCR readers responded to the recent Vatican instructions that Catholic parishes should normally be led by priests. The Vatican also announced that changing the words of the formula for baptism renders the sacrament invalid, causing a bit of a theological debate.
We say: Stop judging ministries that have been sincerely serving Catholic folks for decades. Stop judging LGBT Catholics trying to find their place in the church so they can tend to their spiritual lives.
Amid the pandemic, Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Gerard Battersby notified Christ the King Church that Fortunate Families could no longer be welcomed at Christ the King or any archdiocesan facility.
Frank D'Amore, director of the local group for LGBT Catholics, said that despite the archdiocesan mandate, Dignity Detroit will continue. "We're not having liturgy because of the virus. But we are alive and well."
Grace on the Margins: The Detroit chapter of Dignity has been expelled from its sacred space during a pandemic, a time in which our senses of space, location and home are already in disorienting flux.
Across the country, priests and parishioners alike have been considering how disturbing current events like U.S.-Iran tensions or a string of anti-Semitic attacks should or shouldn't be addressed in homilies.
