Copy Desk Daily, July 23, 2020

Recommended for you today, from the NCR/GSR/EarthBeat copy desk:

Today, we present a deep dive into the contradictory character of the nation's top attorney, the one who decided to resume federal executions after a 17-year hiatus — William Barr — "a culture warrior Catholic." Read it here.

Here's an excerpt:

Barr's critics counter that a Catholic at the highest level of government uses his influence to endorse a selective, ideologically driven understanding of religious liberty, and champions a nearly limitless view of executive power that is particularly dangerous, given Trump's disregard for bedrock democratic norms.

Did you know there are three ranks of cardinal? NCR columnist Phyllis Zagano says, "Theoretically, at least, a deacon or even a lay man (or woman?) can be named cardinal." Read her take on the new cardinals coming down the pike. 

We have Social Service Sr. Simone Campbell on our pages again! Read: "Ending surprise medical billing is vital for recovery."

Sr. Nancy Sylvester, a member of the Sister Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Monroe, Michigan, is founder and director of the Institute for Communal Contemplation and Dialogue. She offers ways to look at things to effect personal and social change. In her latest column for GSR, she says, "I sense this is a rare opportunity to awaken, to transform our collective consciousness in ways that are more anti-racist. And this means each of us must do our own individual work." Read "This moment calls for a new consciousness: becoming an anti-racist."

In his latest Signs of the Times column, Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese asks: "Despite the terrible impact of COVID-19 on us, in what ways could the coronavirus change work, families and church for the better?" Read about opportunities he thinks could arise.

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