Before the close of this year's synod session, Pope Francis restated what the church is at its core and, in doing so, denounced a church governed by clericalism.
Commentary: On May 15, the pope will canonize Devasahayam Pillai, India's first lay saint and the first recognized martyr of Indian origin. His life and death challenge the church to turn away from clericalism and casteism.
Fr. Daniel Horan: Just as racism is a white problem, sexual abuse in the church is a clergy problem. White people need to name and confront "white fragility," and we clergy need to name and confront "clerical fragility."
American religious sisters like St. Elizabeth Ann Seton have been protagonists in the larger narrative of women's history, but that record has often been eclipsed, according to scholars during a recent panel discussion.
Appointed to lead the Congregation for Bishops by Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Marc Ouellet has stayed on under Pope Francis — but he acknowledges some of what's expected of him and other bishops has changed.
Commentary: Often our evangelization efforts are linked with bad theology and clerical attitudes. A better approach would be to realize that everything we do as Catholics is a touchpoint of evangelization.
Commentary: What cannot be overstated is the force that the hierarchical culture — that privileged, secretive, unaccountable, male-only construct — can apply against any movement toward radical truth-telling.
Appreciation: As a priest and writer who diagnosed the maladies of the church, Cozzens showed that prophets need not rant and call down the wrath of God. He showed how they could quietly, diligently lay bare the truth.
The synod on synodality has aspirations to reshape the Catholic Church's ability to engage its members and revitalize its mission as a participatory, listening church, after decades marred by clericalism and abuse.
