August 2026
VOL. 91, NO. 8
Scroll through the Table of Contents to view what’s in this month’s print issue. Some articles are available only in the print issue: Subscribe today to get full access to all the material you see listed below. And remember to sign up for our weekly email so you never miss an online article!
Features
Stories to tell
Amid the continuing conflict in Sudan—which has displaced citizens both internally and externally—people of faith build communities of support across religious differences and hope for a future when they can safely return home.
Sacred patterns
The spiritual practice of walking labyrinths can help us trace our way into courage and comfort when the world feels destabilizing.
EXPERT WITNESS
Out on the fringe
An interview with C.M. Howell
The musicians associated with the outlaw movement in country music carved out spaces where they could engage faith in their own ways.
SOUNDING BOARD
Rules of the road
Travel leaves social, economic, and ecological impacts. U.S. Catholic readers ponder how to respond ethically.
ESSAY
Our social responsibility
BY JORDAN DENARI DUFFNER AND JULIE SCHUMACHER COHEN
The church has an obligation to address complex moral and social issues—including the ongoing conflict in Israel-Palestine.
ESSAY
Head, shoulders, knees, and toes
BY EMMA GOFF
Even the youngest kids can learn to respect their bodies and the bodies of others through ongoing conversations about anatomy, consent, and human dignity.
Ethics
HOME FAITH
The search for wholeness
BY MOLLY CRUITT
Parish community is meant to extend beyond the pews and the post-Mass coffee hour.
SALT & LIGHT
Back to school
BY MEGHAN J. CLARK
Faithful citizens must inform and form their consciences on an ongoing basis.
MARGIN NOTES
Breath-taking
BY KEVIN CLARKE
Federal policy revisions leave nearly half of people in the United States breathing dangerous air.
Culture
CULTURE IN CONTEXT
For art’s sake
BY DANNY DUNCAN COLLUM
Ai can splice and repackage material, but it lacks crucial capacities of the human creative process.
REVIEWS
Art Is How God Loves Us
By Meridith Hite Estevez (Broadleaf Books, 2026)
Reviewed by Jean P. Kelly
The Things I Didn’t Say
Xania Monet (Hallwood Media, 2026)
Reviewed by Nathaniel Hunter
Our Faith
WISE GUIDES
Crisis negotiator
BY KENNETH MCINTOSH
St. Nicholas of Flue chose the path of most resistance: a life of contemplation that made a difference in the world.
PRACTICING CATHOLIC
Making strides
BY DEBORAH GREGORY
The traditional Prayer of the Examen can help us navigate spiritual paths.
TESTAMENTS
What God looks like
BY AMY EKEH
Scriptural depictions of God are not intended to be literal, but they give us a blueprint for imagining God as truly present.
GLAD YOU ASKED
What is the lectionary?
POETRY
Confessional
EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
Tides of adventure
BY JERRY BLEEM
