September 2026
VOL. 91, NO. 9
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Features
Tainted legacies
Many social justice movements, both within and outside the church, have had to reckon with histories of inequity and abuse. The Catholic tradition has a surprising amount to say about how these movements can remain accountable and create a more liberatory future.
Degrees of value
As some colleges are forced to close, the choice to prioritize mission over profit is a risk that many Catholic colleges are still willing to take.
EXPERT WITNESS
Just a book
An interview with David Dault
The Bible is the book that most shapes civilization, even as we shape its stories to fit our own values, says this theologian.
SOUNDING BOARD
Consumer choices
Does Catholic social teaching encourage us to participate in consumer boycotts? Readers weigh in.
ESSAY
Strange new home
BY HOJUNG LEE
Catholicism has seen a growing number of adult converts in recent years, but not every conversion story is straightforward.
ESSAY
God still speaks
After removing harmful ideas from your belief system, what’s left for those who still desire a life of faith?
Ethics
HOME FAITH
Our ecumenical family
BY DON CLEMMER
A Catholic daughter—and her dad—reinvigorate their faith by forging friendships with a new community in Christ.
SALT & LIGHT
Mind melds
BY DAVID CLOUTIER
Our common knowledge creates communities where strangers can immediately become friends.
MARGIN NOTES
Collateral damage
BY KEVIN CLARKE
Resource scarcity and hunger cause deaths not typically counted among the costs of war.
Culture
CULTURE IN CONTEXT
A loaded message
BY PAMELA HILL NETTLETON
Violent entertainment doesn’t necessarily create violent people. But it convinces viewers they live in a more violent world.
REVIEWS
In Guns We Trust
By William J. Kole (Broadleaf Books, 2025)
Reviewed by Matt Kappadakunnel
Over Your Dead Body
Directed by Jorma Taccone (Independent FIlm Company, 2026)
Reviewed by Caleb Murray
Our Faith
WISE GUIDES
A child before God
BY MICHELLE JONES
Spiritual writer Ruth Burrows offers hope for those whose spiritual lives feel desolate.
PRACTICING CATHOLIC
Your grandma’s devotion
BY SHANNON WIMP SCHMIDT
There’s a reason the rosary became, and remains, so popular.
TESTAMENTS
Back to basics
BY ALICE CAMILLE
A scripture scholar reflects on a career that includes 30 years, more than 300 U.S. Catholic columns, and five million words of scriptural interpretation.
GLAD YOU ASKED
Why did Jesus get angry?
POETRY
After the latest immigration raid
BY ERIN MURPHY
EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
Illuminate the world
BY JERRY BLEEM
