“Lead us not into temptation.” Christians have prayed these words so many times, it’s easy to slide over their meaning, but they are a bit curious...
Religion
Essays explaining our faith, including stories about church teaching, Vatican documents, canon law, liturgical theology, and other Catholic topics.
We shouldn’t get hung up on the details surrounding Jesus’ birth, says this Bible scholar. As with any scripture story, there’s more here...
The issue of women priests may be a settled matter, but that doesn’t mean a woman can’t serve the church as a deacon. Celebrating the opening of the archives...
For 16 years I prayed them with my entire family before Christmas. I prayed them as a teenager, for the repose of the soul of parents of friends; I prayed them...
Church teaching on gay and lesbian people must reflect their dignity as God’s daughters and sons. Homosexuality has claimed the job of another employee...
The translators of the new Mass prayers have neglected one cardinal rule: Consider your audience. As the days dwindled before their triumphal entry, the new...
The church requires two miracles before a person can be canonized. Why? A Catholic friar on a plane that made a dramatic emergency landing in Poland last fall...
As we’re reminded every Advent, our Catholic Christmas customs are somewhat at odds with the secular “holiday season,” which starts before Thanksgiving and...
With so many lay ecclesial ministers and directors of religious education out there, many of whom are women, why would a bishop “need” a woman as a deacon? If...
How did we arrive at this translation of the Mass? As Catholics in the United States get accustomed to new responses and prayers at Sunday Mass, many will...
