Texas Senate OKs abortion bills; one would ban it if court overturns Roe
The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops was “thrilled to report” the state Senate passed several pro-life bills supported by the conference, executive director Jennifer Allmon said March 31. “These include our top priorities, the Chemical Abortion Safety Protocol, S.B. 394, and the Human Life Protection Act, S.B. 9. We have great hope that these bills, […]
U.S., Mexico bishops urge political leaders to ‘welcome, protect’ migrants
Catholic bishops who head the U.S. and Mexico dioceses along the border that separates them, along with the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ migration committee, issued a joint statement April 1 urging governments, political leaders and civil society to “work together to welcome, protect, promote and integrate migrants.” The prelates also called on these leaders to […]
Pope celebrates Holy Thursday Mass with Cardinal Becciu
Pope Francis celebrated a private Mass on Holy Thursday with Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the former prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes who was forced to resign amid an investigation into suspected financial malfeasance. Several Italian journalists said Cardinal Becciu confirmed the pope celebrated the Mass in the cardinal’s private chapel April 1. The Vatican […]
Pope visits Vatican vaccination clinic for the poor
Pope Francis visited the Vatican’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic on Good Friday as volunteer doctors, nurses and pharmacists continued vaccinating the poor, homeless and refugees assisted by charities in Rome. The Office of Papal Charities announced March 26 that it purchased enough doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to inoculate 1,200 of “the poorest and most marginalized […]
Germans to propose plan to rebuild Beirut port
The German government is to submit a proposal to rebuild the devastated Port of Beirut. The massive blast in August that killed over 200 people and displaced thousands compounded a critical political and economic crisis in the nation, with increasing numbers of Lebanese citizens pushed into poverty. Pope Francis has repeatedly appealed for aid to […]
Last Men and Women
Last Men and Women By George Scialabba March 25, 2021 We all know Nietzsche’s parable of the last man. Certain that democracy, science, and secular humanism would definitively reshape civilization, Nietzsche—or more precisely, Zarathustra—asks what kind of human being would result. His answer, dripping with sarcasm and contempt, is that ordinary humans would become a […]
Climbing & Falling
Climbing & Falling By Isabella Simon March 27, 2021 “Falling!” For a moment, there is air beneath me; then I’m caught by the rope tied to my harness. My belayer, holding the other end, calls up, “Good fall!” My heart pounds, but my fear of falling is already fading. A new challenge awaits—a different kind […]
Holy Waiting
Holy Waiting By Claudia Avila Cosnahan March 28, 2021 My husband and I recently stood in line at a vaccine-distribution center, waiting for its regular hours of operation to end and hoping there might be a surplus of doses that, if not used, would otherwise expire. A man behind us asked if this was indeed […]
‘A Providentialism Without God’
‘A Providentialism Without God’ By Eugene McCarraher March 29, 2021 Interested in discussing this article in your classroom, parish, reading group, or Commonweal Local Community? Click here for a free discussion guide. “Democracy can be no more than an aspiration,” muses “Michael Young,” the narrator of Michael Young’s dystopian novel The Rise of the Meritocracy (1958). (Young cast […]
Identity Crisis
Identity Crisis By Massimo Faggioli March 30, 2021 Those who remember the Laetare Medal controversy of 2009 might be feeling a little déjà vu as Notre Dame approaches this year’s commencement. That was when Mary Ann Glendon, former U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, was supposed to receive the honor. But she refused, citing the […]