NCR Editorial Staff

We say: God in this most vulnerable state has nothing to do with an ecclesiology or a manufactured orthodoxy that trades on privilege, power and deception. 

Editorial: Standing up to Trump has placed House Speaker Pelosi in the brightest of spotlights. But NCR also recognizes her advocating for the poor and migrants, defense of the Constitution, and willingness to demonstrate that faith can be an inspiring force in society.

We say: Despite the displays of disdain for Francis, there should not be anything confusing about this papacy's embrace of those whose lives might fall outside some perceived ideal.

We say: In the short time since the church formalized a process for bishops to investigate other bishops' misconduct, we are finding out that process has had, to put it mildly, its hiccups.

We say: The U.S. bishops probably constitute one of the most resistant episcopal audiences Pope Francis faces in the global church. Nor are they listening to the needs of their flock at home.

We say: Be outraged at President Donald Trump's morally repugnant actions as he pardons war criminals while attacking lifelong patriots who have served this country in a variety of challenging circumstances. 

We say: The no-holds-barred conversation that Pope Francis has introduced in the synod process requires trust and, while stirring up opposition, also raises expectations.

We say: The recent release of nearly 500 inmates from Oklahoma state prisons is a sign of a basic American distrust of one-size-fits-all sentencing with no room for a judge's discretion or compassion.

We say: The Catholic Church in the U.S. is for sale. Money provides individuals and groups entrée to the highest levels of church leadership and affords others an inordinately large say in church affairs.

We say: In the Amazon, as elsewhere, symbols of faith arise from indigenous culture. The desecration of these symbols in Rome, apparently by ecclesial thugs, was a despicable act and should be condemned by all.

We say: We are a nation that came into existence by way of words in documents that are experiencing some of the most strenuous tests in our history. It is our obligation to uphold our principles.

We say: Pope Francis' friendly meeting with Fr. James Martin may signal a new attitude in the church regarding the LGBTQ community, but there are as many questions as answers.

We say: The Synod of Bishops for the Amazon brings to a concentrated point a necessary discussion of the survival of the planet and the survival of a church undergoing unprecedented change.

We say: Look beyond the politics to principle. Formal impeachment proceedings will attempt to get at the truth and hold this president accountable for at least some of his destructive behavior.

The Buffalo Diocese has been dogged by woeful succession of reports of coverups of sexual abuse. Now a Polish priest is claiming that when, as a seminarian, he was sexually assaulted by a priest, the bishop threatened to deny him ordination — and to deport him.

We say: Benedictine Sr. Joan Chittister writes that "the ring of real prophecy lies in its uncommon courage." The Plowshares movement, a non-violent movement of both symbol and personal jeopardy, has that.

We say: The response in certain circles to the Aug. 21 court decision upholding Cardinal George Pell's conviction for sexually assaulting two choirboys in the 1990s was as swift as it was irrational. Hysteria serves no purpose.

We say: "The 1619 Project" leaps light years ahead of the normal considerations of race in the United States, not through analysis or speculation, but rather through unflinching and minutely researched detail. Slavery is in almost every detail of who we are.

We say: When a mass murderer uses the same language as the president, it becomes a moral issue. This time is different, and church leaders should recognize it.

We say: In placing Burke as the keynoter, the Napa Institute sent a clear signal of an attempt to reconstitute clericalism, rejecting the dynamism of Pope Francis' model of accompaniment.