Rebecca Bratten Weiss

Rebecca Bratten Weiss prefers Gothic architecture and older styles of European music, but that doesn't mean that her preferences are the only ways to be reverent at Mass.

Recent notable Catholic converts seem to be attracted less to the church founded by Jesus, and more to a powerful institution that has, historically, sometimes allied with oppressors instead of with the oppressed.

If we are going to address antisemitism, we need to deal with it at its roots. And we need to deal with it where it arises in our own communities, or in communities close to us.

It is widely recognized among conservative and progressive Catholics that the right to life is genuine, and not contingent upon legislative rulings. But there seems to be less of a consensus about the right to bodily autonomy.

Is Jonathan Franzen's Crossroads a story about selling your soul, about salvation or damnation? Not exactly. But it is a story about people for whom questions of salvation and damnation are of utmost importance.

I do not believe that overturning Roe v. Wade is truly a win for life. Nor do I believe that the Republican politicians or anti-abortion activists cheering on this potential decision are really serious about saving lives.

"You don't fool people, Stan. They fool themselves," a con artist is warned in the Oscar-nominated "Nightmare Alley." Directed by Guillermo del Toro, it is based on the 1946 novel by William Lindsay Gresham.  

Approval of the Pfizer vaccine for those 5 and older significantly reduces the risk of children contracting COVID-19. But with safety protocols differing in schools and parishes, parents still worry. Some question if decisions are in the best interest of their children and reflect Catholic values.

Movie review: Many have dubbed Dune, Frank Herbert's groundbreaking 1965 novel, "unfilmable." But Denis Villeneuve's adaptation successfully captures the novel's complexity, its characters' individuality, and, ultimately, the grimness of protagonist Paul's situation.

Commentary: Even if some Catholics are drawn to traditionalist parishes, others are leaving them. But those interviewed by NCR say it's not that they fell out of love with the liturgy. They withdrew due to the bigotry and toxicity in traditional parishes.

Commentary: Restricting the liturgy was not the best way to deal with the problems in traditionalist communities. More effective would have been to restrict the destructive behaviors and ideologies they promote.

Commentary: Progressive Catholics are not "pro-abortion." Their fundamental disagreement with right-wing Catholics is not on whether abortion is an evil. The disagreement is about how best to go about preventing it.

Commentary: In the face of the moral relativism of the right, progressive Catholics with a heart for social justice need to reclaim the powerful arguments for objective truth once popular among conservatives.

Church membership among Catholics has declined sharply in recent decades. Many who have left since 2016 cite their coreligionists' alliance with the MAGA movement as a key factor in their decision.

Commentary: Economic justice means all lines of work are deemed equally worthy of respect. In a just system, all workers would have access to the support and funding necessary to pursue career success and financial stability.

Commentary: Our Catholic social and racial justice activists, past and present, do not fit the image of blandness and flimsiness evoked by Bishop Robert Barron's phrase "beige Catholicism."

Commentary: While I value the perspective of my fellow whole-life advocates and highly regard their work, I have no plans to petition the Biden-Harris administration to make abortion illegal. And this is not because I favor abortion.

Commentary: Progressive pro-lifers need new tactics to reengage effectively with Democratic Party leaders on the topic of abortion. Here are four approaches that I propose.

Commentary: It is not enough for a woman to claim a seat at the table. She needs to work, as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg did, for other women to be given places as well. And Barrett has not done this.

Commentary: We need to replace cheap providentialism with the kind of faith that can endure outside the realm of "first world problems." Look to the spirituality of those who have endured extreme suffering and injustice.