Tom Roberts was NCR executive editor from October 2018 through April 2020. Tom was NCR editor from 2000-2008. He is the author of The Emerging Catholic Church: A Community's Search for Itself (2011) and Joan Chittister: Her Journey from Certainty to Faith (2015), both published by Orbis Books.
Book Review
The 1619 Project: Making space for long-ignored truths
Book review: Whatever flaws the 1619 Project may have, it is a valuable view of a shadow stream of U.S. history through the eyes of those who understand, more clearly than anyone without dark skin can, the lasting effects of it.
Commentary
Maryland vetoes show Catholic witness is victim to ongoing culture war
Commentary: A drama in Maryland holds significance for the next presidential election cycle, while highlighting the ever-shrinking role of Catholic witness in the public square as it becomes a casualty of the culture wars.
Commentary
The sex abuse scandal is not over. The hierarchal culture still needs transformation.
Commentary: What cannot be overstated is the force that the hierarchical culture — that privileged, secretive, unaccountable, male-only construct — can apply against any movement toward radical truth-telling.
Fr. Don Cozzens unveiled problems in the priesthood, and modeled solutions
Appreciation: As a priest and writer who diagnosed the maladies of the church, Cozzens showed that prophets need not rant and call down the wrath of God. He showed how they could quietly, diligently lay bare the truth.
