Real sacrifice should be remembered this Christmas

2012 has truly been the year of the nuns

Richard McBrien | Dec. 17, 2012

Essays in Theology: The Vatican and conservative U.S. bishops should simply say "thank you" and then let the nuns do their work on behalf of the Kingdom of God.

Pope John XXIII's opening address to the Second Vatican Council

Richard McBrien | Nov. 5, 2012

Essays in Theology: On the opening day of Vatican II, Pope John XXIII gave an address that laid down the framework for what turned out to be the four sessions of the assembly.

Showing support for LCWR during these trying times

Richard McBrien | Oct. 29, 2012

Essays on Theology: It's old news by now, but I want to add my name to the list of people who support the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.

Papyrus scrap mentioning Jesus' wife could affect thousands of priests

Richard McBrien | Oct. 8, 2012

Essays in Theology: If Jesus had a wife, the primary basis for obligatory clerical celibacy in the church would be out the window.

A hopefully temporary hiatus for 'Essays in Theology'

Dennis Coday | Feb. 27, 2012

Theologian Fr. Richard McBrien began writing a weekly newspaper column July 8, 1966, and he has been at it ever since. As near as I can tell, McBrien's first byline in NCR was in 1973. We began publishing his columns weekly online in 2008, and we saw an immediate jump in our website page views.

His column began seven months after the adjournment of the Second Vatican Council, and the purpose of it, McBrien said, was "to assist Catholics to appreciate the significance of the council and to apply its teachings to the life of the church in their parishes, dioceses and nations, and indeed to the universal church itself."

Preparing for a Year of Faith

Richard McBrien | Jan. 16, 2012

Pope Benedict XVI recently announced that he would launch a Year of Faith to help Catholics appreciate the gift of faith, to deepen their relationship with God and to strengthen their commitment to sharing faith with others.

The Year of Faith will begin Oct. 11, 2012, the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, and will end Nov. 24, 2013, the feast of Christ the King.

The disconnect between bishops and other Catholics

Richard McBrien | Jan. 9, 2012

The U.S. Catholic bishops have produced a new introduction to their 2007 document, "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship." The full text of the new introduction is available in Origins, Oct. 13, 2011, vol. 41, no. 19. The original document is also available in Origins, Nov. 29, 2007, vol. 37, no. 25.

Bishop ponders reasons Americans leave Catholic church

Richard McBrien | Jan. 2, 2012

Bishop Howard Hubbard of Albany, N.Y., is the only U.S. bishop I know of who has explicitly taken into account the report of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life that appeared more than two years ago and found that one in 10 Americans has left the Catholic church.

Dealing with the new translation of the Mass

Richard McBrien | Dec. 26, 2011

There used to be an anti-liturgical joke circulating that said that the only difference between a terrorist and a liturgist is that you can negotiate with a terrorist.

By the same token, there is a seriously mistaken impression abroad that the new translation of the missal was inspired and promoted by liturgists. Nothing could be further from the truth.