Just Catholic

Just Catholic is a Catholic perspective on the news—especially when the church itself becomes the news—from Phyllis Zagano.

Since the Amazon synod, what has happened to talk of synodality?

by Phyllis Zagano

Aug 24, 2020

Just Catholic: There was lots of talking together and walking together at the recent Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region. Some 230 men and 35 women met, but on the interrelated questions of married priests and women deacons, the talking and the walking fell short.

Pope Francis walks in procession with new cardinals during a consistory in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Oct. 5, 2019. (CNS/Vatican Media)

New cardinals? They'll be more of the same

by Phyllis Zagano

Jul 23, 2020

Just Catholic: The good news is 15 new cardinals seem to be on the Roman horizon. The bad news is they are all men. And the fact of the matter is, if you are not at the table, you are not part of the discussion.

The ties that bind: How the Catholic Church can respond to the cult of personality

by Phyllis Zagano

Jun 25, 2020

Just Catholic: The cult of personality is a very scary thing. No matter where or how it forms, it usually crashes and burns with the death or diminishment of the individual who gained a following.

Fr. Lou Phillips, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Windham, Maine, holds the Blessed Sacrament April 19 during a "drive-thru" Divine Mercy Sunday blessing in the church parking lot, amid the coronavirus pandemic. (CNS)

While reopening rules get debated, the people of God starve for ministry

by Phyllis Zagano

May 22, 2020

Just Catholic: We cannot have any expectation of ordinary pre-pandemic Masses soon, but the tease of guidelines and statements raises a false hope. And the minimal input of women to reopening plans is obvious.

Columns ›

Since the Amazon synod, what has happened to talk of synodality?

New cardinals? They'll be more of the same

The ties that bind: How the Catholic Church can respond to the cult of personality

While reopening rules get debated, the people of God starve for ministry

The end of clericalism

Two popes and a plague, just like the 14th century

It is time to ask, formally, for married priests and woman deacons

'The Two Popes' movie is better than the new 'three popes' book

After 'The Two Popes,' will the next movie be called 'The Schismatics'?

After the Amazon synod, a circus-like sideshow

Married priests and women deacons: It's about law, not doctrine

Women walking together, away from the church

People are suffering, dying; please stop the rhetoric!

Boundaries and borders serve 'us,' while all others suffer

The problem of clericalism makes transparency impossible

Women Deacons 101: Final Exam

Look up at the altar, where are the women?

Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel

The catechism of Cardinal Gerhard Müller

It's not about women priests

The sky is falling and media help it fall

Why not have a woman run a diocese?

The synod: Who is listening to whom?

What can we say about the Synod of Bishops? The optics are not good

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