"As your children walk past fake caskets to get their Snickers bars this weekend, remind yourself to teach them at some point that death is not the stuff of make-believe. It is the most inescapable part of life."
The Catholic tradition is the catalog of Catholics responding to the Holy Spirit in their own time. It is also a catalog of how previous generations of Christians were often blinded by their cultural circumstances.
"The blue wave is rising, and while it may not lift all boats, it is apparently lifting some. And religion is part of the story," Michael Sean Winters writes.
The first-class relic of Fulton Sheen was presented during his beatification Mass Sept. 24. As images of Sheen's mandible have spread on social media, reactions have been strong and swift.
"In a noisy and confusing culture, Leo's clarity and precision, as well as his obvious authenticity, break through," writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters.
When Pope Leo XIV spoke to the French bishops who had gathered at Lourdes this week, his message had echoes of Popes Francis, Benedict XVI and John Paul II.
The "church seeks to be a vital part" of the dialogue on artificial intelligence "so that the benefits of the digital age will be sustained and enhanced and the dangers minimized," the cardinal said.
"You might say that the goal of universal peace and solidarity must be achieved with a healthy dose of subsidiarity, keeping decisions as local as possible," writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters.
"Barron is correct to insist he is not a 'member of the Trump administration' but his selective treatment of the church's teachings convicts him as an apologist for the president," Michael Sean Winters writes.
