In America, July is the month of freedom, as we celebrate the anniversary of our nation’s Declaration of Independence. But while the July 4th holiday officially commemorates national political sovereignty, we are more likely to think about liberty in terms of individual autonomous rights. Independence Day encomiums have more to …

Social distancing in my family, with six children at home, has been less about loneliness and more about trying to find a place in the house to be alone. While, of course, there are challenges, my days of “isolation” have been filled with all sorts of interactions (and distractions) with …

For many Catholics, the most difficult and distressing effect of social distancing has been the suspension of Masses and other public liturgies. Prior to March 2020, many of us cannot remember the last time we missed Mass on Sunday or a Holy Day of Obligation. The Church’s liturgies are where …

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy was hitting New York City, and Bellevue Hospital was facing the failure of their main generators. Left with only six working power outlets for 50 patients in intensive care, the medical director had to make decisions she never wanted to make. Which of the 50 would …

It is impossible to divorce religious faith (or lack thereof) from political commitments. While legislators and judges might try to keep religious and political institutions distinct from one another—to build Thomas Jefferson’s famous “wall of separation between Church and State”—belief (or unbelief) is a necessary factor in the way all …

Your students give me great hope for the future of the Church within our archdiocese,” a friend recently texted me, referring to the seminarians I teach at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary. She said this in the context of a recent public liturgy that had no official affiliation with the seminary, …

Among the decisions that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) made at its annual meeting last November, two stand out as especially important. First, the bishops elected Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gómez – an immigrant to the U.S. – as the USCCB’s first Hispanic president. Second, the bishops …

Often, when theologians engage in their craft, they will deliberately adopt a general interpretive lens through which to examine specific topics. This lens is called a “hermeneutic” and the resolution of certain questions might vary according to the hermeneutic chosen. For example, for questions of moral theology a “hermeneutic of …

Each October, beginning on the first Sunday, the Church in the U.S. observes Respect Life Month. While, of course, we should embrace and applaud this celebration, I wonder how helpful abstract concepts like “respecting life” are in helping us to stand as witnesses against an encroaching culture of death. In …

Regardless of the political position one advocates, immigration and refugee policy is primarily a moral theological issue. Of course, policy deliberations necessarily involve a number of considerations, including economic, financial and political factors. But, like any moral issue, the primary source for our deliberation should be Catholic moral theology, not …