Author: Conor Kelly

There is a general sense of agreement, or at least a culturally enshrined assumption, that the stretch of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas might just be the busiest time of the year. Much of this, undoubtedly, has to do with the commercialization of Christmas, which is beginning to affect not only Thanksgiving but also Halloween, it seems. Surely the march from Black Friday and Small Business Saturday to Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday is not helping the sense of overwhelming obligation that most people seem to share during this “gap” between the holidays. And yet this gap is not...

In some ways, it is a breath of fresh air to realize that the synod of bishops can gather in Rome without much fanfare. This says something about the ways we are embracing the vision of collegiality that has been a hallmark of Pope Francis’s leadership, for we can say it’s just another day at the office, so to speak. Nevertheless, I still find it striking that the 2018 Synod on Young People, Faith, and Vocational Discernment is receiving much less attention than the 2014-2015 synods on the Family. I don’t think the shift is entirely illustrative of a new...

It’s been nearly a month since the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report was released, and the topic still seems more relevant than ever. This is entirely appropriate. The report and its fresh revelations not only of predatory priests and sexual abuse in horrendous details but also of concerted efforts to cover up the crimes have brought the depths of human sinfulness out into the open in ways that have sparked a true crisis in the Church, just as the Boston Globe reporting did 16 years ago. It is hard to know how to make sense of all of this, and...