Waiting for the “Spring”
Stephen White reflects on the fact that The Boston Globe‘s first Spotlight report (on clergy abuse) ran exactly one year after Pope John Paul II announced a Jubilee year, a… Read More
Coming Soon…
Stephen White explains the upcoming podcast on clergy sex abuse (Crisis: Clergy Abuse in the Catholic Church) that releases its first episode on Wednesday, September 9, 2020. “The idea behind… Read More
What Won’t We Tolerate?
Stephen White reflects on the ways that American Catholics– whether on the right or the left– have come to tolerate certain evils when it comes to the presidential election: “Politicians… Read More
Waiting for the McCarrick Report
The most recent iteration of the clergy sex abuse crisis, centered on former Cardinal McCarrick, remains an open wound in the Church in part because of the delay of the… Read More
A Different Kind of Transparency
Stephen White looks at the newly-released vademecum from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It has been described by the CDF as a manual for bishops to address… Read More
Our Deeper Task
Stephen White reflects on the current situation in America; a state of seeming confusion about who we are. “We need the Church now, as ever, to help remind us of… Read More
Are These Not My People?
Stephen White reflects on the current unrest and racial tensions in the U.S. in light of the Gospel and the USCCB pastoral document on racism, “Open Wide Our Hearts” “As… Read More
Catholic Schools and the Common Good
Stephen White reflects on what is unique about Catholic schools in America. “At their best, Catholic schools teach young people to see the world in the light of the greatest… Read More
The Gift of JPII
Stephen reflects on the 100th Anniversary of Karol Wojtyla’s birth. “The Church should not be afraid to take an unflinching look (with all the humility appropriate to those who would… Read More
Credit, Where Its Due
Stephen considers the tension between action and patience in view of the wait for the McCarrick report and the coronavirus. “Waiting patiently (or impatiently, as the case may be) has… Read More
Pell Case Quashed – McCarrick Report Still Pending
Stephen writes on Cardinal Pell’s release from prison in Australia and the continued expectation of the McCarrick report from Rome. “For too long the Church reflexively stood with those it… Read More
False Allegations are Rare – And Real
Sometimes clergy are falsely accused. Stephen reflects on the duty to assess the credibility of an abuse claim, and sometimes the difficulties in doing so. “Perhaps the stickiest cases are… Read More