Rebecca Bratten Weiss

Conservative Catholics frequently reference Paul VI's prognostications in an attempt to connect sexual abuse with contraceptive use. But ignoring millennia of history simply isn't arguing in good faith.

Even though Roe v. Wade was overturned, the U.S. bishops still name abortion as their top priority. But for all their fixation, they haven't bothered to learn much about it, Rebecca Bratten Weiss notes.

Rebecca Bratten Weiss once believed it was her Christian obligation to forge friendships across ideological lines. But over time, she has realized that setting boundaries can be a valid Christian response. 

Much of the division in the church is a symptom of deep-rooted injustices inflicted on marginalized groups, says Rebecca Bratten Weiss, so any solution has to go beyond simply finding common ground.

The ways maleness, femaleness, sex and reproduction occur across different species and kingdoms in the natural world make clear that categories of male and female reside on a spectrum. 

Rebecca Bratten Weiss prefers Gothic architecture and older styles of European music, but that doesn't mean that her preferences are the only ways to be reverent at Mass.

Recent notable Catholic converts seem to be attracted less to the church founded by Jesus, and more to a powerful institution that has, historically, sometimes allied with oppressors instead of with the oppressed.

If we are going to address antisemitism, we need to deal with it at its roots. And we need to deal with it where it arises in our own communities, or in communities close to us.

It is widely recognized among conservative and progressive Catholics that the right to life is genuine, and not contingent upon legislative rulings. But there seems to be less of a consensus about the right to bodily autonomy.

Is Jonathan Franzen's Crossroads a story about selling your soul, about salvation or damnation? Not exactly. But it is a story about people for whom questions of salvation and damnation are of utmost importance.

I do not believe that overturning Roe v. Wade is truly a win for life. Nor do I believe that the Republican politicians or anti-abortion activists cheering on this potential decision are really serious about saving lives.

"You don't fool people, Stan. They fool themselves," a con artist is warned in the Oscar-nominated "Nightmare Alley." Directed by Guillermo del Toro, it is based on the 1946 novel by William Lindsay Gresham.  

Approval of the Pfizer vaccine for those 5 and older significantly reduces the risk of children contracting COVID-19. But with safety protocols differing in schools and parishes, parents still worry. Some question if decisions are in the best interest of their children and reflect Catholic values.

Movie review: Many have dubbed Dune, Frank Herbert's groundbreaking 1965 novel, "unfilmable." But Denis Villeneuve's adaptation successfully captures the novel's complexity, its characters' individuality, and, ultimately, the grimness of protagonist Paul's situation.

Commentary: Even if some Catholics are drawn to traditionalist parishes, others are leaving them. But those interviewed by NCR say it's not that they fell out of love with the liturgy. They withdrew due to the bigotry and toxicity in traditional parishes.

Commentary: Restricting the liturgy was not the best way to deal with the problems in traditionalist communities. More effective would have been to restrict the destructive behaviors and ideologies they promote.

Commentary: Progressive Catholics are not "pro-abortion." Their fundamental disagreement with right-wing Catholics is not on whether abortion is an evil. The disagreement is about how best to go about preventing it.

Commentary: In the face of the moral relativism of the right, progressive Catholics with a heart for social justice need to reclaim the powerful arguments for objective truth once popular among conservatives.

Church membership among Catholics has declined sharply in recent decades. Many who have left since 2016 cite their coreligionists' alliance with the MAGA movement as a key factor in their decision.

Commentary: Economic justice means all lines of work are deemed equally worthy of respect. In a just system, all workers would have access to the support and funding necessary to pursue career success and financial stability.