Rebecca Bratten Weiss

Anyone serious about reducing abortion will focus on building a strong economy that serves the working and middle classes, with robust safety nets and accessible, affordable resources, writes Rebecca Bratten Weiss.

"Christian rage at drag queens representing a Gospel scene indicates that many have forgotten what it means to live that Gospel in a diverse and rapidly changing world," writes Rebecca Bratten Weiss.

Some claim that purity culture keeps women and girls safe from sexual abuse and assault. But Rebecca Bratten Weiss argues that allowance for abuse, manipulation, cover-ups and victim shaming is woven into its very fibers.

 "Father Justin" debacle makes Rebecca Bratten Weiss "wonder whether some Catholics would be more likely to welcome a robot pope overlord than they would be to accept a woman in a position of ministerial leadership."

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.