Tom Roberts

Benedictine Sr. Mary Lou Kownacki, a major force behind the ministries and outreach that shaped the Benedictines of Erie, Pennsylvania, in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, died Jan. 6 at age 81.

Two writers draw together the data and connect the dots, finding the long-running, indisputable and inconvenient truth about organized religion.

Msgr. Michael Doyle, an Irish-born priest who served in Camden, New Jersey for decades, died on Nov. 4. We are republishing former NCR editor Tom Roberts' report about Doyle's ministry, first published in December 2009.

Commentary: The U.S. hierarchy decided to shut down Catholic News Service operations in this country. So what should Catholics seek in their sources of information if they're looking for good journalism?

Commentary: In retrospect, I've unwittingly had meaningful encounters with three cardinals-to-be, very unlikely candidates, saying and doing the kinds of things that aspiring cardinal types normally avoid.

Book review: Whatever flaws the 1619 Project may have, it is a valuable view of a shadow stream of U.S. history through the eyes of those who understand, more clearly than anyone without dark skin can, the lasting effects of it.

Commentary: A drama in Maryland holds significance for the next presidential election cycle, while highlighting the ever-shrinking role of Catholic witness in the public square as it becomes a casualty of the culture wars.

Commentary: What cannot be overstated is the force that the hierarchical culture — that privileged, secretive, unaccountable, male-only construct — can apply against any movement toward radical truth-telling.

Appreciation: As a priest and writer who diagnosed the maladies of the church, Cozzens showed that prophets need not rant and call down the wrath of God. He showed how they could quietly, diligently lay bare the truth.

NCR Connections: On Sept. 11, 2001, two things occurred within the confines of the NCR newsroom that to this day convince me that NCR, this little enterprise, is something extraordinary both in terms of craft and purpose.

Commentary: The problem didn't begin with Biden. Whatever words on Communion the bishops come up with in November will not address the deeper wound, the loss of moral authority they brought upon themselves.

Commentary: The Biden administration intends to address the "root causes" of the border crisis. But progress will require an understanding of how past U.S. actions contributed to the crisis in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

Restorative justice initiatives are taking hold in several institutional settings, especially Catholic institutions and groups. Restorative justice goes deeper than punishment; it involves a search for understanding.

Lawyer and author Jeanne Bishop speaks with NCR about heartbreak and healing. She has written about the shooting death of her pregnant sister and brother-in-law, and how she made peace with their convicted killer.

Commentary: A wealthy network that puts forth a peculiarly American version of Catholicism has far more influence than U.S. bishops have in shaping the image and purpose of the church in the wider culture.

Essay: With one more wager, the chance to win it all, the bishops placed all they had on Trump, on this unstable gadfly whose propensity to smash democratic norms just might yield the Supreme Court they desired.

Commentary: Pope John Paul II's actions in the McCarrick report warrant condemnation today. Yet the report establishes that what he did was not extraordinary at the time; it was expected within the culture.

Commentary: President Donald Trump is a threat to the republic and its democratic institutions on multiple levels. At the base of all the current turmoil lie perennial questions that have to do with moral authority and spiritual integrity.

Appreciation: Bishop Pedro Casaldáliga, Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns and Archbishop Dom Hélder Câmara, stand apart as exemplary servants of the Gospel and their communities in the most threatening conditions and among some of the most marginalized on Earth. We would all do well to revisit their lives and example at a time of global fear and uncertainty.