More than 100 presidents from every bishops’ conference in the world will attend Pope Francis’ Rome summit on the protection of minors Feb. 21-24. People expect change. However, as Pope Francis boarded the plane to attend World Youth Day in Panama City, he urged us to “deflate... Read more

One of the unwritten rules of social media is avoid inspirational quotes. American astronaut Scott Kelly put that to the test on Sunday when his use of Winston Churchill quotes landed him in hot water with people who oppose the wartime British prime minister's views on empire and race. But... Read more

Al wrote this piece for Credo Magazine in 2000. We're sharing it today to add to our conversation during Open Line. Credo tries to report honestly. Fair and accurate was a phrase we've used before there was an multinational news organization made it it's motto. Sometimes this means that we... Read more

[caption id="attachment_61015" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] US President Barack Obama bows his head during a prayer at the Republican GOP House Issues Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, on January 29, 2010. AFP PHOTO/Saul LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty... Read more

Pope Francis' Uses of "Encounter" Lumen Fidei (The Light of Faith, 6/29/13) Faith is born of an encounter with the living God who calls us and reveals his love, a love which precedes us and upon which we can lean for security and for building our lives. For those early Christians, faith, as... Read more

This piece by Fr. Miscamble is, first of all, a piece of historical analysis not a piece of abstract moral philosophy. I will remind us, however, of the difference between the objective morality of an act and the subjective culpability of the moral... Read more

All modern popes have warned against it. Professional philosophers know it’s false. Yet 75% of Americans think “relativism” is true. “Relativism” teaches that nothing is true, good or beautiful for all people, at all times and in all places. There are no moral absolutes. “What’s... Read more

A longtime listener phoned the other day with a concern that the Holy Father’s encyclical on ecology was being sold as a way to encourage us to love nature. She feared that this might lead to some kind of nature worship or pantheism. At first glance, her concern seemed wildly misplaced.... Read more

From the Huffington Post: Federal Prison system now recognizes Secular Humanism A note from Al: Defining religion is a difficult but enjoyable task for scholars and educated laymen.  It can get very technical. But some definitions are fairly easy to grasp. For instance, my favorite is that... Read more

Time magazine just claimed: "Denmark enacted a sweeping ban on the religious slaughter of animals in 2014, prompting a furious backlash from Jewish and Muslim community representatives." (read the article here) [caption id="attachment_52011" align="alignnone" width="1024"] A customer passes by... Read more