AMID THE FRAY Here’s an answer that should show up on Catholic Jeopardy: “Eight minutes.” The question is: “What does Pope Francis think the ideal length of a homily should be?” This pope, who has not been afraid to weigh in on controversial issues, recently addressed a topic that every practicing Catholic has probably thought […]
Greg Erlandson: A tale of two weddings
AMID THE FRAY How do we attract people to our church? How do we invite people to “come and see”? These are questions being asked with greater urgency these days. The “nones,” that is, those with no religious affiliation, are growing in number, while too many Catholics are walking away from any sort of consistent […]
Greg Erlandson: My sense, your nonsense
AMID THE FRAY A friend of mine is threatening to run for office. His slogan will be “Stop the Nonsense.” I think it’s a slogan an increasing number of us could get behind. Nonsense is in the eye of the beholder, however, and the trick is defining what the nonsense is. For some, it may […]
Greg Erlandson: Evening news despair and Easter hope
AMID THE FRAY One of the best decisions my wife and I ever made was to keep our television out of the bedroom. We’ve never fallen asleep bathed in the blue glow of some late-night comic or some not-quite-funny comedy. The bedroom is our oasis. We may, however, do something almost as bad these days. […]
Greg Erlandson: The struggle for hearts and minds will continue
AMID THE FRAY In advance of the Supreme Court’s much-awaited decision on the Mississippi law that would ban most abortions after 15 weeks, the abortion wars have heated up again. When pro-lifers rallied in Washington Jan. 21 for the 49th time to mark the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, there was by all accounts a […]
Greg Erlandson: Bridging divides
AMID THE FRAY The anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot that humiliated Congress and horrified a good portion of our nation has gone more or less as one might have predicted during these divided times. The two political parties went to their respective corners, one to commemorate the anniversary and the other to criticize the […]
Greg Erlandson: Lethal tenderness
AMID THE FRAY By the time Dr. Jack Kevorkian was put in prison for second-degree murder, he had helped an estimated 130 patients kill themselves. The first person he “helped” was an Oregon teacher suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. It was hardly “death with dignity.” With a suicide machine he had rigged up inside his rusty […]
Greg Erlandson: When our children leave the faith
AMID THE FRAY Once upon a time, you may have prayed for your darling child to become a nun. Odds are you never prayed that she become a none. Gallup reported earlier this year that church membership by Americans has hit a historic low, falling for the first time below 50%. More disturbing is the […]
Greg Erlandson: Appreciating the gift of the Mass
AMID THE FRAY Fresh from his 10-day stay in the hospital, Pope Francis dropped a Friday bombshell when he released his document, issued “motu proprio,” restoring, and in some cases adding to, the church’s restrictions on celebrating the Tridentine Mass. The outcry has been predictable and often heartfelt. Its devotees are not simply hostile reactionaries […]
Greg Erlandson: How badly do we want to return?
AMID THE FRAY What if you were a Catholic who had not seen a priest in 60 years? What if you had not seen a priest in one year? Jesuit Father Anthony Corcoran was visiting an old folks’ home in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan when he met a man who had waited six […]
