AMID THE FRAY Fifty-three journalists were killed worldwide in 2018. Some died in war, but a shocking number died exposing corruption, covering protests or just doing their job. Time magazine called them and their harassed and persecuted colleagues “Guardians” of truth, and named them collectively “Person of the Year.” In the United States last June, […]
Greg Erlandson: Getting real about our challenges
AMID THE FRAY Tracking the Catholic zeitgeist these days can be a dizzying experience. It helps to have a sense of history, and perhaps a sense of irony as well. Once upon a time, it was liberal Catholics who were upset at the pope, who wanted more democracy in the church, who railed against the […]
Sex abuse crisis: Greg Erlandson | Our hope remains in the Lord
AMID THE FRAY People ask how I can do my job as a Catholic editor and journalist these days without being depressed. Actually, it is depressing. How could it not be? The church I was baptized into when I was two weeks old, the church that I have attended, wrestled with, studied and love is […]
Greg Erlandson: Crisis: Church authorities and clergy sex abuse
COMMENTARY When Catholic News Service posted a short video of the Pennsylvania attorney general’s Aug. 14 news conference announcing a grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse in six dioceses, its editors had to add a warning about the graphic language viewers would hear. The actual 900-page report chronicling 70 years of child sexual abuse […]
Greg Erlandson: A tale of two popes
AMID THE FRAY There’s a quote attributed, probably falsely, to Mark Twain that observes, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” I suppose it is a sign that I’m getting older, because I’m starting to hear the rhymes in a lot of the current debates in the church about papal leadership. Almost 40 years […]
Greg Erlandson: The hollow man
AMID THE FRAY What savagery lies in the breast of man? Two recent television epics ask us to contemplate this question. The first is Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s magnificent documentary, “The Vietnam War.” The other epic is the massacre in Las Vegas. A lone gunman used his hotel room as a sniper’s nest, ambushing […]
Greg Erlandson: Six deadly sins
AMID THE FRAY One of my favorite criticisms of the church is that it is fixated on sex. “Why is the church so obsessed with what I do in the bedroom,” I will be asked with great seriousness. I find the observation hilarious because I watch TV, read books and go to the movies. And […]
Greg Erlandson: Mass confusion
AMID THE FRAY In professional Catholic circles, a tired joke that still makes the rounds goes like this: Q: What’s the difference between a liturgist and a terrorist? A: You can negotiate with a terrorist. Most Catholics never use the word “liturgist” in everyday conversation, and may never have even knowingly met a liturgist, but […]
Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in America
Thoughts on a historic gathering By Greg Erlandson Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — The first century of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has concluded with its organization of an unprecedented and powerful gathering of Catholics in Orlando, Florida. With the somewhat ungainly title of “Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in […]
Greg Erlandson: What is a Catholic voter to do?
AMID THE FRAY Getting into a political discussion in Washington these days is about as hard as finding a Fighting Irish fan at a Notre Dame football game. In the era of Trump — where those who dislike the president are as obsessed about him as his strongest supporters — the real challenge is extricating […]