When Religion Turns Brutal

A recent news story says that leaders of ISIL, which claims to be the Islamic State, often throw people they suspect of being homosexual from the tops of tall buildings ...

True Religion, II

As a young priest in a working-class parish on the north side of Kansas City, I was sent by the pastor to give the last rites to an elderly man, ...

Thanksgiving in a Throw-Away Culture

I recently attended a presentation on Francis of Assisi’s influence on Pope Francis and his environmental encyclical by a theologian who tossed out an astonishing figure that should give us pause on Thanksgiving: ...

Paris: How Faith Helps To Cope

Readers who don’t know me can tell by my picture at www.skepticfaith.blogspot.com, as well as by what I write, that I’m no spring chicken. Although I’m blessed with good health ...

What Good Is Faith That Doesn’t Challenge Us?

The Catholic Church, to which I belong, has just finished a meeting of church leaders in Rome called the Synod on the Family. It started on Oct. 4 and finished ...

Lessons from a Baseball Team

Many of you may not be sports fans, but this post is not about sports. It’s not even about my favorite baseball team, the Kansas City Royals, who – even ...