Phyllis Zagano

Francis' 12-year reign saw small steps advancing women in the church. We may not know for years what the aims of a new papacy will be.

The New Yorker magazine has managed to insult Christians and Jews alike with a cartoon depicting the Last Supper in an April issue, writes columnist Phyllis Zagano.

It was a close call, but Francis’ emergence from Gemelli Hospital ensures that implementation of the synod on synodality's goals will outlast him.

Vance and Trump seem confident in their grasp of Christian ethics, but don't be fooled by all the Catholics in the Cabinet. Their policies are destroying people's livelihoods and lives, and can't be supported by anyone.

While the pope is acting on his desire to include women in administrative positions in the church, he seems to have turned a deaf ear to calls for women in ministry. The stumbling block seems to be his view of women.

One can only wonder if Sri Lankan Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has thought through the implications of not following the provisions of canon law that allow women and girls to assist at the altar, to be near the sacred.

The church depends on donations from nations whose better off have been educated on the baptismal equality of all persons.

Mock Catholic media outlets support Republican victories up and down the ballot, reporting only the ways Democratic policies digress from, not how they agree with, church teachings.

Must one vote for one or the other, as the pope suggests? Phyllis Zagano explores the basic question for both voters and bishops alike: Which team is more pro-life?

Phyllis Zagano writes: The Catholic Church is in a bad way when the Democratic Party in the United States brings more hope and joy to people — especially to women — than Pope Francis.

Phyllis Zagano said the comparison of Marko Ivan Rupnik's artwork to Caravaggio's falls short. And what message does keeping Rupnik's art on display send to female victims of sexual and spiritual abuse by clerics?

Bullying the liberal Catholic magazine Commonweal "smacks of the sort of 'conservatism' Pope Francis recently called 'suicidal' on CBS's "60 Minutes," writes Phyllis Zagano.

Tackling matters that are the topic of political debates today, the new Vatican document Dignitas Infinita, or "Infinite Dignity," drew more controversy than intended.

"The Christian celebration of Easter is about new life, yet the world's consciousness remains flooded with ideas of death," writes Phyllis Zagano. That includes war and famine, plus euthanasia and abortion, she writes. 

"When presumably educated, responsible politicians sound as if they are preaching from a bar stool," Phyllis Zagano writes, "what can the rest of us do to remove angry denigration from whatever other pulpit we might be near?" 

Rome's move to allow LGBTQ couples to be blessed has been misunderstood by many, and misrepresented by others.

"There are too many hurting people frightened today," writes Phyllis Zagano. "Can we not quietly and with respect focus on their needs and discard the noise and disrespect that fuels the wars large and small?" 

Pope Francis' opening to women in church management is promising. Getting women into the sacristy is trickier.

The back-and-forth is dizzying, and it will not end soon. The synod is the synod. Parts of the Catholic world are involved. Some are not. 

Too many U.S. Catholics don't know about the global discussion of the church's future, argues Phyllis Zagano.