Theology en la Plaza

A Vatican commitment to develop and build bridges will work best when students are welcomed and fully invested in further synodal encounters, dialogues and actions.

Theology en la Plaza: While "surrounding mothers with love" is certainly essential to addressing crisis pregnancies, there are national-level advocacy efforts that will impact the lives of women much more effectively.

Theology en la Plaza: The leaked draft of the U.S. bishops' Eucharist teaching demonstrates, in a number of ways, how disconnected the U.S. hierarchy has become from the real questions of these troubling times.

Theology en la Plaza: This synodal process invites all the faithful, in particular our leaders, to do some soul-searching. We must listen intently, especially to those who have been marginalized in Catholic spaces. Church leaders must embrace a new beginning.

Theology en la Plaza: When we consider justice after war in situations where the U.S. has extended its military footprint, we are indebted to a much broader impacted population than only those who cooperated with our military.

Theology en la Plaza: Minimizing the anxieties of Catholics around their return to churches while inadequately addressing the prophylactic need for masks in congregational environments where vaccination statuses remain unknown is beyond irresponsible.

Theology en la Plaza: In his encyclical Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis proposes that welcoming, protecting, promoting and integrating migrants are key markers of truly human fraternity and friendship.

Theology en la Plaza: With a fan's enthusiasm, Pope Francis has produced what might be understood as a "canon within a canon" when it comes to sports and his ongoing development of a theology of encounter.

Theology en la Plaza: The next U.S. ambassador to the Holy See will be able to use shared priorities as a way to build bridges and find common ground with Pope Francis in addressing the challenges of our times.

Theology en la Plaza: In a pandemic, social friendship begins with wearing masks. In a political transition, healing requires admission of loss. We owe a sacred obligation to the dead and the living.

Theology en la Plaza: How am I to love the bearer of an unlovable idea? I asked that question while listening to interviews of Trump supporters. My answer was immediate and instinctual: I'll meet you at the cross.

Theology en la Plaza: The current moment in U.S. political life once again makes a spectacle of the church's advocacy for the marginalized and the weak by manipulating the pro-life label for political gain.

Theology en la Plaza: Racism, heterosexism, attacks on the press, violence — Cubans experienced these issues, and many left the island. These are issues we all now face as "Americans" in this country.

Theology en la Plaza: Following World War II, the Assumption affirmed the goodness of the body and offered an alternative vision for a shared destiny. On this 70th anniversary, amid our own troubled times, is it worth considering what the Assumption may have to offer, or is it an esoteric antique, a day of obligation?

Theology en la Plaza: The current moment of protest and pandemic provides an opportunity for a critical examination of architectures of hate that we uphold by our participation, directly or indirectly.

Theology en la Plaza: We write because the confluence of twin epidemics, COVID-19 and the ongoing plague of racism, place vulnerable communities at particular risk. Escribimos porque as Latin@s our communities are formed and shaped both by the richness of African diasporic roots and people as well as by anti-blackness that for too long remains under addressed en nuestra casa.

Theology en la Plaza: The tectonic shifts that have put in place the practice of "social distancing," keep us from literally "walking with" friends, loved ones and co-workers at the present moment. Whom have we failed to walk-with prior to COVID-19?

Theology en la Plaza: How do we shift to an understanding of isolation as "an active, communal undertaking," as opposed to a "suffering passively endured by a solitary individual"?

Theology en la Plaza: In solidarity with the peoples of Amazonia, motivated by the Spirit's wild ways, may we have the power to remember, the humility to learn and the courage to act.

Theology en la Plaza: American Dirt is as much about México and immigration as The Godfather is about Italian American culture and family. Why does it take a fictional, atypical migrant's plight to shake up "regular people"?

In his diplomatic corps address, Pope Francis spoke about the plight of internally displaced persons. We may think of victims of war or natural disasters. I think of another group: our nation's homeless.

In Advent all along both sides of the U.S.–Mexico border, families celebrate the popular posadas tradition where families and friends reenact Joseph and Mary's search for and denial of shelter. This same pattern of rejection is being lived by the over 55,000 refugees and asylum seekers who are literally knocking at our nation's door.

This vandalism of Amazonian statues represented the many ways colonial violence has an ongoing and deep hold on Catholicism even today, especially in the U.S. 

The timelessness of El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz's pastoral letter calling out white supremacy cannot be underestimated. However, commentators on the letter should also recognize that for over four decades Latin@́ theologians have articulated the urgent matters that are at stake in the borderlands. 

The summer of 2019 has seen two powerful acts of resistance: the Catholic Day of Action for Immigrant Children and the Puerto Rican protests against Governor Ricky Rosselló. Both actions illustrate the power of movimientos, clamoring for the dignity and human rights of marginalized communities. 

Theology en la Plaza: We write en conjunto, united in prophetic rage and graced by the resilience of nuestra gente, paying critical attention to the role of the incendiary language that fueled the latest destructive incarnation of hate in El Paso.

The role of sneakers as "canvases for political commentary and projection" have been on display this summer in ways that underscore contested relationships with identity and reflect the signs of these our troubled times.  

For Pope Francis, mercy is not a noun, it's verb. To locate God-talk in the messiness of nuestras vidas cotidianas, to articulate it in the complicated hybrid languages of street and home, to mercify in ever expansive borderlands is the business of theology.

When the Boston Red Sox visited the White House last week, a majority of black and Latino players refused to attend as an act of resistance. The resulting optics of an overwhelmingly white team only amplified baseball's history of racism and exploitation of migrant labor.

I recently accompanied a group of international students to the U.N. to launch a new global effort that asks world leaders to set aside a fraction of their defense budgets to build bridges of understanding, overcome human differences and foster youth-led popular diplomacy.

Theology en la Plaza: This past month, I had the opportunity to visit with the families of two Guatemalan children who died while in custody of U.S. border control.

The U.S. bishops' recent pastoral letter against racism, "Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love," acknowledges that complex histories of violence, exclusion and invisibility continue to impact the life prospects and dignity of African-American, Latinx and Native American communities today — and is a clarion call to actively address racism as a life issue.

As our border crisis swirls out of control, where are our Romeros? The inability of U.S. Catholic Church leadership to function as a prophetic voice in this time of national scandal is rooted, in part, in an enduring failure to address abuse within "our own house." 

Theology en la Plaza: Celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe carries special significance this year in light of the Fourth National Climate Assessment Report. She stands in solidarity with Juan Diego and all God's creatures as they face their greatest threat of "crucifixion" and various forms of "extinction."

The arrival of more immigrants should not be a cause for concern but a promise of a better United States of America. From a Catholic perspective, this caravan is a modern-day migrant human rights movement.

Theology en la Plaza: Now that the emotions of the anniversary have waned, my mind turns toward the question of what justice looks like for populations impacted by climate change and environmental catastrophes.

When it comes to competencies, pastoral preparation and theological education for ministry in Latin@ contexts, too often rich and complex worlds of meaning are overlooked or ignored, and important ways of being Latin@ are reduced to decorative accent pieces.

The immigrant crisis highlights the inhumane and cruel policies of the U.S. government. The way we respond morally will determine our future. The very soul of our country is at stake. As the border goes, so does the nation.

When news broke that 1,500 migrant children were missing, the response by people of faith was immediate, if somewhat ill-informed. It was an opportunity to remember the virtue of prudence.

Theology en la Plaza: The ID cards and passports we carry may provide access and affirm legal status, but they are not the "documentation" needed to identify us as citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem.

Theology en la Plaza: While the resumption of baseball was often interpreted as a return to the comfort of the ordinary, Easter celebrates the disruption of complacency.