How should one who wishes to travel ethically think about economics, sustainability, and culture? We asked our readers to share their thoughts on what makes travel ethical—or unethical. https://uscatholic.org/articles/202608/how-can-catholics-travel-ethically/

Should ethics figure into our travel plans? Readers respond.

How should one who wishes to travel ethically think about economics, sustainability, and culture?

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Carelessness and shortcuts will result in developing the character of a person who really doesn’t care. When it substitutes for our own skill and engagement, AI seems likely to erode our ability to develop as persons.

Our work is to serve others. Can AI replicate that?

Whatever future AI brings, we can always ask: With God’s help, how will I work today to better become a person of creativity?

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Before engaging in a Plowshares action of civil disobedience, this priest prayed to discern what God asks of us. https://uscatholic.org/articles/202607/why-one-priest-risked-his-life-for-peace/

Why one priest risked his life for peace

Before engaging in a Plowshares action of civil disobedience, this priest prayed to discern what God asks of us.

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Solanus Casey, whose feast day falls on July 30, spent most of his life of priestly ministry as a porter at St. Bonaventure and at Capuchin friaries in New York and Indiana. This brought him in contact with many people coming to the door seeking food, financial assistance, and healing.

Blessed Solanus Casey and a ministry of presence

Thousands of lives were changed for the better as a result of Solanus Casey's ministry of presence and ongoing intercession.

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Understanding and respecting our bodies is about more than reproductive health and sexual activity. It includes reminding children that their bodies are good regardless of how they look or what support they need to function.

Why Catholics should teach kids to understand their bodies

Catholics need to push past a culture of silence, and create one of mutual respect and safety. Teaching kids body literacy is part of this.

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While much of the world ignores this immense humanitarian crisis, the people of Sudan work for peace—even across religious boundaries. https://uscatholic.org/articles/202607/amid-war-in-sudan-people-continue-to-care-for-one-another/

Amid war in Sudan, people continue to care for one another

While much of the world ignores this immense humanitarian crisis, the people of Sudan continue to look out for one another.

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Although the Shakers, like the Quakers, rejected ordained ministry and sacraments, our church would benefit from their teachings on gender diversity and women in leadership. https://uscatholic.org/articles/202607/4-things-catholics-can-learn-from-the-shakers/

4 things Catholics can learn from the Shakers

Though now a small and little-known Christian movement, the Shakers have lessons to teach us all about equality, community, and integrity.

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Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' is a story about many things, but at its heart, it's about the moral codes that hold civilizations together. Central to this is Homer’s theme of xenia, often translated “guest-friendship'—an idea that also helped shape Catholic teaching on immigration.

Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ links ancient codes to Christian precepts

In his blockbuster take on Homer’s classic, Christopher Nolan explores the devastating consequences of violating sacred social bonds.

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Twenty centuries later, the real question is not what the first disciples understood but what you and I get out of Jesus' parables. It's easy to assume all this kingdom talk pertains to a heavenly home in the hereafter. Yet Jesus says: The kingdom is near, among us, within us.

Jesus’ parables remind us to keep asking questions

Parables may sound easy, but they are not obvious. Jesus' stories are often intended as invitations to ask more questions.

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NFP may be a godsend for some couples, but many refuse to acknowledge its limitations. Our religious leaders need to listen to those who have experienced NFP as damaging, and reevaluate our understanding of what a healthy, ethical sexual relationship looks like.

Is Catholic rhetoric about NFP telling the full story?

The Catholic tendency to romanticize natural family planning can be harmful to relationships and family life and can even jeopardize women's health.

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In this month's Sounding Board essay, high school junior Marcos Cruz writes critically about young people's increased use of chatbots for spiritual direction. What do you think? Can AI be part of the spiritual life? Take our survey?

Can a chatbot be your spiritual adviser?

Have you consulted AI chatbots on matters of faith and spirituality? Take our survey.

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Western societies have adopted an idea of divine calling focused exclusively on God's plan for the individual. But our call from God is far bigger and more beautiful than the individualized approach that fixates on productivity.

Don’t confuse capitalism’s demands with divine calling

Our call from God is far bigger and more beautiful than the individualized approach that fixates on productivity.

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Only in our generation has the church been prepared to reclaim this powerful woman for who she is: apostle to the apostles, as Thomas Aquinas declared her. Her memorial day, July 22, was upgraded to a feast in 2016 by a personal request of Pope Francis.

Recently, Madison Chastain argued in a Sounding Board column that Catholic wellness culture can be exclusionary. Of the readers who responded, 14% said they'd experienced ableism or body shaming in Catholic spaces https://uscatholic.org/articles/202607/is-catholic-fitness-culture-toxic/

Is Catholic wellness culture toxic? Readers weigh in.

How should Catholics talk about exercise and wellness in ways that include people of all abilities?

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Isolation and atomization are core tools of authoritarian movements. In a time when loneliness and fear are prevalent, it can be helpful to look to the saints as allies in resistance. Here are five lessons in solidarity, from courageous saints.

5 lessons in resistance from Catholic saints

When you need an ally in resistance, or feel isolated in your opposition to injustice, turn to these courageous saints.

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Over the last 18 months, the White House has authored a cascade of policy revisions that seem intended to reverse progress on air pollution. This comes at a time when 44 percent of Americans are living in places with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution.

Care for the poor means addressing America’s air quality problem

The American Lung Association (ALA) in April released its annual report card assess­ing the air that we breathe and found much to be concerned about. The

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Paul believed that the revolutionary spirit of God through Christ abides in the community of people gathered in his name,: There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."

Why does Paul describe the church as the body of Christ?

Paul believed that the revolutionary spirit of God through Christ abides in the community of people gathered in his name.

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Being a mentor and model of faith means demonstrating how to love Jesus through every phase and stage of life. It means showing that even when we are not perfectly faithful, we can keep striving for holiness. https://uscatholic.org/articles/202607/what-it-takes-to-be-a-good-godparent/

What it takes to be a good godparent

Lead with authenticity, consistency, and curiosity to be a faith mentor at every age and stage of life’s journey.

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Today’s brash online personalities sell machismo to young men and boys, and often equate it with aggression and emotional detachment. The Bible, however, abounds with examples of righteous men whose silence was integral to their faith.

Christian masculinity and the spiritual power of silence

One of the most masculine virtues in the Bible could be better practiced by some men today.

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A new book presents the spiritual insights of 16th-century women religious to contemporary readers. https://bit.ly/4wswRQE

‘Convent Wisdom’ offers modern wisdom from Renaissance nuns

A new book presents the spiritual insights of sixteenth-century women religious to contemporary readers.

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A venture capitalist tech investor argues that the Vatican and Silicon Valley could be on the same page after all. https://uscatholic.org/articles/202607/on-ai-ethics-responsible-tech-leaders-agree-with-pope-leo/

On AI ethics, responsible tech leaders agree with Pope Leo

A venture capitalist tech investor argues that the Vatican and Silicon Valley could be on the same page after all.

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Jesus’ body reminds us that each individual affected by war and global unrest is also present at the eucharistic table with us. https://uscatholic.org/articles/202607/what-the-eucharist-asks-of-us-in-a-broken-world/

What the Eucharist asks of us in a broken world

Jesus’ body reminds us that each individual affected by war and global unrest is also present at the eucharistic table with us.

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Director Caroline Golum's "Revelations of Divine Love," a cinematic retelling of Julian of Norwich's life, is a love letter to spiritual weirdos everywhere. https://uscatholic.org/articles/202607/julian-of-norwich-is-still-inspiring-artists-of-all-kinds/

McLuhan’s most famous dictum, the “medium is the message,” has two levels of meaning. The most common interpretation—that the mode through which we communicate is significant to that communication—is reasonable. Yet his claim had a deeper meaning:

In a shifting media landscape, let Marshall McLuhan be your guide

Marshall McLuhan had unique insight into the ways media, technology, and culture shape our lives and our faith.

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Because true love naturally leads not to contempt for neighbor but to respect for neighbor, true patriotism naturally leads to the love of the neighbor who comes from another country altogether. https://uscatholic.org/articles/202207/true-patriotism-is-about-building-bridges-not-walls/

True patriotism is about building bridges, not walls

Nationalism is contrary to a Christian ethos, but there's still a place for healthy patriotism.

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Many Christians think patriotism means believing God has granted the United States a special role in history—but is this what patriotism is? Tune in to this episode of Glad You Asked and hear Lewis Brogdon discuss whether patriotism is a Christian virtue.

Is patriotism a Christian virtue? | Lewis Brogdon - U.S. Catholic

On this episode of Glad You Asked, the hosts talk to religion scholar and public intellectual Dr. Lewis Brogdon about patriotism, nationalism, and the roles of church and state.

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Excommunication, which derives from the Latin for “out of communion,” is a penalty the church imparts for certain serious ecclesial or moral crimes, usually those that could create scandal if allowed to go unaddressed. https://uscatholic.org/articles/202407/what-is-excommunication/

What is excommunication?

While the penalties associated with excommunication are serious, Catholics do not believe that excommunicated people are consigned to hell.

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The words of the gospel are the words of everlasting life. They are not meant to be packaged by an algorithm or proclaimed in a generic template. In my piece for @uscatholic.bsky.social, I make the case for why parishes should avoid the use of AI in their graphics.

AI has no place in the parish bulletin

With his new encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV offers a roadmap for parish AI use—along with much-needed guardrails.

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At their best, the missionary is a continuation of the Pentecost experience, of experiencing an encounter with Christ in all tongues, languages, and cultures. https://uscatholic.org/articles/202606/todays-missionaries-reconsider-how-they-approach-their-work/

Today’s missionaries reconsider how they approach their work

Christians are making sincere efforts to reclaim mission work as an emblem of nonviolence in a post-colonial context.

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Motherhood inspired Katie Holler to found the Dorothea Project, a group of Catholic women pushing Catholic clergy and laypeople to do more to protect immigrants. https://uscatholic.org/articles/202606/meet-the-catholic-mom-organizing-for-immigrant-advocacy/