Articles by JD Flynn
Commentary: Catholic media, and the truth that sets us free
Jul 13, 2018 / 16:18 pmThis week at CNA, we published an article about a bishop under investigation in India after a religious sister accused him of rape. The story is still developing, facts are not yet clear, and, of course, the bishop deserves the benefit of due process. CNA’s article explained those things.
France vs. Croatia: A Catholic World Cup breakdown
Jul 12, 2018 / 14:49 pmOn Sunday, France and Croatia will square off on the soccer pitch for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Championship. While most U.S. Catholics are only casual soccer fans, many will join more than 3 billion people around the world who are expected to watch the game.
Keep immigrant families together, bishops plead at border
Jul 2, 2018 / 17:27 pmImmigration reform requires seeing the faces of immigrants, and hearing their stories, according to six U.S. bishops who have completed a two-day pastoral visit to the U.S. border with Mexico in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley.
Father Weinandy discusses Gnosticism Today
Jun 27, 2018 / 11:01 amFather Thomas Weinandy, OFM Cap., is a member of the Vatican’s International Theological Commission, an accomplished professor of theology, and a prolific author. His most recent book is Jesus Becoming Jesus: A Theological Interpretation of the Synoptic Gospels. CNA Editor-in-Chief JD Flynn interviewed Father Weinandy about “Gnosticism Today,” an essay recently published at The Catholic Thing:
The Catholic vision of just immigration reform
Jun 18, 2018 / 14:59 pmA Honduran woman says that federal immigration authorities took her daughter from her arms as she breastfed the child. When she reached out for her daughter, she says she was handcuffed; she stood powerless as her daughter was taken away.
What to expect when the USCCB heads to a Florida beach this week
Jun 11, 2018 / 18:00 pmThe bishops of the United States will meet in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., this week, less than one mile from A1A-Beachfront Avenue, the Florida road made famous by a 1974 Jimmy Buffett album, and the peerless 1990 Vanilla Ice single “Ice, Ice Baby.”
Commentary: Did the pope say that God made someone gay?
May 21, 2018 / 13:00 pmI am not a priest or deacon, or even a counselor or pastoral care worker. But in more than a decade of full-time work in the Church, I’ve often sat with people who are confronting some difficult cross they have to carry, some heavy burden that’s been placed upon them.
Commentary: The pope’s next steps on sexual abuse in Chile
May 18, 2018 / 11:13 amAfter meeting with him for three days, and reading his reflections on the problem of clerical sexual abuse in their country, 34 Chilean bishops submitted their resignation to Pope Francis Friday.
Analysis: Who misinformed Pope Francis about Bishop Barros?
May 3, 2018 / 15:01 pmOn Wednesday, three Chilean survivors of clerical sexual abuse held a press conference to discuss recent conversations with Pope Francis about the circumstances of their abuse.
The face of Christ in Alfie Evans: An interview with Charles C. Camosy
May 1, 2018 / 12:36 pmCharles C. Camosy is associate professor of theology at Fordham University and author of several books on Catholic ethical reasoning. Last week, he authored “Alfie Evans and our moral crossroads,” published by the ecumenical magazine and website First Things. In an interview with CNA editor-in-chief JD Flynn, Camosy discusses some ethical issues involved in the case of Alfie Evans.
Commentary: Lessons from Monsignor Green
Apr 30, 2018 / 12:12 pmMonsignor Thomas Green, a priest of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Conn., died peacefully on Saturday morning. He was 79 years old.
Commentary: Reading Pope Francis in love
Apr 9, 2018 / 10:43 amIn his first homily as pope, Francis quoted Leon Bloy, the French convert, author, and mystic who has influenced some of modernity’s most significant literary voices. Gaudete et exsultate, the pope's newly released apostolic exhortation, again turns to Bloy, invoking the writer’s famous observation that “the only great tragedy in life is not to become a saint.”
Commentary: Why ‘CINO’ label isn’t helping the Church
Apr 3, 2018 / 15:02 pmOn Monday, Villanova University won the NCAA basketball tournament for the second time in three years. The University of Notre Dame won the women’s tournament on Easter Sunday, beating Mississippi State with a last-second 3-pointer from junior Arike Ogunbowale, who had beaten Connecticut with a last-second shot just two days earlier.
Commentary: Praying for Francis
Mar 12, 2018 / 23:28 pmFive years ago, I stood in the refectory of St. John Vianney Seminary of Denver, with colleagues, friends, and a few hundred seminarians, watching on television as a much larger crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square. When Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, appeared on a balcony above the square, we erupted into cheers, and then we fell silent as the pope asked the world to pray for him, and offered us his blessing.
Commentary: Holiness, not despair
Feb 13, 2018 / 14:00 pmLast week, a priest wrote to me. He said that as he surveyed the difficulties facing the Church, he was starting to wonder if it had been a mistake to convert to Catholicism.
Germain Grisez had ‘a lively sense of Providence,’ long-time friend says
Feb 6, 2018 / 09:55 amA longtime friend of distinguished theologian Germain Grisez will celebrate the scholar’s funeral Tuesday, at St. Anthony Shrine Roman Catholic Church in Emmitsburg, Md. Grisez died Feb. 1, at the age of 88.
Analysis: Did Cardinal O’Malley open a door to papal criticism from US bishops?
Jan 22, 2018 / 16:37 pmIt is no secret that the pontificate of Pope Francis has been a challenge for Church leaders to navigate, and the bishops of the United States are no exception. A man often called the Pope of surprises, who has encouraged Catholics to “make a mess,” the pontiff’s spontaneity, new approaches, and willingness to rebuff traditional consultative mechanisms has, more than once, seemed to catch American bishops off-guard.
Commentary: Giving thanks for trials - and for providence
Nov 23, 2017 / 09:07 amThe best feast our family has ever had was in a hospital room, four years ago, on Christmas. Our daughter was being treated for leukemia, and my wife was living in the hospital with her. My son and I brought supplies for a makeshift picnic, and the four of us spent a long afternoon together, with an acute sense of gratitude for the gift of one another's presence.
Where the revolution has led: an interview with Mary Eberstadt
Nov 20, 2017 / 15:00 pmCatholic author Mary Eberstadt is a senior fellow of the Faith & Reason Institute, and the author of several best-selling books, including Adam and Eve After the Pill and How the West Really Lost God. In the Nov. 6 issue of The Weekly Standard, Eberstadt published “The Primal Scream of Identity Politics,” an essay exploring the contours of contemporary American politics, our search for identity, and the importance of the family. In an interview with CNA editor-in-chief JD Flynn, Eberstadt offers important insights for all Catholic Americans.
Analysis: USCCB committee election a referendum on what it means to be pro-life
Nov 7, 2017 / 15:00 pmNext week, America’s bishops will meet in Baltimore for the annual fall meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 2017 is the one-hundredth anniversary of the episcopal conference, and the bishops will begin their meeting with a day of talks, Mass, and a celebratory dinner honoring their history.