Bishops Archives

In both baseball and the Church, angry fans could accent the positive

Jun 18, 2020

Both baseball and Catholicism are victims of their own success, in that dysfunctional management often is facilitated by a wildly passionate fan base that just won’t walk away, no matter how staggeringly obtuse those in charge sometimes can be.

By John L. Allen Jr.

Disagree with the bishop all you like, but he’s still the bishop

Jun 7, 2020

If you’re Catholic, then seeking the opinion of your local bishop, and being willing to make reasonable compromises in order to accommodate it, is just part of the deal.

By John L. Allen Jr.

Like “cacio e pepe”, restarting the Church seems simple but it’s tricky

Apr 26, 2020

The apparent simplicity but actual complexity of “cacio e pepe” may be an apt metaphor for the recipe Catholic bishops in various parts of the world appear to be trying to follow with regard to the resumption of ecclesiastical life after coronavirus lockdowns.

By John L. Allen Jr.

Beyond chattering classes, Catholics often ambivalent about shutting down

Mar 27, 2020

In real life, my experience is that many Catholics recognize the competing values at stake and don’t envy bishops who have to make virtually unprecedented judgment calls.

By John L. Allen Jr.

On Pope Francis, the bishops and the politics of a plague

Mar 21, 2020

There’s no sense pretending there isn’t an increasingly political edge to some Catholic conversation about the Church’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

By John L. Allen Jr.

With the Vatican and China, soft and hard powers collide

Feb 16, 2020

Rome’s conviction is that not only will Chinese believers benefit over time from being able to organize routine pastoral life out in the open, but the Vatican may be able to gradually draw China into a more constructive role among the community of nations.

By John L. Allen Jr.