Christine Schenk

Simply Spirit: Speaking to FutureChurch, veteran Vatican journalist Robert Mickens asks progressive Catholics "to push and support the pope" — and have patience with the slow pace of reform.

Simply Spirit: The ongoing Synod of Bishops for the Amazon stands in stark contrast to the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist held in 2005. Prioritizing the people of God makes a difference.

Recently my spiritual director of 30 years passed away. She was one of many hundreds, perhaps thousands of female spiritual directors who are exercising essential — if largely invisible — leadership in our church.

Simply Spirit: I owe my learning to the women and men with whom I have walked and am walking. Their solidarity helps me to first accept and then join together to alleviate the wounds of our world.

"Mary Magdalene" is a perfect way to celebrate the "Apostle to the Apostles" on or around her July 22 feast day. It is both cinematically beautiful and well-grounded in contemporary scholarship about the religious and political context in which Jesus and Mary sought God and God's reign. 

It is difficult to ignore ever-mounting evidence that the clerical system governing the Catholic church is in a significant state of decay. Yet, I can't help believing that the Holy Spirit — who loves creating something new out of chaos — is summoning us to build a new church governance.

Daily Easter Reflections: Because most of history relies heavily on literary records written by men, discovering reliable historical data about Christian women can be challenging. This search is further complicated by the fact that Christianity has relied heavily, if not exclusively, on the written word as a primary means of understanding its own history.

Simply Spirit: All Christians were understood to image Christ. So what happened? A struggle with the larger patriarchal culture is what happened.

Simply Spirit: Ancient funerary art is performative in nature and is meant to draw the viewer in as a participant. As they mourned her, Junia wished her loved ones to enter into a liminal space and experience Christ's power over death. 

Simply Spirit: Is God calling us to a radical metanoia? A turning ourselves around so as to reconsider who has decision-making voice in the church?

Reform starts with ordinary Catholics because we are the ones who financially support the present failed system. We are complicit in the sins of that system if we are not involved in creating inclusive structures of accountability. 

Simply Spirit: After Vatican II, sisters joined the civil rights movement, engaged in advocacy for women's rights and even ran for office. It was a precursor, in a way, to the recent "pink wave" midterms.

Simply Spirit: Amid growing consternation about my country and about my church, the words of St. Óscar Romero help me remember who I am and who I am called to be.

Simply Spirit: I wonder if the current implosion of ecclesiastical credibility over clergy sex abuse can create a new moment of grace, one that breaks down outmoded governance models.

Simply Spirit: For the most part — at least until recently — Mary of Magdala's witness was all but invisible in Christian history, even though her testimony is the lynchpin upon which the proclamation of the resurrection depends.

Simply Spirit: Vatican statements on women priests are invariably ahistorical and biblically naive. It is embarrassing. Worse, they bear false witness to the Jesus of history.

Pentecost is the preeminent celebration of the Holy Spirit. It relates deeply to the dynamism of Jesus' mission in our world today and to our experience of Jesus' Spirit in helping us build a new reign of God.

Spring Fund Drive: For more than 50 years, NCR has been an independent source of news, political commentary, book reviews and spiritual insight for Catholics, indeed, for all people of faith. We're more than halfway to our $100,000 goal. Help bring this drive a successful close.

Mindfulness training programs are increasingly popular with police departments around the country, helping officers deal with the inevitable stress that goes with their jobs.

Simply Spirit: I was recently re-inspired by some young sisters, who place their confidence not in the human institutions that have served the church in the past but in the God who summons them to serve in new ways in the future.