Hope, American Style

We’ve got the final installment in our hope-after-the-election series up, now. Our hope is an American hope, based on the fact that we live in a Democracy where it is still possible to change minds and, along with them, laws.

And, so you know, when we say hope, we don’t mean:
—“Boy, we hope Obama won’t keep his promises on abortion.” He will.
—“Boy, we hope it won’t be that bad, what he does.” It will.
—“Man, I hope the GOP will rescue us two years from now.” They won’t.

Where the heck are we finding hope, then? “The New Springtime of the Faith.” Huh?

Go ahead and see ...

— Tom Hoopes

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne attends a German Synodal Way assembly on March 9, 2023.

Four German Bishops Resist Push to Install Permanent ‘Synodal Council’

Given the Vatican’s repeated interventions against the German process, the bishops said they would instead look to the Synod of Bishops in Rome. Meanwhile, on Monday, German diocesan bishops approved the statutes for a synodal committee; and there are reports that the synodal committee will meet again in June.

Palestinian Christians celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at Holy Family Church in Gaza City on March 31, amid the ongoing battles Israel and the Hamas militant group.

People Explain ‘Why I Go to Mass’

‘Why go to Mass on Sundays? It is not enough to answer that it is a precept of the Church. … We Christians need to participate in Sunday Mass because only with the grace of Jesus, with his living presence in us and among us, can we put into practice his commandment, and thus be his credible witnesses.’ —Pope Francis