Ambiguously Catholic

Is this liberal Catholicism's big moment? In the Oval Office, a pro-abortion president sits with a photograph of the Holy Father displayed proudly over his left shoulder. In Germany, Europe's most powerful bishops' conference presses ahead with its "synodal path," reassessing doctrine on questions from sexual ethics to the nature of Church authority. Liberal Catholic journals like Commonweal and the National Catholic Reporter have a certain swagger about them these days; the Catholic bestseller of 2021 is likely to be Learning to Pray by Fr. James Martin, a bete noire of conservative believers for his determined ­ambiguity as to Church teaching. Catholic schools are appointing diversity consultants, Catholic colleges are announcing their fealty to socially liberal causes. Celebrities from Lady Gaga to ­Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez don't hesitate to mix progressive politics with references to their Catholic upbringing.