Posted inIdeas

‘Nun girl summer’: Explaining the viral trend that shines a spotlight on Catholic sisters

by Brigid McCabe and Chloe Hanford July 28, 2026

Credit: America Illustrations/Wikimedia Commons/Openlight Media/Birkenstock/Pixabay

When thinking about selling shoes, religious sisters might not exactly be top of mind. Between their vows of poverty and their commitment to dressing simply, it’s fair to say that they are not your typical ambassadors of the fashion industry. But on July 11, the sandal brand Birkenstock released an ad featuring a stop-motion animation of a charming wool figurine adorned in a black-and-white Catholic sister’s habit. And people loved it. 

Aging in the monastery

 

A Good Place to Lose Your Mind

Aging in the monastery

Isaac Slater

June 30, 2026

Religion

The Last Word

Please email comments to letters@commonwealmagazine.org.

Trappist monks at Genesee Abbey, New York (Trappist Brothers & Sisters)

One of our monks, let’s call him Fr. Stan, wasn’t an eloquent preacher at the best of times. He had been married—he returned home one day to find his wife had taken the kids and left without warning or explanation—and came to the monastery later in life. As he developed Alzheimer’s disease, his homilies became even more rambling and disconnected. Once, after an especially disjointed homily that ran on and on, some of the brothers complained to the abbot, who thought that perhaps he ought to intervene. The next day, he received a letter from a visitor: “Yesterday I came to the abbey in great distress. I haven’t been to a church in thirty years. That homily spoke straight to my heart—it’s as if every word were destined for me in my unique situation. Thank you for such excellent preaching.” The abbot tacked the note on the board and let Fr. Stan preach.

 

How Catholics have defended free elections—and why they must do so again

by Maria J. Stephan July 27, 2026

Credit: Element5 Digital on Unsplash

In his first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas,” Pope Leo XIV warns against a “culture of power” where efficiency and domination replace human dignity and the common good. Although the document is primarily focused on artificial intelligence, its critique of concentrated power and its defense of truth against manipulation speak directly to larger themes of democratic life, especially those related to voting and elections. 

As the United States celebrates its 250th birthday and approaches a consequential midterm election, American Catholics face an important test. Both at home and abroad, free and fair elections are under threat. These threats are less about outright fraud and rigging, and more about disinformation, voter intimidation, attempts to limit participation, central governments interfering with the local administration of elections, and verbal and physical threats to election officials. As Catholic theologians have noted, erecting unjust barriers to vote is a sin aimed at denying the sacred right to participate in civic life. 

Ordaining gay men and combatting child abuse by priests are not mutually exclusive

Ordaining gay men and combatting child abuse by priests are not mutually exclusive 

SOUTH BEND (IN)
Outreach.faith [United States]

July 27, 2026

By Ryan Di Corpo

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Outreach Original  / July 27, 2026Print this:

Exterior of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Mishawaka, Indiana. (Photo courtesy of John Consolie.)

A recent report from the McGrath Institute for Church Life, part of the University of Notre Dame, examines some pressing modern questions related to the spiritual formation of seminarians and offers pastoral suggestions to help assess a candidate’s suitability for the priesthood. Describing an urgent need, in light of the clergy sex abuse scandals, to establish clear guidelines for discerning the moral and psychological fitness of men pursuing ordination, the paper, authored by two men, considers how mental health professionals, bishops, rectors, formators and other relevant church authorities may properly determine if an interested man is well-suited for holy orders. 

“Our emphasis…is on renewing the presbyterate by identifying men with a genuine vocation and the capacity for priestly formation, while ensuring that formation itself is responsive to their…

 

Pope Leo appoints conservative San Francisco archbishop to Vatican tribunal

 

Vatican News

Vatican

Pope Leo appoints conservative San Francisco archbishop to Vatican tribunal

Justin McLellan   ncr

Pope Leo's eucharistic answer to the age of AI

 

July 28, 2026

Pope Leo's eucharistic answer to the age of AI

Thomas Reese, Religion News Service   ncr

In Love with Scripture

 

 

Reading the Bible Through the Lens of Love

In Love with Scripture

Sunday, July 26, 2026

READ ON CAC.ORG

 

 

Father Richard Rohr recalls how he first fell in love with Scripture and devoted himself to its study: 

I was in my first year of seminary when I fell in love with Scripture. I really did. To me, it was God’s self-disclosure of love for us. To be honest, I think my little mind was looking for validation for what I already believed to be true. Early experiences of God’s love and goodness shaped my intuitions before I encountered any formal theology. I devoured Scripture and systematic theology because they gave me the tools for understanding and validating my own experiences and intuitions. Now I knew they were not just my ideas.

 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS AND THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

Ron Roheiser omi 

JULY 20, 2026

When I was growing up, as part of our family prayer we used to pray for a happy death. In my young mind, I had a certain conception of what that might look like. A happy death would be to die inside of grace, warmly cradled in the loving arms of family and church, fully at peace with God and others, having had time to speak some final words of love and gratitude.

Unfortunately, not everyone gets to die that way.

Accidents, unfortunate circumstances, and the complexity of human relationships sometimes conspire in nefarious ways so that people die in less-than-ideal situations: angry, compromised, unforgiving, bitter, immature, unreconciled.