Commentary | Let Common Sense Prevail In Battle Over Religious Liberty

By | March 1, 2016 |
George Diaz holds a bilingual Bible as he attends services in Louisville, Ky. Services at the chapel are delivered in both English and Spanish. (Photo: Ed Reinke |AP)

The very day in late February that five Republican candidates for president participated in a smash-mouth debate in Texas with much moaning and gnashing of teeth about the erosion of religious freedom in the United States, these things also happened: I gathered with Episcopalians, Catholics, and mainline Protestants for a Bible study I help to…

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Commentary | A Local Love Story with International Echoes

By | January 22, 2016 |
Doug Anning and Kirk Isenhour

As Doug Anning and Kirk Isenhour turned to walk up the aisle after an Episcopal blessing of their same-sex commitment to one another, the packed church erupted. I have never seen a sanctuary full of such joyful people. They were applauding, shouting, cheering, even crying. At the time, I posted a blog entry about it…

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Focus on ‘Spotlight’ Film Recalls Local Church Crisis

By | January 14, 2016 |
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Kansas City

On Dec. 10, 2004, a few months before Robert W. Finn became bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, I interviewed him for The Kansas City Star about the challenges he might face when he replaced the much-loved Bishop Raymond Boland. Finn was coadjutor bishop at the time. Neither Finn nor I, of…

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