In the 19th century in Europe, the Catholic Church lost men because of the church’s opposition to liberal reforms: free press, free speech, freedom of religion, labor unions and democracy.

He breathed the Spirit into the church’s dry bones at Vatican II. He will do so again. Link copied! Catholicism Christianity Columns Faiths Opinion Signs of the Times. No paywalls here.

He breathed the Spirit into the church's dry bones at Vatican II. He will do so again. *This column has been updated to clarify a sentence about the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI.