Phyllis Zagano

Long Island

Award-winning author and scholar specializing in Catholic women's ministry past and present, especially the ancient tradition of women deacons.

Articles

Will a new pope make any difference for women?

1 day ago | religionnews.com | Paul O'Donnell |Phyllis Zagano

(RNS) — Pope Francis is dead. Will a new pope make any difference for women? Of course, we do not know who the new pope will be, but he will most certainly be chosen from the cardinals set to gather in Rome to elect the next successor to St. Peter.
Tone-deaf Holy Week cartoon shows The New Yorker's disdain for religion

1 week ago | ncronline.org | Dan Stockman |Phyllis Zagano

The cartoon in question boggles the mind and disappoints any thinking person. Its apparent disdain for religion also comes on the heels of the magazine's awkward errors in usage in an article about Catholic sisters in Texas visiting female death row inmates in its Feb. 17-24, 2025, issue. Perhaps the most respected literary journal published in the United States, The New Yorker was once a paragon of precision; its fact-checking was legendary.
The New Yorker's tone-deaf Holy Week cartoon

1 week ago | religionnews.com | Paul O'Donnell |Phyllis Zagano

(RNS) — The New Yorker magazine has just managed to insult Christians and Jews alike with a cartoon depicting the Last Supper. In the drawing, by Adam Sacks, Jesus, sitting at what we take to be the Last Supper, says to the apostles, “So this is my body, the wine is my blood, and the chocolate bunny is a fun springtime treat.” A loaf of bread, a chalice and a large chocolate bunny are in the middle of the table. It’s tone-deaf. It’s outrageous. It probably earned Sacks a pretty penny. It’s not funny.
Essay: Pope Francis' plans to reform the church are alive and well

3 weeks ago | sightmagazine.com.au | Phyllis Zagano |David Adams

PHYLLIS ZAGANO, in an article first published on Religion News Service, says it was a close call, but Francis’ emergence from Gemelli Hospital ensures that implementation of the Synod on Synodality’s goals will outlast him…United StatesVia RNSJust when it looked like the anti-Francis forces would have their chance to “fix” the Catholic Church, Pope Francis left Gemelli Hospital. It was a close call, but Francis’ reforms will outlast him.
Pope Francis' plans to reform the church are alive and well

3 weeks ago | ncronline.org | Phyllis Zagano

Just when it looked like the anti-Francis forces would have their chance to "fix" the Catholic Church, Pope Francis left Gemelli Hospital. It was a close call, but Francis' reforms will outlast him. That includes his major reform, the synod on synodality, the worldwide program of prayer and conversation about how the church can live its mission going forward.
Pope Francis' plans to reform the church are alive and well

3 weeks ago | religionnews.com | Paul O'Donnell |Phyllis Zagano

(RNS) — Just when it looked like the anti-Francis forces would have their chance to “fix” the Catholic Church, Pope Francis left Gemelli Hospital. It was a close call, but Francis’ reforms will outlast him. That includes his major reform, the Synod on Synodality, the worldwide program of prayer and conversation about how the church can live its mission going forward.
While Trump hires Catholics, his actions reflect nothing of Catholic social teaching

1 month ago | ncronline.org | Phyllis Zagano |Michael Sean Winters

President Donald Trump, who spent two college years at a Jesuit school, seems to have an affinity for hiring Catholics. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are cradle Catholics, as is Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. Education Secretary Linda McMahon is a convert, as is Vice President JD Vance. The notable exception is Elon Musk, baptized in the Anglican Church of South Africa.
Trump’s Catholics and the gospel

2 months ago | religionnews.com | Paul O'Donnell |Phyllis Zagano

(RNS) — President Donald Trump, who spent two college years at a Jesuit school, seems to have an affinity for hiring Catholics. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are cradle Catholics, as is Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. Education Secretary Linda McMahon is a convert, as is Vice President JD Vance. The notable exception is Elon Musk, baptized in the Anglican Church of South Africa.
Under Pope Francis, it's management, not ministry, for Catholic women

2 months ago | ncronline.org | Michael Sean Winters |Phyllis Zagano

Noting that women are better managers than men, Pope Francis announced he is adding another woman to his administrative staff, naming Franciscan Sr. Raffaella Petrini to succeed retiring Spanish Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga as president of the Governatorate of Vatican City State. She will be the second woman to head a curial office, joining Consolata Missionary Sr. Simona Brambilla, the new prefect of the Dicastery for Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
Essay: Management, not ministry, for Catholic women

2 months ago | sightmagazine.com.au | Phyllis Zagano |David Adams

PHYLLIS ZAGANO, in an article first published on Religion News Service, says while the Pope is acting on his desire to include women in administrative managerial positions in the church, he seems to have turned a deaf ear to calls for women in ministry… Via RNS Noting that women are better managers than men, Pope Francis announced he is adding another woman to his administrative staff, naming Franciscan Sister Raffaella Petrini to succeed retiring Spanish Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga as...