Caleb, a gay man, is estranged from the church. His mother attempts to lure him back by presenting him with a miracle, the appearance in her backyard of his dead father in the form of a "half-and-half" cardinal. Caleb poo-poos the notion, while his mother is adamant about what she saw. By the end, it doesn't seem Caleb is any closer to returning to the church, but he has grown a little closer to his mother. That's miracle enough.

Confirmation bias of a cardinal. Its unique "duality" is open and honest for all to see and yet we don't see it. And if and when we do see it, we reject it if it doesn't conform to the vision of the world we hold so dear. Thankfully Cathro knows how to walk a fine line--exposing the mother's irrational need to reject anything that tampers with her view of the world lest it crumble before her--and yet reminding us all of our shared humanity, our blindness, our weakness which bind us together. Lovely.

DC Cathro’s The Cardinal does a rare thing: shows compassion for two people on opposing sides of fraught issues (in this case, religion, sexuality, and the possibility of miracles). Neither character is a stereotype, and the love they share (as well as their complex history) is clear in the text. Cardinal is gentle, in the best possible way. The conflict isn’t explosive; no one is trying to win. Rather, it’s two people struggling to close a distance between them without relinquishing their deepest beliefs.