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The Two Leos
Pope Leo XIV has explained that his choice of regnal name is an homage to Pope Leo XIII (1878–1903), the architect of the modern papacy. It was Leo who...
The Cardinal Electors, Then and Now
Does a conclave elect the man the Holy Spirit desires to lead the Church? History teaches that sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s view was that...
The World’s Spiritual Director
Pope Francis died early Easter Monday, less than twelve hours after the last evening Masses had been offered in Roman parishes. On Easter Sunday evening, the assigned Gospel passage...
Pope Francis and “Selective Indignation”
Last month, the chief rabbi of Rome accused Pope Francis of “selective indignation” in his comments about the Israel-Hamas war. “A pope cannot divide the world into children and...
Blue Bloods and the Power of Fatherhood
The long-running CBS series Blue Bloods had its series finale on December 13, after fourteen seasons on the air and nearly three hundred episodes, which aired on Fridays. In...
Pope Francis and Catholic Sensitivity to Jews
How should Catholics speak about Jews in general, and Israel in particular? That question was raised anew by a recent interview book in which Pope Francis commented on the...
Pope Francis and the Catholic Sensitivity to Jews
How should Catholics speak about Jews in general, and Israel in particular? That question was raised anew by a recent interview book in which Pope Francis commented on the...
Put Not Your Trust in Princes
As the presidential campaign winds down, the Trump-Vance ticket is ramping up warnings of Christian persecution if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the election. “The radical left is not...
The Infernal Synod on Synodality
As the three-year synodal process on synodality for a synodal Church limps into its final three weeks of meetings in Rome, even poking fun at it has become a...
Easter and the Eclipse
Were you there when the sun refused to shine? So our choir sang on Good Friday during the veneration of the Cross. The Reproaches are sung first, but more...
A Year of Bumps in the Road for Pope Francis
The Holy Father’s eleventh anniversary (March 19) fell at a difficult moment, with a global controversy over his Ukrainian “white flag” remarks, in which he said that Ukraine should...
At St. Patrick’s, a Battle of the Icons
I love St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. It was painful to see it the object of a sacrilegious ambush early in Lent. On February 15, a funeral was...
Walking the Synodal Way . . . Off a Cliff
Bear the standard for religious orthodoxy with First Things. Make your contribution to our 2023 spring campaign today at firstthings.com/donate. After two years of synodal consultations at the diocesan, national, and continental...
Why the LA Dodgers Chose Anti-Catholicism
Where have you gone, Vin Scully? Dodger nation turns its lonely eyes to you. Is it possible that the Los Angeles Dodgers waited until Scully, the epitome of gentlemanly...
Homosexuality and Hatred
Two prominent American priests recently made important statements that indicate an attempt to shift the Catholic discussion about homosexuality. Taking their lead from former Justice Anthony Kennedy, the father...
