Archive

I have personal memories of Pope Francis that I greatly value: a friendly and generous working relationship at the 1997 Synod on America when we were both newly appointed...

January 1 marks the start of a new secular year. But for Catholics, it’s something more. Tucked inside the Christmas liturgical season, it’s the greatest of Marian feasts; the...

Pope Francis has the habit, by now well established, of saying things that leave listeners confused and hoping he meant something other than what he actually said. At the...

Joseph Ratzinger, better known as Pope Benedict XVI, stepped down from the papal ministry in 2013. But before he did, he began drafting an encyclical on the nature of...

One of the standards the Church uses to measure the quality of her leaders is a simple line from Scripture: “God is not the author of confusion but of...

Glorifying Christ:The Life of Cardinal Francis E. George, O.M.I.by michael r. heinleinour sunday visitor press, 520 pages, $29.95 I’ve been an avid reader since childhood, and a good biography...

Others have written beautifully about the legacy of Joseph Ratzinger and his tenure as Pope Benedict XVI. For me, two couplets will always capture the essence of the man:...

Archbishop Joseph Naumann, a former chair of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-life Activities, recently noted that he was “sad” with the Vatican’s seeming insensitivity to the controversy surrounding...

The First Things 2022 Spring Campaign seeks to raise $600,000 by June 30. To make your contribution, visit www.firstthings.com/donate. Friendship is a beautiful and potent thing, and one of the uncommon joys...

As we head toward June and a Supreme Court decision in the Dobbs abortion case, we should pause to consider a few simple questions. For example: Why aren’t attacks...

The following essay is adapted from keynote remarks delivered to graduates at the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary 185th Concursus. I’ve been retired now for two years. Retirement gives you...

Contempt for reli­­gious faith has been growing in America’s leadership classes for many decades, as scholars such as Christian Smith and Christopher Lasch have shown. But in recent years,...

Bernard of Clairvaux, the great 12th-century saint and Doctor of the Church who renewed the Western monastic tradition, once warned that “The most grievous danger for any pope lies...

We live in a turbulent time; a time that’s similar, in some ways, to the various Reformations of 500 years ago. History, of course, doesn’t repeat itself. History is...

Starting in 2013 and variously thereafter, Pope Francis has called upon Catholics, especially young Catholics, to “make a mess.” In a way, this makes admirable sense. Reform and renewal...