David Mills

Jewish Leaders Welcome Francis described the response to his election from people like the head of the World Jewish Congress and the president of Israel. But there is more to be said, of course, and Jewish writers are beginning to say it. In Is a Jesuit Good For Jews? , the Weinberg Chair of Judaic . . . . Continue Reading »

In an interesting article on Christian fantasy writing (which I never read for the same reason the author doesn’t read much of it, though he writes it), Lars Walker says two things about writing useful for writers of all sorts to know. First, Writing is a craft, like shoemaking. I don’t . . . . Continue Reading »

Sometimes people just do things differently. Doing one thing when your predecessor did another doesn’t necessarily mean you’re thinking about him at all, much less indirectly criticizing him. Yet the “Francis is different than Benedict, therefore Francis is criticizing . . . . Continue Reading »

Pope Francis is “an experienced man, someone who is known for his open-mindedness . . . a man of dialogue, a man who is able to build bridges with other faiths,” says Ronald Lauder , the president of the World Jewish Congress, conveying the group’s “warm . . . . Continue Reading »

Stephen Schmalhofer sends this quote from G. K. Chesterton on St. Francis of Assisi, appropriate for this day, and appropriate too as the basis for a prayer for the new Holy Father: The servants of God who had been a besieged garrison became a marching army; the ways of the world were filled as . . . . Continue Reading »

Larry the Vatican II guy  explains the new translation of the Mass, the nature of conscience, and the  Novus Ordo . The instruction (delivered by his guest) is helpful too, though the jokes are sometimes a little harsh. Here, for example, from the second one (though the jokes lose a . . . . Continue Reading »

The editors of the  National Catholic Reporter  tell us what kind of pope the Church needs, in an editorial titled Time for courage from those who have most to lose . They declare: The best thing the new pope could do is to reclaim the Petrine ministry for what it is: Let him be the . . . . Continue Reading »

“There is also a general tendency to think that human failings can be righted by introducing structures and regulations, but while these have a role they cannot of themselves produce understanding, and often they are the enemy of it,” says Scottish philosopher and First Things . . . . Continue Reading »

Some economists have argued that the United States could flourish in permanent debt and even with an increasing debt, with sophisticated arguments the non-economist can’t really judge. The ones I read never raised the question of when the limit will be reached as presumably it must eventually . . . . Continue Reading »

“Secularization, a slacking of faith . . . was Ratzinger perhaps under siege?” the Italian newspaper  Il Giorno asked Rome’s chief rabbi, Riccardo Di Segni . The rabbi answered: This Pope has never given in on anything, I don’t believe in a possible surrender, as . . . . Continue Reading »