Francis X. Maier

There can be no lasting concordat, no real peace treaty, between a genuinely holy people and Church on the one hand, and a world of material excess, destructive sexuality, exploitation of the poor, and industrial-scale homicide of unborn children on the other.    Continue Reading »

Beauty is an affirmation of our shared human dignity. It reminds us of life’s goodness in an age of transgressive narcissism and repudiation of the past. Continue Reading »

In an open letter to the German episcopate, 80 bishops voiced their strong concern over the direction of Germany’s “Synodal Path.” Continue Reading »

It’s a gift to sit through a religiously-themed film today that leaves no taste of artificial sweetener in the mouth. And that’s why Father Stu should not be missed. Continue Reading »

First Things relies on your help to pursue its mission. Mission runs on resources. So this Christmas, please support First Things with a financial gift. Continue Reading »

The etymology of the word “carol” is linked back to dances of joy and praise. The birth of humanity’s savior seems pretty clearly to warrant both. Continue Reading »

Sex without love—real love, the kind that comes with obligations and unexpected burdens, but also unexpected joys—kills the taste for both.   Continue Reading »

Our problem as a country boils down to the fact that we hate each other. Continue Reading »

Andrée Emery, Hungarian by birth, rates barely a footnote in Church history: Check Google. She’s Andrée the Obscure; Andrée the Forgotten. But she mattered. Continue Reading »

What the past teaches us most forcefully is that reform of the institution depends on reform of the individual. Continue Reading »