Francis X. Maier

First Things brings articulate, committed believers together across confessional divides.  Continue Reading »

Confusion within the German Church never stays within the German Church.  Continue Reading »

Switchblade Sisters is one of the most idiotic and embarrassing movies ever made. I should know. I wrote it. Continue Reading »

The extraordinary fact of Catholic life in the United States is not the few bishops who humiliate us so bitterly, but the many who do the job so well. Continue Reading »

The virtue of hope has two beautiful daughters, anger and courage: anger with the way things are, and courage to change them for the better. These powerful words (you can find them all over the internet) are attributed to St. Augustine. Unfortunately, they may not be his. A friend of mine who is an . . . . Continue Reading »

Hostility toward the Electoral College hints at a deeper impatience with our political process.  Continue Reading »

In talks with city staff about the decision, said CSS sources, the hostility of senior city leadership to Catholic beliefs about marriage, family, and sexual morality was palpable. Continue Reading »

Rome drastically misreads the CCP’s determination to replace any independent understanding of God or gods with its own omnipotence. Continue Reading »

I’ve been dreading this November for the past year. In half a century of voting, I’ve been worried or frustrated by our public life many times. But 2020 has a unique toxicity, as if the whole nation were heaving, rudderless, on an ocean of poisonous blame. There is no peace and no dignity in our . . . . Continue Reading »

In the Catholic Church, synods of bishops are complex bits of theater. The pope sets the theme, observes the proceedings, and writes the “apostolic exhortation” that translates a synod’s work into teaching. Some post-synodal texts, such as Paul VI’s Evangelii . . . . Continue Reading »