Richard John Neuhaus

The Public SquareIt was rolled out at the National Press Club on May 7 with the usual bells and whistles of the public relations machinery. Whether it will survive its much less than fifteen minutes of the national news cycle is uncertain. Nonetheless, it deserves attention and possibly could become . . . . Continue Reading »

In saying that one must guard against superlatives in recounting Pope Benedict’s apostolic visit this April, one acknowledges that superlatives are not easy to resist. The enthusiasm of the crowds, the massive coverage and frequently glowing commentary of the media, the respectful attentiveness . . . . Continue Reading »

I’m working away at a new book, tentatively titled American Babylon: Notes of a Christian Exile . It will be a greatly expanded version of the argument set out in an earlier article [ Our American Babylon , First Things , December 2005]. In the course of my research, I’ve been delving into . . . . Continue Reading »

The following address, described by Robert P. George as “the greatest pro-life speech ever given,” was delivered by Richard John Neuhaus at the close of the 2008 convention of the National Right to Life Committee. —Ed. Once again this year, the National Right to Life convention is partly a . . . . Continue Reading »

Of the writing of books about the Holocaust it seems there is no end. And it is, all in all, a good thing that that is the case. There are other candidates for the dreadful distinction, but it happens that the Holocaust is the only universally agreed upon icon of absolute evil in the modern world. . . . . Continue Reading »

The outpouring of tributes to Tim Russert on his death at age 58 was both surprising and well deserved. There was a palpable sense of guilt in the many descriptions of him by his colleagues in the commentariat. They frequently seemed to be saying that he was such a genuine human being uncompromised . . . . Continue Reading »

It may turn out to be the stuff worthy of mention in half a news cycle or it may be a lasting point of historical reference. In terms of its political significance, I expect it will be the former. In terms of the long history of evangelicals trying to situate themselves within what they view as the . . . . Continue Reading »

Let it be said at the outset that James Wood is a splendid literary critic, one of our best. One of the things that make him interesting is that he can’t get over the “God problem.” Wood is a product of what I have called the narrow escape syndrome. That is to say, he was reared in a . . . . Continue Reading »

He was, over his long life, the indefatigable teacher, enthusiastically discovering with each new generation of students at Fordham University the inexhaustible riches of the Angelic Doctor. In season and out, he sought to demonstrate, in the face of every new philosophical fashion or school, that . . . . Continue Reading »

“Honor your father and your mother.” As the Church Fathers wrote, there are things we know simply by virtue of being human but then, after we alienated ourselves from the source of our humanity, God gave us the Decalogue to remind us of those things. One of those things is that we should . . . . Continue Reading »