Thomas G. Guarino

Recently archbishop of Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley published on his archdiocesan website a list of the names of priests accused of the sexual abuse of children. Accompanying the list was a letter that carefully explains the rationale for his decision. Cardinal O’Malley indicates that he is deeply concerned about the tragedy of sexual abuse and hopes to ensure that it is “never repeated in the Church.” … Continue Reading »

In an earlier essay on this site”and building upon the insights of Fr. Richard John Neuhaus and Avery Cardinal Dulles”I argued that the norms of the Dallas Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, as presently implemented, are straining the theology of priesthood. … Continue Reading »

At the end of last year, Msgr. Charles Kavanagh, who held several significant positions in the Archdiocese of New York, was laicized at the age of seventy-three for an incident of abuse that occurred over thirty years ago. I do not know all the details of the Kavanagh case and will not, therefore, comment on its specifics… . Continue Reading »

When Avery Cardinal Dulles died on December 12, 2008, the Catholic Church lost its most distinguished American theologian, a man who combined the virtues of scholarly inquiry with faithfulness to Christ and the Church. It is far too soon to evaluate his long-lasting contributions to Christian . . . . Continue Reading »

Christianity and the Secular by Robert A. Markus. University of Notre Dame Press, 99 pages, $15. In Hoc Interim Saeculo “In this transitory world,” St. Augustine says in the City of God , referring to the subject of his long meditation. What is the nature of this world? How are Christians . . . . Continue Reading »

Faculty wags have long wisecracked that contemporary Catholicism specializes not in apologetics but in apologies. Unfair as this quip may be, Catholicism does appear at times to have abandoned a robust defense of Christian faith and doctrine in favor of corporate acts of contrition for past errors . . . . Continue Reading »

Karol Wojtyla: The Thought of the Man Who Became John Paul II By Rocco Buttiglione. Translated by Paolo Guietti and Francesca Murphy. Eerdmans. 368 pp. $35 With the translation of Rocco Buttiglione’s text, the definitive commentary on Karol Wojtyla’s philosophy is now available in . . . . Continue Reading »

The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism Edited by Richard P. McBrien  HarperCollins, 1,349 pages, $45 A legendary story at Seton Hall University records this conversation between two freshmen: “What dorm are you in?” “Cabrini Hall.” “Who’s Cabrini?” the friend inquires. . . . . Continue Reading »