R.R. Reno is editor of First Things.

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What Francis Said—And Didn't Say—To Congress

It was a modest speech, one generous to the American experience but lacking in the sharpness this pontiff is sometimes capable of.  The repeated use of the term “dialogue” was irritating. It's a buzzword among today's technocrats. They use it as a softening word, one that signals that . . . . Continue Reading »

24 Sep 2015

To Dissolve the People

Bret Stephens is fed up with Trumpism and he's not gonna take it anymore. As his column in yesterday's Wall Street Journal makes clear, Stephens is appalled that people aren't appalled by the appalling Donald Trump.  The tone of his column suggests that Bret Stephens may be losing his . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Sep 2015

Gay Marriage and Religious Freedom

A great deal is at stake. The sexual revolution is just that, a revolution, and revolutions often pose a dire threat to liberty. The logic of the Supreme Court's discovery of a right to same-sex marriage poses a threat to anyone who dissents. It's not unreasonable to suppose that the next stage of the gay rights Jihad will involve political action to defund organizations that refuse to affirm gay marriage, or even to work to revoke their tax exempt status. Continue Reading »

7 Aug 2015

Pastor Needed

I recently received an email from a reader. She's aware of the Marriage Pledge, the initiative formulated by Ephraim Radner and Christopher Seitz that called for Christian ministers to set aside their civil authority to sign government marriage licenses. The purpose of this pledge is to clarify . . . . Continue Reading »

9 Jul 2015

Photos of the 25th Anniversary Dinner and Discussion Panel

On Tuesday, May 19, we had a special dinner at the Union League Club in New York to celebrate our silver anniversary.  Continue Reading »

14 Jun 2015

Can You Support First Things?

Dear Reader,We've launched our spring fundraising campaign. Some of you have received letters from me asking for your support. That's been a great way to reach our regular readers, but some connect with us the way I'm doing so right now—by way bits and bites. Thus my electronic solicitation. Our . . . . Continue Reading »

10 Jun 2015

Our Homophobic Pope

The media make a big deal of Pope Francis when this or that utterance seems to signal that the Great Capitulation is imminent. Liberals have long hoped for the moment when the Catholic Church stops being “anti-modern,” which doesn't mean engaged with science, philosophically sophisticated, and . . . . Continue Reading »

11 May 2015

The Neuhaus Legacy

Neuhaus, public intellectual? Yesterday, CBC radio ran a long segment on the legacy of Richard John Neuhaus. Native of Pembroke, Ontario, it's fitting that Canada's public radio would cover the publication of his biography, written by Randy Boyagoda, also a Canadian. RJN's a native son gone . . . . Continue Reading »

6 May 2015

Priests Speaking Out

It's not a petition, strictly speaking. It's a statement of fidelity to the Catholic Church's historic teaching on sex and marriage. Originally signed by nearly five hundred English priests in March, it's now being circulated in the United States at credopriests.org and available for priest here to sign. Here's the statement: Continue Reading »

29 Apr 2015

Duck and Cover Catholicism

As I expected, the leaders of the Catholic Church have done everything they can to avoid saying anything in response to the furor over the Indiana RFRA. Their counsel is “dialogue,” an unfortunate weasel word long used by administrators who don't want to take a stand. Continue Reading »

2 Apr 2015