R.R. Reno is editor of First Things.

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Bishops Aren’t Coaches or Corporate CEOs

This week we learned that the Pope will not accept the resignation of two Irish auxiliary bishops, Eamonn Walsh and Raymond Field. The Murphy Report in 2009 implicated them in the larger failures of the Irish hierarchy to respond to sexual abuse by priest. John Allen at the National Catholic . . . . Continue Reading »

13 Aug 2010

Marriage Natural and Supernatural

There tends to be confusion in some responses to the recent decision to overturn Proposition 8 in California. On the one hand, defenders of traditional marriage often point to natural law, or if not natural law, at least a common wisdom about the natural purposes of marriage—a disciplining . . . . Continue Reading »

13 Aug 2010

Moral Fundamentalism Run Amok

In the last few days, various human rights organizations have criticized the Wikileaks posting of thousands of secret documents about U.S. operations in Afghanistan. Amnesty International and others point out something that should have been obvious to Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks. Many . . . . Continue Reading »

12 Aug 2010

More on Plagiarism

My posting yesterday about Stanley Fish’s deflationary remarks about plagiarism elicited a number of nuanced, reflective comments from readers, many of whom are teachers who grapple with the problem of plagiarism on a regular basis. The comments induced in me a moment of repentance. In his . . . . Continue Reading »

11 Aug 2010

Catholicism in Europe

The recent Economist magazine features a helpful article about Catholicism in contemporary Europe, ” The Fate of Catholic Europe: The Void Within .” The title is misleading, suggesting a spiritual vacuum. The substance of the article is more nuanced, however, drawing attention to the . . . . Continue Reading »

10 Aug 2010

Our Village Sophist

I love Stanley Fish. He’s a circus clown who bounces around and distracts us from the changes between acts. His latest ” Opinionator ” column in the New York Times is a classic performance. Plagiarism is not big deal, he argues, because there is no such thing as originality. Every . . . . Continue Reading »

10 Aug 2010

Pray for Fr. Francis Martin

Fr. Francis Martin has suffered a heart attack, and is presently in intensive care in Copehhagen, Denmark. A long time proponent of biblical interpretation informed by the wisdom of the church’s great tradition of doctrine, Fr. Martin has been an important voice in contempoary . . . . Continue Reading »

6 Aug 2010

Here Come The Thought Police

Today I wrote about the culture of intimidation in academia , a mentality confident that it should censure and punish traditional views of sexual morality. Although it was not available when I wrote the column, this morning I was fascinated to read Judge Walker’s decision to rule . . . . Continue Reading »

5 Aug 2010

Federal Money in Higher Education

Former Senator Bill Armstrong is now president of Colorado Christian College, and he’s been reading the new regulations coming out of the Department of Education. He’s worried that these new regulations, designed to ensure that the federal money flowing into higher education is properly . . . . Continue Reading »

4 Aug 2010

Thin Skin

I don’t think of myself as a populist who likes to bash the rich, but this story from the Guardian that a friend sent along offers an irresistible target. Sir Angus Grossart, a wealthy banker, said of Sir Fred Goodwin, another wealthy banker and former head of the Royal Bank of Scotland, that . . . . Continue Reading »

3 Aug 2010