Catholicism
A selection of recent articles on this topic
Turned Away on Palm Sunday
In politics, diplomacy, war, or pretty much any field of human interaction, one must contend not only…
A Medieval Pilgrimage in Modern Assisi
When you go to the hilltop town of Assisi, you’re immediately struck by how medieval it is:…
Via Crucis, 2026
The Way of the Cross—and the third, seventh, and ninth stations in particular—has been an especially appropriate…
The Donatist Comeback
My Lenten reading has included an interesting, if somewhat odd, book about the greatest of the Latin…
Gen Zeal
Everyone assures us that we enjoy the blessings of progress: Capitalism has produced great material wealth, modern…
Lessons from the Eternal City
Regular First Things readers will know that one of my preoccupations is the dehumanization that grips our…
Three Great Lenten Themes
The entire purpose of Lent, now past the halfway mark, is to prepare us for the glory…
The Women the Vatican Forgot
Last week, the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith released a synodal study group’s final…
When the Bells Stop Ringing
Some years ago, I was a resident at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, a small postindustrial…
Leo’s Synodality
Almost one year in, Pope Leo’s vision for his pontificate is still coming into focus. But there…
Pitch for a Catholic Novel
Imagine a middle-aged white man in good clothes waiting for a morning train at a station of…
The Debates that Shaped Dei Verbum
Since the start of 2026, Pope Leo XIV has embarked, in his Wednesday audiences, on catecheses about…
John Allen, Nonpareil Vaticanista
Early Sunday morning, July 28, 2002, things were looking grim for the closing papal Mass of World…
Retrieving the Modern Self
Contempt for modernity has become a familiar posture among intellectuals, preachers, and cultural critics. Modern individualism is…
Lou Holtz and Our Lady on the Dome
Lou Holtz hated to lose at football. Texas A&M’s 35–10 victory over his Notre Dame team in…
