One of today’s On the Square pieces features remarks by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput from a session on religious freedom at World Youth Day in Madrid. In her World Youth Day diary entry for today, Anna Halpine describes the young attendees’ enthusiastic response to the call to stand for religious liberty:
Pilgrims at this panel discussion were reminded that faced with these serious difficulties and worrying trends, they are the hope for the future. The responsibility to understand the great challenges of our time, and to engage these challenges with reason, clarity and conviction was the task being clearly presented to the pilgrims now in Madrid. They responded to this challenge with continual, enthusiastic applause. They are serious about the reason and purpose for coming to Madrid and this seriousness bodes well for the future of Spain and the world.
To get a taste of what prompted the applause, you can read Chaput’s address .
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
