Critics, Enemies, and the Difference

by Francis X. Maier

Critics are not always enemies. Some speak out of love, even when their words are heated. Continue Reading »

21 Aug 2023

Five Grueling Days of Joy

by Randy Boyagoda

When the woman came for our daughters, we were crowded around a small round metal table, eating damp French fries and day-old bagels. It was early evening, and we’d had a long day, and now another stranger was giving my wife a piece of paper. Was this yet another petition to sign? A cool Catholic . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Feb 2016

What Really Happened at Synod 2015

by George Weigel

The following is a preview from our January issue: When the XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops opened with a concelebrated Mass at the Altar of the Confession in St. Peter’s Basilica on October 4, it was already clear that there would be three synods: the real synod, the . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jan 2016

Taking Aim at Francis

by William Doino Jr.

Details are still coming out about the arrest of four men who were allegedly plotting to attack Pope Francis, but the initial reports are harrowing enough. Continue Reading »

7 Dec 2015

Synod 2015 Revisited

by George Weigel

It’s been over a month since Synod-2015 finished its work. Yet there is still no official translation of the Synod’s Final Report into the major world languages from the original Italian (a language regularly used by 8/10 of one per cent of the world’s population). That’s a shame because, in . . . . Continue Reading »

2 Dec 2015

What Comes After the Synod

by Janet E. Smith

Whatever Pope Francis does in the wake of the Synod on the Family, we have a new Humanae Vitae moment on our hands. Decades of relentless infighting over what exactly the Church teaches is on the horizon and will negatively affect the priesthood, religious life, religious institutions, parishes, . . . . Continue Reading »

5 Nov 2015

Crisis of Solidarity

by R. R. Reno

Written by Friedrich Hayek during World War II, The Road to Serfdom sought to shape thinking about the post-war reconstruction of society. Hayek believed the West faced a decisive choice. Are we to affirm the central importance of individual freedom? Or will we embrace central planning and . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Nov 2015

Toasting the Conscience

by James Conley

In Letter to the Duke of Norfolk, Blessed John Henry Newman suggests gamely that religion should never be the subject matter for after-dinner social toasts. But, he says “if I am obliged to bring religion into after-dinner toasts, I shall drink—to the Pope, if you please—still, to Conscience . . . . Continue Reading »

22 Oct 2015

Five Ways the Church Can Help Married and Engaged Couples

by Ashley McGuire

Sitting at a high-top table in Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, just a few blocks away from Pope Francis and the World Meeting of Families, a young priest friend leaned in and asked me what I wish had been different about my marriage prep. “Having been through it recently, what would you . . . . Continue Reading »

21 Oct 2015

A Blessed Loss

by George Weigel

Written from Rome:During Synod-2015, I’ve been reading John Martin Robinson’s Cardinal Consalvi: 1757-1824, a biography of Pope Pius VII’s secretary of state, one of the most impressive churchmen of his day, or indeed any day. Ercole Consalvi, born into the Roman nobility as the winds of . . . . Continue Reading »

21 Oct 2015