Support First Things by turning your adblocker off or by making a  donation. Thanks!

A Crime So Monstrous

If when you think of slavery, you imagine a distant, bygone era, ponder this conversation: Florin: That’s not a lot. For one night, I make two hundred Euros off her . . . . She’s very clean. A very nice girl¯you won’t have any problems with her. Whatever you say, she will . . . . Continue Reading »

Benedict and the Human Face of God

We will be, or at least we should be, pondering the visit of Pope Benedict for a long time to come. I do not agree with the widely expressed view that this will be his only pastoral visit to America. To judge by the vitality exhibited, which seemed to grow with his every day here, this may be a . . . . Continue Reading »

The Philosophy of Medicine Reborn

Where is the profession of medicine going? Has it become simply applied biology, another “job” among equally good ways of earning a living? What kind of person should the physician be? What about bioethics? Is patient autonomy the only viable moral absolute? Oh, and¯who is Dr. Edmund . . . . Continue Reading »

The Role of the Priest in Public Affairs

Catholic leadership in the secular world belongs to laypeople, not to clergy or religious. The visible role of the priest in public affairs¯if by public affairs we mean political affairs¯should normally be pretty small. It’s very dangerous for the Church to identify with one political party. . . . . Continue Reading »

The Pope’s Plan for the U.N.

Pope Benedict’s address to the U.N. General Assembly possessed no obvious and immediate Regensburg passage, no startling phrase to shake observers from comfortable assumptions and to foster debate about the institution. This was all the more troubling for those who know—and who know that . . . . Continue Reading »

The State Without an Executioner

I don’t think anybody was surprised. On April 16, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a 7-2 decision upholding the constitutional legitimacy of lethal injection as a method for executing those condemned to death for their crimes. It’s hard to imagine any other outcome. If hanging and . . . . Continue Reading »

Biblical Interpretation in Crisis

In Wladimir Solowjew’s History of the Antichrist, the eschatological enemy of the Redeemer recommended himself to believers, among other things, by the fact that he had earned his doctorate in theology at Tübingen and had written an exegetical work which was recognized as pioneering in the field. . . . . Continue Reading »

Benedict in America: As of Thursday

Perhaps it was just as well to try to get the question out of the way right at the start. For weeks, it seemed that every report and comment began with the question of whether Pope Benedict would be addressing the sex abuse crisis and, if so, how. While still on the way to America, a news . . . . Continue Reading »

Friday of Good Shepherd Sunday

The Thursday Mass at Nationals Park introduced the Holy Father to aspects of the aesthetic suffering endured by the faithful in America. The background notes we have been supplied are not specific about who, for instance, is to blame for the choice of music. The whole thing was overweeningly, . . . . Continue Reading »

The Papal Week That Was

Triumphalism, as we all know, is a very bad thing. On the other hand, defeatism is worse. In any event, I am persuaded that the apostolic visit just completed was a triumph. As is probably evident from my earlier postings on the visit, as well as some of my comments on EWTN, I was not sure about . . . . Continue Reading »

Tags

Loading...

Filter Web Exclusive Articles