“Who can figure this pope out?” was the question raised by friends at a recent lunch. The nine of us spent a lot of time voicing fear, concern, confusion, and speculating about what he is […]
While disgruntled criticisms of Catholic bishops are nothing new, there seems to be an increase of late, especially since the start of Pope Francis’s pontificate. There is clearly no denying that there are problems within […]
The forthcoming papal encyclical on ecology has provoked plenty of discussion (and in some case, eye rolling) around the blogosphere. As Catholics, however, we shouldn’t have any objection to the Holy Father emphasizing care of […]
In the late 1990s, I found myself in the awkward position of explaining the appeal of World Youth Day and Catholicism to a table full of intimidating adults, most of whom were twice or thrice […]
The founding of the United States has a lot more color than the typical Protestant narrative, thanks to the heroics, quirks, and sacrifices of American Catholics. In her new book, The American Catholic Almanac, (Image […]
On August 31, 1939, nine-year-old Maria Sikorski in Gdansk, Poland, prayed she wouldn’t have to go to the first day of school on the following day. Her prayer was answered, but in a way she […]
“What difference does it make?” was Hillary Clinton’s frustrated retort to Congress last year when pressed about the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya. Putting aside legal and political issues, the former First Lady […]
In the wake of the Roe v. Wade ruling of the Supreme Court in 1973, it became clear to those in pro-life work that some sort of ministry was required to help women suffering from […]
On the face of it, the newly-released film, Desire of the Everlasting Hills, has a typical plot. A man is looking for a soul mate to fulfill him, and then the soul mate is found—but […]
The Hobby Lobby case pass set off an unabating, shrill firestorm. Late last week, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi issued this warning about the Supreme Court: “We should be afraid about this court … five […]
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