Is the Catholic Church’s teaching on marriage, including indissolubility, an ideal or a norm? Although the question may sound abstract, even esoteric, it has urgent, immediate practical implications. To say one admires the Church’s teaching […]
President Lyndon Baines Johnson had spoken the words “Great Society” before, but on January 4, 1965 he brought the pieces together as a legislative package for Congress. His State of the Union message stirred a […]
Let’s face it, 2014 was a rotten year for heroes and hero worship. Sure, it brought forth plucky, admirable people who did praiseworthy things. But all too often their good deeds were upstaged by the […]
For months after the Supreme Court abruptly legalized abortion in its Roe v. Wade decision of January 1973, people who welcomed the result repeatedly declared that the struggle over abortion had now come to a […]
To many Germans in the early 1930s, Adolf Hitler looked like just what Germany needed. Here, they imagined, was a charismatic leader capable of restoring social stability, economic prosperity, and national honor to their battered […]
During the 10:30 Mass in my parish a couple of Sundays ago 32 boys and girls stood in front of the altar, faced the congregation, and formally affirmed their desire to be confirmed. It was […]
The headline on a recent Washington Post Op-Ed about the rise of the Islamic State proclaimed “The Return of Evil” (Aug 26, 2014). Although one was tempted to reply that evil never went away, the […]
Upon becoming director of media relations for the American bishops in late 1969, I quickly made a crucial discovery about my new employers. With just a handful of exceptions, the bishops were painfully naïve about […]
When Pope Francis on October 19 formally declares Pope Paul VI “Blessed,” the event will recall one of the most painful periods in the history of the Church together with the long-suffering servant pope who […]
Expectations and anxieties regarding next month’s assembly in Rome of the world Synod of Bishops are running exceptionally high. The subject matter alone—the crisis of marriage and family—would be reason enough for that. But there’s […]
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