Essay

The recent endorsement of same-sex marriage by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came as no surprise. She joins a long list of politicians—mostly Democrats, but increasingly more Republicans—who claim to have been “recently” converted […]

H. L. Mencken—satirist, progressive, pseudo-misogynist, provocateur—wrote a book in 1918 called In Defense of Women.  Like an optical illusion, the title, depending on one’s focal point, can mean defending women or defending oneself from women. […]

Following the announcement of Benedict XVI’s retirement, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the chief hierarch of the Eastern Orthodox Churches, issued a statement expressing his profound respect and friendship to Benedict. Bartholomew honored Pope Benedict as […]

“Church as ours and ours alone is a pointless game in a sandbox.” — Fr. Joseph Ratzinger, 1970 This morning, as I watched live video of Pope Benedict XVI flying from the Vatican to the […]

When a coalition of United States scientists issued the most recent draft of its National Climate Assessment, it captured the attention of environmental regulators like me. Two weeks later, the United States Environmental Protection Agency […]

In their elusive quest for social justice, civil authorities have over the centuries learned much from the Church. As a result, a great many forms of state-sponsored welfare—especially in the growing liberality of the West—are […]

“Father Schall cares about where you’re from and how you’re doing. He doesn’t need to do that, but he does. The greatest professor I’ll ever have knows my name.” — Victoria Edel, former student of […]

There was a blind man named Bartimaeus who called out to Jesus: “Son of David, have pity of me” (Mk 10:46-52). In answer to his plea, Jesus responds in the most remarkable way, “What do […]