The Dispatch
On St. Ignatius of Antioch and Catholic distinctives of the early Church
The second-century martyr bears witness to the early provenance of Catholic distinctives. […]
Early Church
The Dispatch
Rome, Home of the Saints
Why Rome? Why has Rome, along with the rest of Italy, been the home of so many saints and blesseds throughout the history of the Church? It’s impossible to arrive at a precise total for […]
The Dispatch
Meet St. Irenaeus of Lyon
When Pope Francis surprised the Catholic world on October 7, 2021, announcing that he was about to make Saint Irenaeus of Lyon a Doctor of the Church, the reasons he gave weren’t that surprising. After […]
The Dispatch
The power of witness: How the early Church evangelized
“Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Peter finishes the […]
The Dispatch
St. Agatha and the subversiveness of the Roman virgin martyrs
On February 5th, the Latin Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Agatha, who was born in Sicily in 231. Among the more well-off of the Christian minority during the Roman times, Agatha’s parents consecrated her […]
The Dispatch
Calumny and Pope Callistus I
Calumny, according to the glossary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, is a “false statement which harms the reputation of others and gives occasion for false judgments concerning them.” The sin of calumny is […]
Features
John Henry Newman, Edward Gibbon, and the true character of history
The rise of Christianity, for Newman, primarily involved those who accepted and cooperated with God’s particular Providence and those who rejected and spurned it. Gibbon, […]
Essay
Paul, Apollos, and Cephas, all over again
In April 2016, Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth, England, issued a pastoral letter on the interpretation of Amoris Laetitia (the Pope’s apostolic exhortation on marriage) and re-affirmed the Church’s long-settled teaching: the divorced and civilly remarried, while members […]