Blogs

How to Mark the Death of a Devil?

Perhaps now, with the death of a sinner, the country may turn from his evil ways—and find life instead. Continue Reading »

29 Nov 2016 0

A Pope and a Psychiatrist on Transsexual Marriages

by Christian Spaemann

The suffering of those who feel themselves to be transsexual can be so great—to the point of making them suicidal—that from the perspective of the Church one can hardly categorically forbid surgical and hormonal measures to reduce their suffering, as a last resort after attempting other measures. The proscription of self-mutilation must here be weighed against the good of reducing suffering. Continue Reading »

18 Oct 2016 0

A Catholic Spring?

by The Editors

The First Things Podcast, Episode 12. Also featuring: Pope Francis’s failure and Bob Dylan’s Nobel. Continue Reading »

14 Oct 2016 0

Christ's Two Feet

by Matthew Schmitz

We require both judgment and mercy. Continue Reading »

5 Oct 2016 0

Catholics Face a Choice

by Matthew Schmitz

Will Catholics uphold the Church's teaching that the divorced and remarried cannot be admitted to communion, or will they reject it? Pope Francis has brought this question before the Church, though he refuses to formulate it so starkly. Continue Reading »

19 Sep 2016 0

Francis’s Argentine Letter and the Proper Response

by Elliot Milco

The real problem with the Argentine norms is their deviation from this larger and more fundamental principle: that grace truly sanctifies and liberates, and that baptized Christians are always free to fulfill the moral law, even when they fail to do so. Jesus Christ holds us to this standard in the Gospel. It is presumptuous of Francis—however benign his intentions—to decide that his version of “mercy” trumps that given by God himself. Continue Reading »

14 Sep 2016 0

Crime, Punishment, and Amoris Laetitia

by John F. Crosby

The conversation on Amoris Laetitia continues. All the language used by Francis of “integrating” the remarried into the Church originates in the reforms of Pope John Paul II. Continue Reading »

14 Sep 2016 0