Solidarity Money matters, but not as much as we’ve come to think. Even if everybody in America enjoyed excellent health care, decent housing, educational opportunities, and lots of consumer goodies, but the wealthy and powerful lived in gated communities a

Western Europe is thought to be the only part of the world where Christianity is in decline, and Christians within its borders face pressure to hide their faith to degrees not felt in even nominally Christian countries elsewhere. The reason lies not in open p

The day I was granted the Sacrament of Confirmation and was admitted with full rights and privileges to the Church Eternal got off to a slow start, because the bishop was late. There had been a rain delay at the Mets game, but His Excellency couldn’t just lea

The problem with much Christian worship in the contemporary world, Catholic and Protestant alike, is not that it is too entertaining but that it is not entertaining enough. Worship characterized by upbeat rock music, stand-up comedy, beautiful people taking c

Antonia and Antonio. They lived in the same barrio; both were members of Our Lady of Refuge Parish in Nuevo Laredo, the Mexican city just south of Laredo, Texas; and I saw both on the same day about eight months ago. It was the day of Antonia’s funeral Mas

Two issues back, I spoke ill of a modern form of natural law theory that unsuccessfully attempts to translate an ancient tradition of moral reasoning into the incompatible language of secular reason. Because of an obscurity I allowed to slip into the fourth p

Lost Legion of Decency Their annual conferences have passed resolutions. Their clergy have lobbied for censorship bills. Their journals have crusaded. But for all their zeal the churches have accomplished very little,” declared Time magazine in 1934 as it

Majesty and Humilty: The Thought of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik by Reuven Ziegler  Urim, 424 pages, $34.95 Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik gave a staggeringly extensive and wide-ranging number of lectures in his life, in addition to teaching his daily Talmud cla

The forty-five-year-old twin brothers had not contracted a terminal illness. Nor were Marc and Eddy Verbessem in physical pain. Both had been born deaf and were progressively losing their eyesight. As the Telegraph reported, “The pair told doctors that they w

Western Christians celebrated Pentecost last Sunday, while Eastern Christians look ahead to Pentecost in late June. It’s the season of the Spirit, a time to muse on the politics of Pentecost. When Israel’s prophets predict the future coming of the Spirit,

In a short piece for The New Republic, Noreen Malone examines the most frequently highlighted phrases from books available on the Kindle for what they tell us about the contemporary mind. These include passages from books like The Hunger Games, Pride and Prej

On May 25, a mere twenty years after his murder, the Italian Catholic priest Don Giuseppe “Pino” Puglisi will be beatified. A figure much beloved in Sicily, Puglisi will be the first victim of the mafia to be declared a blessed by the Catholic Church. Puglisi

Oh, the things we endure for the sake of familial love: a snoring spouse, the clutter of children, an opinionated sister-in-law, and graduation ceremonies. Graduation exercises are a lot of things, but mostly they are boring. I challenge anyone who has eve

Emily Witt’s report on her experience of the San Francisco BDSM scene in the latest issue of n+1 provokes not only for its graphic descriptions, but also for the questions it raises about life’s meaning. The piece contrasts that radical environment with Witt’

With his new book, American Church: The Remarkable Rise, Meteoric Fall, and Uncertain Future of Catholicism in America, mild-mannered Russell Shaw has become the bull in the china shop of U.S. Catholic history, knocking heroes off pedestals and overturning co

The distinguished architectural historian Henry Hope Reed died May 1 at age ninety-seven. More than any cultural figure of his generation, Reed perpetuated an awareness of the classical tradition’s enduring role as the indispensable means for improving the hu

Writing for The Atlantic in September of 2012, Hanna Rosin argued that the “hookup culture” so prevalent on college campuses and in the lives of young adults is “an engine of female progress—one being harnessed and driven by women themselves.” She wrote: T

The popularity of the History Channel’s The Bible shows that Americans still yearn for inspiration from the Greatest Story Ever Told. For all of its positive power, however, The Bible may inadvertently perpetuate negative images of Jews and Judaism.  For c

From the French Revolution onward we’ve entertained dreams of a single, profound, and decisive moment that will transform society, or even human nature itself. Marxism provides an obvious example, as does Hitler’s National Socialism and its promise of a New M

President Obama tells NBC he hopes his trip to Cairo and the Middle East will create "constructive" discussions with Muslims. (Via: RealClearPolitics)

From the Washington Post: A diverse coalition of more than 100 clergy gathered in a Southeast Washington church yesterday to show their support for same-sex marriages in the District. "We declare that our faith calls us to affirm marriage equality for loving

From the Baptist Press: Oklahoma Democratic Gov. Brad Henry has signed into law bills banning sex-selection abortions and human cloning. The sex-selection prohibition also requires doctors to report to the state the reasons women choose abortion and complicat

From Christianity Today: As churches and religious groups eye President Obama's Supreme Court pick, U.S. Circuit Judge Sonia Sotomayor, they will likely take keen interest in her religious freedom cases. During her career, Sotomayor has written several deci

From the AP: A Hispanic Roman Catholic theologian who was an adviser to Barack Obama's presidential campaign will be nominated to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, the White House announced Wednesday. Miguel H. Diaz, 45, an associate professo

From LifeNew.com: The Caritas Catholic health care system faces continued criticism over a health insurance bid that will result in it making abortion referrals. Massachusetts state officials awarded the bid, which has Caritas Christi Health Care joining with

From the Washington Post: President Obama vowed last week to rein in the use of a legal privilege that allows the administration to discard lawsuits that involve "state secrets," promising that a new policy is in the works that will quell criticism by civil li

From the L.A. Times: Reporting from Washington -- President Obama will nominate federal judge Sonia Sotomayor of New York to the U.S. Supreme Court today, according to White House sources, positioning the longtime federal jurist to become the first Latino memb

From the Washington Post: Liberty University will no longer recognize its campus Democratic club because, officials say, the national party's platform goes against the conservative Christian school's moral principles. Officials at the private Lynchburg school

From USA Today: Most mainline Protestant clergy do not support legalizing gay marriage, even if they're not required to officiate at same-sex ceremonies. It was the only point on which the majority did not support gay rights, according to a survey of clergy f

R.R. Reno interviews Archbishop Charles J. Chaput about his “A Charitable Endeavor” which appeared in the November 2009 issue.

R.R. Reno interviews Maura about her article “Gambling With Lives” which appeared in the November 2009 issue.

R.R. Reno interviews Mary Eberstadt about her article “What Does Woman Want?” which appeared in the October 2009 issue.

R.R. Reno interviews Alan Jacobs about his article “Beyond the Wild Wood” which appeared in the October 2009 issue.

R.R. Reno interviews Reuven Brenner about his article “The Rule of Law and the Wealth of Nations” which appeared in the August/September 2009 issue.

R.R. Reno interviews Hadley Arkes about his article “Empathy & Apathy,” which appeared in the Aug/Sept 2009 issue.

R.R. Reno interviews Mary Eberstadt about her article “Pro-Animal, Pro-Life” which appeared in the June/July 2009 issue.

R.R. Reno interviews Joseph Bottum on his article “Of Second Things—And First Things,” which appeared in the May 2009 issue.

R.R. Reno interviews First Things’ new associate editor David Goldman on his article “Demographics & Depression,” which appeared in the May 2009 issue.

R. R. Reno interviews Gary Anderson on his article “Faith & Finance,” which appeared in the May 2009 issue.