Editors

Not enough has been said about how Pope Francis—a man of strong intuitions and vivid language—lives in and has been formed by literature. He regularly cites and recommends imaginative works like José Hernández’s Martín Fierro, Robert Hugh Benson’s Lord of the World, and Alessandro Manzoni’s The Betrothed. And he thinks by their patterns. Whereas Benedict strove for a concise, clear scholarly expression, Francis seeks the striking images and strong characterizations of the storyteller. Over here are the good guys, over there the bad. Continue Reading »

My Friend, the Former Muslim Extremist
Nicholas Kristof, New York Times

If You Don't Honor Chastity...
Eve Tushnet, Patheos

Francis, Contraception, and the Zika Virus
Fr. Timothy V. Vaverek, Catholic Thing

Heroic Failure and the British
Bernard Porter, Guardian

Escaping the Amish for a Connected World
Olga Khazan, Atlantic

Christ Tears Off Our Scales: Aslan, Eustace, and the Pain of Confession
Fr. David Poecking, Ethika Politica

Harper Lee: Last of the Literary Recluses
Julia Dent, Acculturated

The Desert Fathers
Mallory Ortberg, Toast

From the Art of the Beautiful lecture series, to summer seminars organized by the Elm Institute, we've got you covered for events coming up in NYC and beyond.

From the Art of the Beautiful lecture series, to summer seminars organized by the Elm Institute, we've got you covered for events coming up in NYC and beyond.

What Donald Trump and Pope Francis Actually Have in Common
Matthew Schmitz, Washington Post

Lent for Overachievers
Leah Libresco, Aleteia

What Conservative Gay Christians Want
Dan Hitchens, Spectator

Marx vs. Faith on ‘The Americans'
Matthew Schmitz, Acculturated

Finding Jesus at Work
Emma Green, Atlantic

Miss Marple and the Problem of Modern Identity
Alan Jacobs, New Atlantis

Is a Surrogate a Mother?
Michelle Goldberg, Slate

A Social Conservative Case Against Trump
Rod Dreher, American Conservative

Fewer Asians Need Apply: Discrimination in College Admissions
Dennis Saffran, City Jounral

Francesca Murphy On the night after the actor Alan Rickman died, I watched the version of Sense and Sensibility in which he plays Colonel Brandon. What a beautiful movie, and what a wonderful performance he gives. Since then I have been reading Sense and Senibility on my kindle. Jane Austen was . . . . Continue Reading »

Interceding Discreetly
Br. Barnabas McHenry, O. P. , Dominicana

Take a Look at the Mental Junk Food Colleges Assign Students
Peter W. Wood, Federalist

Persisting in Prayer with the Caritas Podcast
Leah Libresco, Patheos

On the Right to the Most Ideal Life Possible
Melinda Selmys, Aleteia

My Secret Life as a Forbidden Second Child in China
Karoline Kan, Foreign Policy

The Little Sisters of the Poor on Why They Can't “Just Sign the Form”
Sister Constance Veit, L. S. P., Catholic Review

We Are Hopelessly Hooked
Jacob Weisberg, New York Review of Books

Nicholas Sparks and the Evils of Banality
Heather Havrilesky, Book Forum

Whatever it Takes to Make Lent Hardcore
Melinda Selmys, Patheos

Cover Story: The Headscarf, Modern Turkey, and Me
Elif Batuman, New Yorker

A Conversation with Rowan Williams
John F. Deane, Image

A Pope, a Patriarch, and Great Expectations in Cuba
Ivan Plis, National Interest

Debased Coynage
Edward Feser, Edward Feser

The Psychologists Take Power
Tamsin Shaw, New York Review of Books

To Hell With Hope
Fr. Chase Pepper, C.S.C., Holy Cross Vocations

Chess is not a Sport but a Game. So What's the Difference?
David Papineau, Aeon

Dying Together
Clare Coffey, American Conservative

Meet the Cardinal who Recharges for Battle by Fasting from Food and Water
Jack Carrigan, Catholic Herald

Paradise Now: The Story of American Utopianism
Kirk Davis Swinehart, New York Times

Can Catholics Vote for a Socialist?
P. J. Smith, Semiduplex

Why Are So Many Newborns Still Being Denied Pain Relief?
George Dvorsky, Gizmodo

Liberalism and the Collapse of the University
Elliot Milco, Paraphasic

What Makes Great Detective Fiction, According to T. S. Eliot?
Paul Grimstad, New Yorker

We Have Seen His Glory: A Response to A Certain Philosophical Rejection of the Christian Faith
Edmund Waldstein, O. Cist., Sancrucensis

Coco Chanel had no precedent in fashion. Her forerunners were the saints who denounced society and attacked the flesh. In her unrelenting seriousness, her allergy to frivolity, her “puritanical blacks” (as she called them), we recognize the Calvin who conquered Paris. The most precious relics this dubious saint left behind are handbags, dresses, and jewelry. More affordable—and only slightly less compelling—is Paul Morand’s The Allure of Chanel.