Richard John Neuhaus

In 1967 the great Methodist theologian Paul Ramsey published a book with the above question as its title. It was an incisive critique of aberrations in the ecumenical movement and of the World Council of Churches in particular. Ramsey was fond of observing, with his usual wry grin, that it was an . . . . Continue Reading »

The following homily was delivered by Fr. Neuhaus at the annual Memorial Mass of the Military Vicariate at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., on the Feast of the Ascension, 2007. The Scripture texts just read are for this day, the Feast of the Ascension of Our . . . . Continue Reading »

I returned last Tuesday from a week in Rome, which is always an instructive, and frequently an edifying, experience. From numerous conversations over leisurely meals with Vatican officials, one gets the impression of quiet satisfaction with the pontificate of Benedict XVI after the first two years. . . . . Continue Reading »

The Public Square Yes, I know. I had promised a commentary on Sacramentum Caritatis, Pope Benedict’s apostolic exhortation based on the 2005 synod of bishops on the Eucharist. His exhortation was issued in March, and the reason I have been putting off this reflection is that we have all been . . . . Continue Reading »

Rudy Giuliani and abortion? No big deal. As he told the folks in Iowa, we have to "get beyond" those divisive questions. The Wall Street Journal recently echoed that line of argument , so to speak. It’s not as though abortion matters the way that, for instance, corporate tax rates . . . . Continue Reading »

Of course, the literal meaning of potpourri is "rotten pot," but it has come to refer to a miscellany of flowers, foods, or ideas. In this miscellany, the first item is definitely not the most important. But we’ll take things as they’ve been plopped into the pot. There was a . . . . Continue Reading »

Aside from his inability, or unwillingness, to recognize that the denial of legal protection to human beings because of their age, size, dependency, or location (for example, in the womb) undercuts the foundation of human rights and the liberal democracy erected on that foundation, William Saletan, . . . . Continue Reading »

Philip Jenkins begs to differ. But first a word on the discussion that prompts his dissent. Over the years, First Things has devoted substantial attention to the thesis that Europe is a dying continent. In the fine phrase of David Hart, Europe is dying of “metaphysical boredom.” We were . . . . Continue Reading »

The Public Square The argument advanced by Zev Chafets—with an engaging mix of urgency, frustration, and humor both high and low—is really quite simple: American evangelicals are, next to American Jews, Israel’s best friends, and American Jews are monumentally dumb in not appreciating that . . . . Continue Reading »

Herewith a couple of items from a forthcoming installment of "The Public Square" in First Things , plus Mark Sargent’s important article on the distortion of the quest for justice. Odium theologicum ¯the ill-feeling and nasty polemics to which theological controversy can give . . . . Continue Reading »