Sudan largely dropped out of the news after the secession of South Sudan. Independence for South Sudan came on the heels of reduced conflict in Darfur and, earlier, the inward turn of the Islamist Al-Ingaz (or “Salvation”) regime. These events seemed to portend a turn for the better in Sudan. . . . . Continue Reading »
The Church of Antioch, a traditional bridge between cultures and nations, refuses to attend the Holy and Great Council—and not just because it objects to the council documents. Antioch is seeking to defend its territorial integrity against militant Islam and incursions by a sister church.
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If the sincere exchange of vows doesn’t make their marriage valid, what does? Must all sacramentally valid marriages resemble my friends', beginning only after a few years of theological study, during a Mass set to music by Mozart? Continue Reading »
Eastern Orthodoxy's first ecumenical council in over a millennium is at risk of being derailed at the last minute. Catholics may find some of the issues rather familiar. Continue Reading »
You may have read Randy Boyagoda’s fine biography of Richard John Neuhaus, our fearless founder. You may know that First Things was begun in 1990 to explore questions of religion and society in the English-speaking world, and that the print journal comes out ten times a year. You might even have . . . . Continue Reading »
The Seer opens with a blur of urban lights and longings: the faster freeway, the taller building, the machines that become the objects of our affections. Over this, the film’s subject, in his distinctive timbre, laments the pursuit of “the objective.” These opening three minutes culminate in . . . . Continue Reading »
On Tuesday, Fr. James Martin, the Jesuit journalist and editor-at-large of America, posted a video on Facebook about the recent massacre in Orlando. In his video, Fr. Martin expresses his dismay over the responses of the American Catholic bishops, not because the bishops failed to express sorrow, outrage, and solidarity with those suffering, but because they did not direct their condolences explicitly to the LGBT community.Continue Reading »
There are two groups of people who say that religious people are obliged to hate and kill gays: salafists and secular liberals. Neither recognizes the possibility of a faith premised on the love of sinners. Continue Reading »