Does Liberal Catholicism
Have a Future?

by The Editors

Plus: Pokémon Go and American Insecurity. First Things Podcast, Episode 2. Continue Reading »

22 Jul 2016 0

Pope Francis in Armenia

by Mark Movsesian

Last weekend, Pope Francis made an apostolic journey to Armenia, a small, landlocked country of three million in the South Caucasus, bordering Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. The official motto of his journey was “Visit to the First Christian Nation,” a reference to Armenia’s being the . . . . Continue Reading »

29 Jun 2016 0

Francis's Improv Theology

by R. R. Reno

Francis reminds us that the Eucharist is not “a prize for the perfect.” But marriage, apparently, is. Continue Reading »

17 Jun 2016 0

Can Only Theologians Get Married?

by Matthew Schmitz

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 »

17 Jun 2016 0

Marriage is Not a Social Convention

by Nathaniel Peters

In a Web Exclusive article today, I elaborate problems that I see in Amoris Laetitia. Here on First Thoughts, I want to discuss the parts of Amoris Laetitia that are especially helpful for an engaged couple. The document offers an excellent diagnosis of why marriage can be difficult in our time: . . . . Continue Reading »

29 Apr 2016 0

The Patriarch, the Pope, and the Refugee Crisis

by John Chryssavgis

The significance of the joint visit to the island of Lesbos, Greece, on Saturday, April 16, 2016, by the leaders of the Christian Churches of the East and West cannot be understated. And its impact on the refugee crisis—in addition to its spiritual and symbolical dimensions, as well as its . . . . Continue Reading »

25 Apr 2016 0

Jesuits Respond to R. R. Reno

by Vincent L. Strand and Sam Zeno Conedera

Dear Dr. Reno: Your First Things article “A Stubborn Givenness” (April 12, 2016) sought to explain Pope Francis and Amoris Laetitia in terms of his being a Jesuit, following the trajectory you began in the article “Francis, Our Jesuit Pope” (September 23, 2013). “Stubborn,” in a more . . . . Continue Reading »

22 Apr 2016 0

What We've Been Reading—2.26.16

by 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 »

26 Feb 2016 0

Pope Francis and the Two Cities

by Joshua Evans

For a class on Catholic Social Teaching this past fall, I assigned my college students Robert Hugh Benson's dystopian novel Lord of the World. I thought the book would pair well with our extensive studies of the thought of Pope Francis, in part because Francis has conspicuously mentioned Benson’s . . . . Continue Reading »

9 Feb 2016 0

Pope Francis, Yves Congar, & True Reform

by A. Joshua Vargas

Austen Ivereigh describes Pope Francis' various reforms in light of the work of Dominican theologian Yves Congar and his influence on the Holy Father's thought. According to Ivereigh, Congar had a decisive impact on Pope Francis, specifically in his views on church reform as delineated in his 1950 . . . . Continue Reading »

3 Nov 2015 0