There’s a lot for U.S. Catholics to be thankful for at Thanksgiving 2013: seminaries that have turned the corner from the doldrums of the immediate past and are now full, or getting close; a reform of the liturgical reform that is bringing a new sense of the sacred back to Catholic worship; a pope who’s put a new face on the Church while holding fast to the Church’s settled teaching; the finest multimedia exposition of Catholic faith ever produced, Fr. Robert Barron’s “Catholicism” series; strong leadership from our bishops in meeting challenges to religious freedom and moral reality; a burgeoning men’s movement that draws thousands to witness for Christ; a new feminism that rejects a unisex approach to life and that is robustly pro-life. . . . Continue Reading»
As the President prepares to pardon the White House’s Thanksgiving turkeys, it’s worth looking back to our colonial roots to ask what role mercy should play in criminal justice. When we look back at colonial-era punishments, we think of them as promiscuously bloody, far too quick to execute. But while there were many more capital crimes than today, colonial American criminal codes were much less bloody than England’s and gave much more room for mercy than do today’s… . Continue Reading»
Economists with the National Bureau of Economic Research released a working paper in 2009 on global poverty concluding that the world had seen a significant decrease in extreme poverty—defined at the time as living on $1 or less per day—between 1970 and 2006. While even a significant decrease in extreme poverty still leaves much room for additional gains, the decrease in rates of extreme poverty during this period of time is stunning. . . . Continue Reading»
Samuel D. Rocha does not just think outside the box. When it comes to education, his thought is downright otherworldly. A Primer for Philosophy and Education, his brief introduction to the philosophy of education, is proof that educational heresy is what you get when you begin with theological orthodoxy… . Continue Reading»
’Tis the season to be jolly. ’Tis also the season for me to ask for your financial support! Our mission is important. Our need is great. First Things magazine and firstthings.com are published by the Institute on Religion and Public Life, a 503(c)(b) non-profit that depends on people like you for donations… . Continue Reading»
When Pope Francis spoke about women in the Church in his now-famous press conference on his flight back from Brazil, he set off reverberations still being felt. “The Church is feminine,” he declared… . Continue Reading»
In those early days, before everyone was online, you chatted with whom you could. It was 1997, and I convinced my parents to hand over their credit card and installed AOL 3.0. It revolutionized my social life. It gave me a facsimile of one. The robotic sounds of our 28k modem connecting to the Internet were, to my young mind, the sounds of possibility. . . . Continue Reading»
A few weeks ago at the Huffington Post, Bruce Chilton of Bard College traced the rise of American Premillennialism, the view that Jesus will return to reign on earth for a thousand years. Chilton concluded that “readings of the Apocalypse that predict millennial catastrophe” produced a “counter-reaction” from secularists and mainline Christians who ignore the Revelation of John entirely. . . . Continue Reading»
Once I served a parish where we had enough guys swept up in ancient astronaut fantasies to have started our own MUFON chapter. I enjoyed things from the fringe, but one guy in particular was a true believer, if not a proselytizer: UFOs are real; there is every reason to accept the ancient astronaut “theory” and, importantly, no reason not to; the universe is simply brimming with intelligent life. He was a fellow Trekkie so I did try to go easy on him . . . Continue Reading»
For over seven hundred years, Anglo-American law has condemned suicide. Self-murder was a felony under common law; but, since the dead person was beyond penalty, his property was forfeited as a deterrent to others. Recognizing the harm this caused the innocent family, English and American law gradually decriminalized suicide. By 1997, when the Court rejected the claim that physician assisted suicide was a constitutional right, the vast majority of states had made it criminal. Nevertheless, assisted suicide has recently become acceptable… . Continue Reading»
