R. R. Reno

Over the years I’ve come to realize that “relativism” is the wrong way to describe the way in which secular elite culture approaches moral questions. It’s obvious that all things are not permitted, which is why Pope Benedict coined the term “dictatorship of . . . . Continue Reading »

A friend was talking to me recently. He observed that the post-election drama in Washington seems to be about more than taxes and spending. Everybody seems to feel that the stakes are high, and two visions of the future of America are being contested. “It’s . . . . Continue Reading »

Sometimes Christmas can seem a long way off, even when it’s close. So it was for me when I went to a funeral last Saturday at St. Thomas Episcopal Church on Fifth Avenue. The music was beautiful”a requiem setting by Gabriel Fauré. And the church was warmly populated. That happens when you die in your fifties, a season of life when the living still outnumber the dead… . Continue Reading »

With year’s end drawing near the editors of the Wall Street Journal ‘s weekend review section asked fifty “friends” to tell us their favorite books of 2012 . We hear from TV personalities, businessmen, writers, politicians, a college president, two baseball managers, three . . . . Continue Reading »

How do we deal with unsustainable spending and borrowing? The formula is simple: less spending”or more accurately less rapid increases in spending”and more revenue. But can we generate more revenue without suppressing economic growth, which is after all what will allow us to pay for government over the long term? … Continue Reading »

The Tablet is conducting an online survey to find out what people think of the new translation on the Mass after a full year of its use. Log on and let them know what you think. . . . . Continue Reading »

A recent report from the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life tells us that 20 percent of Americans now check “none” when asked about their religious affiliation. A strikingly unified and compact group, they populate the irreligious left. Many are fed up with religion’s . . . . Continue Reading »

David Blankenhorn and I have had a useful exchange. In his last posting he questioned my argument that judging homosexual acts wrong isn’t akin to the racist view that skin color makes someone inferior : I’m sure that Rusty Reno knows as well as anyone that almost no gay people . . . . Continue Reading »

Where’s the best place to do graduate study in theology? I’ve done some rankings in the past, first in 2006 and then again in 2009. A longer ranking with a more developed rationale appeared in the pages of First Things in 2010. Some friends prodded me recently: have I changed my mind? Yes and No. My criteria are as follows … Continue Reading »

A few days ago I wrote a sharply worded attack on Ken Mehlman’s argument that supporting gay marriage is the properly “conservative” position. David Blankenhorn offered some thoughtful reflections about what’s at stake for me (and others). He raises a key question. Can those of us who . . . . Continue Reading »