William Doino Jr.

Ireland’s recent decision to approve same-sex marriage, by popular referendum, has left the country’s Catholic reputation in ruins.Of course, this shift didn’t come about overnight—secularization has been in the works for some time—but the vote reinforces the feeling of a dramatic break with Ireland’s Catholic heritage, and a step into an uncertain future. Continue Reading »

St. Anthony of Padua, follower of St. Francis, was a renowned preacher, scripture scholar, and legendary miracle-worker. He is the saint we pray to whenever valuables are misplaced. Exploring the full life of St. Anthony, however, introduces us to a man seldom known. Continue Reading »

The pagan temptation,” as the philosopher Thomas Molnar described it, is hardly new—the Church has been fighting paganism since the time of Christ—but what is new is its aggressive resurgence, its seduction of so many Christians, and the warnings Pope Francis has issued against it.The Pope’s scorching words against paganism have not been well-received by many, but Francis has gone right on assailing it, particularly in areas that pagans care about most: the environment and sex.Francis has been a bold and eloquent defender of the environment, and understands that protecting the environment is not a recent fad, but a long-standing Catholic principle, highlighted by many of Francis’s predecessors. Continue Reading »

The Vatican’s recent announcement that Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Robert Finn, of the diocese of Kansas City–St. Joseph, has given relief and new hope to victims of sexual abuse in the Church. Technically, the Pope didn’t directly “remove” Finn, as the media has . . . . Continue Reading »

When British historian Martin Gilbert died earlier this year at the age of seventy-eight, the world lost one of its leading scholars and a man of exceptional integrity. Best known as the official biographer of Sir Winston Churchill, Gilbert wrote almost ninety books and became a renowned authority on the Second World War and the Holocaust. Beyond his extensive writings, he also found time to teach, lecture, advise governments, and champion human rights. Continue Reading »

The outcry against Francis’s appointment of Chilean Bishop Juan Barros, who was long associated with a child abusing priest-to the Diocese of Osorno, has placed the pope’s “zero tolerance” policy against sexual abuse into question.As Pope, Francis has taken many decisive actions against sexual abuse. He created a special Vatican Commission to combat it, in all its forms, and soon thereafter met with a group of victims, expressing his pain over their suffering: Continue Reading »

In his insightful new biography, Richard John Neuhaus: A Life in the Public Square, Randy Boyagoda recounts the extraordinary journey of the man who many believe was “the most consequential public theologian in America since the days of Reinhold Niebuhr and John Courtney Murray.” Born . . . . Continue Reading »

Of all people to present “The Sound of Music,” Lady Gaga, affectionately nicknamed “Mother Monster”­—and best known for her rebellious anthems and provocative attire—is surely one of the most unexpected. Yet, present she did, as onlookers held their breath. Continue Reading »

While Dr. Alice von Hildebrand is best known for promoting the work of her late husband, Dietrich—the eminent anti-Nazi philosopher who barely escaped death under Hitler—her personal story, as revealed in a new autobiography, Memoirs of a Happy Failure, is very powerful in itself. Continue Reading »

When Fr. Richard McBrien—author of twenty-five books, syndicated columnist, and previous chairman of the theology department at Notre Dame—died last month after a long illness, the Catholic world lost one of its best-known scholars and commentators. Continue Reading »