Burying Benedict
by Matthew SchmitzThough Benedict is still living, Francis is trying to bury him. Continue Reading »
Though Benedict is still living, Francis is trying to bury him. Continue Reading »
The real problem with the Argentine norms is their deviation from this larger and more fundamental principle: that grace truly sanctifies and liberates, and that baptized Christians are always free to fulfill the moral law, even when they fail to do so. Jesus Christ holds us to this standard in the Gospel. It is presumptuous of Francis—however benign his intentions—to decide that his version of “mercy” trumps that given by God himself. Continue Reading »
Any major American newspaper would immediately fire a reporter who was caught using composite characters or inventing quotations for his stories. Hollywood naturally plays by different rules. A film “based on” a true story is considered acceptable; “recreated” dialogue is the norm. We expect . . . . Continue Reading »
My children shower me with affection, so I have no real reason to go fishing for more love. But I do it anyway. The problem is, when I ask if they love Mommy or Daddy more, they always insist that they love us equally. Sometimes I load the question the way political pollsters do: “Daddy has been . . . . Continue Reading »
I am seeking contributions for an anthology by Catholics who have continued to practice their faith despite mistreatment by their churches or by Catholic communities or institutions. We hear a lot about what it feels like to leave a church after mistreatment, and we hear some things about what . . . . Continue Reading »
Sitting at a high-top table in Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, just a few blocks away from Pope Francis and the World Meeting of Families, a young priest friend leaned in and asked me what I wish had been different about my marriage prep. “Having been through it recently, what would you . . . . Continue Reading »
In 2003, Elizabeth Maguire, publisher of Basic Books, made a proposal: I should write Letters to a Young Catholic as part of a series she was doing that included volumes like Letters to a Young Contrarian, Letters to a Young Chef, Letters to a Young Golfer, Letters to a Young Lawyer, and so forth. . . . . Continue Reading »
Contesting Catholicity: Theology for Other Baptists by curtis w. freeman baylor, 478 pages, $49.95 When I’m in a gloomy mood, sometimes I’d like to be a Baptist. Instead of all the venal bishops, political synods, and ignorant commissions, I’d have some controllable integrity to my church . . . . Continue Reading »
I first read Jaroslav Pelikan’s The Riddle of Roman Catholicism: Its History, Its Beliefs, Its Future (1959) while doing my pastoral residency in Detroit, 1978–79. I just finished it for the second time. It is still a book with value. Pelikan says one thing in particular that struck me: Any . . . . Continue Reading »
Two recent interviews in the National Catholic Register suggest that there’s considerable confusion about what’s what in Ukraine. Continue Reading »
Subscribe
Latest Issue
Support First Things