Solidarity and Dynamism

by Filip Mazurczak

Solidarity showed the world the link between the Polish nation and Catholicism. However, few outside Poland know the history of this bond. Continue Reading »

28 Nov 2016

Gloucester Fisherman, American Veteran, Polish Benefactor

by George Weigel

The remarkable, wonderful story of Curtis Dagley and the Poles who remembered him with gratitude seventy years later is a poignant reminder of real American greatness. Continue Reading »

16 Nov 2016

Sins of Their Fathers

by Alexi Sargeant

A new film, The Innocents, tells a moving story of healing and grace without downplaying the grief and trauma that preceded them. And it does this while addressing a moral blind spot of our popular culture. Continue Reading »

12 Jul 2016

Kraków's Geography of Sanctity

by George Weigel

In a recent book, The Geo­graphy of Genius, Eric Weiner sets out on what he calls “a search for the world’s most creative places, from ancient Athens to Silicon Valley.” Change the term “most creative places” to “places that embody a civilization-building accomplishment,” or “places . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jun 2016

The War According to Isaac Babel

by Nirmal Dass

Isaac Babel’s Red Cavalry, now granted an afterlife in Boris Dralyuk’s lyrical and fluid translation, consists of thirty-five episodic stories about the Soviet First Cavalry Army.

29 Dec 2015

European Reconciliation

by Filip Mazurczak

Currently, visitors to the Vatican Museums in Rome have the opportunity to visit an exhibition devoted to Cardinal Bolesław Kominek (1903-1974), aptly titled “Europe’s Forgotten Founding Father.” The author of the “Pastoral Letter of the Polish Bishops to Their German Brothers,” sent . . . . Continue Reading »

18 Nov 2015

Lessons in Statecraft

by George Weigel

When the Catholic Church celebrated the canonizations of Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII on April 27, 2014, the Church was not “making saints,” and neither was Pope Francis. Rather, the Church and the pope were recognizing two saints that God had made, publicly declaring its conviction . . . . Continue Reading »

1 May 2015

On Not Accepting the Tyranny of the Possible

by David T. Koyzis

John Paul II firmly believed that we need fear only thoughtlessness and lack of courage. Just as Czechs and Slovaks maintained patience in the face of tyranny for four decades, we ourselves have reason to expect that current trends, however disheartening in the short term, will not endure forever. Continue Reading »

18 Mar 2015

The Statute of Kalisz’s Great Legacy

by Filip Mazurczak

During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, Christian rulers across Europe east and west persecuted and expelled Jews. While the papacy had denounced blood libel rumors, Christians from England to Crimea abused their Jewish neighbors, sometimes blaming them for the Black Death. In 1215, the Catholic Church decreed in the Fourth Lateran Council that Jews were to wear special clothing distinguishing them from Gentiles, and were to be segregated in ghettoes. In 1492, Queen Isabella the Catholic of Castile expelled the Jews from Spain. Seven hundred and fifty years ago today, the duke of Greater Poland, Boleslaw the Pious, issued one of the great exceptions to this pattern of persecution: the Statute of Kalisz. Continue Reading »

8 Sep 2014

The Solidarity Difference

by George Weigel

Thirty years ago, on Aug. 31, 1980, an electrician named Lech Walesa signed the Gdansk Accords, ending a two-week-old strike at that Hanseatic city’s Lenin Shipyards. Walesa signed with a giant souvenir pen featuring a portrait of Pope John Paul II… . Continue Reading »

1 Sep 2010