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Lonely Men of Faith

Some Christians regard the thought of Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik as so anti-Christian that Christians should take no interest in it—as, indeed, many of Soloveitchik’s disciples take no interest in Christian thought. This is unfortunate. As Matthew Rose demonstrated recently in these pages . . . . Continue Reading »

Angelic Seeing

These reflections, gentle but piercing in their spiritual psychology, were originally given as an Easter retreat for the Community of the Holy Cross, an Anglican Benedictine convent, in 2018. With typical deftness, Rowan Williams both channels the insights of the Desert Fathers and quietly . . . . Continue Reading »

Faithful and Invisible

On December 18, 2023, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued the declaration Fiducia Supplicans, which granted permission for Catholic priests to bestow blessings upon couples in “irregular situations” and same-sex couples. Discussions surrounding the meaning and implications of . . . . Continue Reading »

Criminal Omissions

Matthew Martens, a career attorney and an evangelical, believes that criminal justice needs a new ethic, specifically, a Christian one. Drawing on a range of theological and biblical texts, he argues that we should “conform such a system to Scripture”—that is, to “Christ’s love for . . . . Continue Reading »

Letters

Matthew Schmitz aptly describes “Biden’s Collegiate Catholicism” (April 2024) in two senses. First, Biden’s agenda takes its ideological cues from, and serves the class interests of, the “most formidable redoubts of Democratic power”: the universities. Second, Biden’s politics embody . . . . Continue Reading »

Boundaries of Belief

The development of doctrine is a notion more frequently invoked than understood. When, as is too often done, a novelty or even a reversal of traditional Christian teaching is proposed as a “development,” the term is being abused. Indeed, it is being deployed to denote precisely the opposite of . . . . Continue Reading »

Coming and Going

Disappearance is usually felt as something bad. When things disappear, we sense the pull of death, the call of the dust, the loss of the palpable good. I have recently been moving house after many years in one place, with all its accumulations. Things, often intimate things, are left behind, given . . . . Continue Reading »

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