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Troubled American Teen Girls Mar Women's Progress

Posted: Sunday, November 30, 2008

Father Christian Troll, a German Jesuit, is one of the Catholic Church's leading students of Islam and a key figure in the Catholic-Islamic dialogue launched by Pope Benedict XVI's September

Posted: Friday, November 21, 2008

As headlines about shattered ceilings have become ubiquitous, so have reports about the dangerous and self-destructive tendencies of the next generation of women. It seems that while American women

The Two Americas

No mandate for cultural revolution

Posted: Friday, November 21, 2008

By the dawn's early light on Nov. 5, two distinct Americas hove into view. The two Americas are not defined by conventional economic, ethnic or religious categories. No, what this year's

Obama Victory

The Christian Story and the World's Story

Posted: Friday, November 14, 2008

It is often said that America is a center-right country when it comes to social issues. But after Sen. Barack Obama's impressive electoral victory, some pundits say we are witnessing a

Praying for Those to Be Elected

Posted: Thursday, November 13, 2008

It is no easy business, getting two millennia of Christian history into 283 readable pages. But Professor Robert Bruce Mullin in A Short World History of Christianity has done the job, in a

October

Obama's Soak-the-Rich Rhetoric Requires Scrutiny

Posted: Friday, October 31, 2008

With the end of this interminable electoral cycle in sight, let me suggest that it's time to pray: to pray for the candidates, because whoever is inaugurated on January 20, 2009, is facing a

CAMPAIGN 2008: Electing Our King

Posted: Friday, October 31, 2008

Obama's campaign has managed to dodge tough questions about his economic philosophy. Those questions increasingly dog undecided voters and supporters who warmed early to Obama's

The truth lies in his record.

Posted: Thursday, October 30, 2008

For the first century and a half of our national life, the balance of power and influence shifted between president and Congress; the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War brought us to

Obama and Abortion

Why pro-life pro-Obama Catholic intellectuals are wrong.

Posted: Friday, October 24, 2008

Among Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's many political talents is his ability to recalibrate his message to the tastes of different audiences. This gift for niche-messaging sometimes gets him into

Flawed Thinking

CAMPAIGN 2008: Life in These United States

Posted: Wednesday, October 22, 2008

I take it as an iron law of controversy that when three tenured law professors like Nick Cafardi, Cathy Kaveny, and Doug Kmiec fret in print about "intellectual siren calls" and

Posted: Wednesday, October 22, 2008

According to the conventional wisdom, American elections are usually determined by pocketbook economic issues. Catholics seeking to bring themes from the Church's social doctrine into American

In Tough Times, Americans Rediscover a Forgotten Virtue

September

CAMPAIGN 2008: America and the World

Posted: Friday, September 26, 2008

Reeling from high gas prices, home foreclosures and plans for a taxpayer-financed $700-billion bailout of faltering financial institutions, many of us are chafing at the thrift that has been thrust

CAMPAIGN 2008: The Life Issues

Posted: Thursday, September 25, 2008

According to the mid-summer polls, Americans are primarily concerned about the U.S. economy as the country enters the last lap of the 2008 election cycle. No visitor to the gas pumps, and no

TRANSCRIPT: A Blessing to One Another

Posted: Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Thirty-five years after Roe v. Wade struck down the abortion law of all 50 states, the life issues remain the most sharply contested in American public life. They are also signature issues

John Paul II and the Jewish People

The Not-So-Inscrutable Reasons Behind the Sarah Surge

Posted: Monday, September 15, 2008

On March 26, 2000, an eighty year old Polish priest, dressed in the traditional white cassock of the Bishop of Rome and leaning heavily on a cane, walking eighty-six slow and difficult steps to the

How "alt." Lost the Kingdom -- and Why It Matters

Posted: Friday, September 12, 2008

Sarah Palin's feisty presence in the race has reinvigorated millions of Americans who felt like outsiders in our stage-managed political process but now are enthused about a candidate who

Posted: Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Back in the day, before the parish repertoire was expanded to accommodate the hymn sandwich (the "opening hymn" and "closing hymn"), the "offertory hymn," and the

Religion's Essential Contribution to Public Life

August

CAMPAIGN 2008: Would President Obama Be Good For Black America?

Posted: Friday, August 29, 2008

Should religion steer clear of politics? If media commentaries about last week's Pew Research Center poll on the subject are any indication, the answer from Americans is yes. The finding has

CAMPAIGN 2008: Jaw, Jaw, War, War

Posted: Thursday, August 28, 2008

When I was a teenager, my formative, if largely vicarious, political experience was the civil rights movement. It was a time of great issues bravely contested, a moment replete with heroes and

The Democrats and the Abortion Wars

Posted: Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Winston Churchill, master of eloquent bellicosity, is also remembered for saying that "'Jaw, jaw' is better than 'war, war.'" As a general matter, who could disagree? If

Are Obama and Pelosi dodging the life-and-death question?

McCain's Clarity Trumps Obama's Dexterity

Posted: Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Throughout this lengthy campaign, the Democratic Party has worked hard to present itself as the party of intellect, competence and moral seriousness. Yet it's off to a very rocky start in

Serious Catholicism For a Serious Election

Posted: Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Hosted by bestselling author and evangelical pastor Rick Warren, the nationally televised Saddleback Civil Forum featured separate, hour-long interviews with the two presidential candidates. It was

Posted: Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Archbishop Chaput is a pastor, first and foremost; his new book, Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life, is a pastor's book. It's

Converting England -- and Us

July

Christianity and Democracy, War and Peace

Posted: Wednesday, July 30, 2008

"English = Protestant" has been replaced by a new equation: "English = Multiculturally P.C." Evensong is still sung superbly in King's College chapel, Cambridge; but the

Against the Grain

A Closer Look at the Pope's Environmental Message

Posted: Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Wendy Kaminer talks with Michael Cromartie about the peculiarity of beliefs.

On the Death, and Aging, of Princes

Posted: Friday, July 25, 2008

After months of focusing on the potential cost overruns and possible crowd shortfalls of World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, journalists covering the event last week suddenly started praising Pope

Media Apply God-Talk Double Standard

Posted: Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Cardinal Bernardin Gantin's self-effacing humility paved the way for Cardinal Ratzinger, as his replacement as Dean of the College of Cardinals, to preside over the general congregations of

Posted: Friday, July 18, 2008

For the past eight years, Americans have heard an awful lot about theocracy. The rumblings began in 2000, when Bush answered a debate query about his favorite philosopher by citing "Jesus

A Man of Hope

Posted: Thursday, July 17, 2008

The suffering Dad endured -- from the first terrifying days of his diagnosis, when he knew what lay before him, to the last day of his life, when he struggled for the strength to kiss my Mom on the

The Presumptions of a Pastoral Letter

June

Posted: Monday, June 30, 2008

The farther the 1980s recede into the historical rear-view mirror, the less The Challenge of Peace looks like an insightful analysis of the political dynamics of that dramatic decade. It is

Remembering the Greatest

Latin Days Are Here Again?

Posted: Wednesday, June 25, 2008

I've had the "sports disease" since 1957, which is as far as my sports memory takes me. By the end of 1958, though, I was completely hooked, the bait having been merely the greatest pro

American Ideals Can Be Lost If They Aren't Taught

Posted: Friday, June 20, 2008

Is Pope Benedict XVI determined to restore the Latin mass that many Roman Catholics thought had been consigned to the dustbin of history? The answer, in short, is both yes and no. But neither the

The Difference a Dad Makes in a Family

Posted: Friday, June 20, 2008

Critics often deride American-identity worries as mere nativism or naiveté. But a new report from the Milwaukee-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation suggests that our concerns are

The Nobility of Cardinal Dulles

Posted: Friday, June 13, 2008

Intentionally fatherless families may satisfy adult desires, but when it comes to child welfare, they leave much to be desired. In our compassion for those for whom the traditional ideal of a

Posted: Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Avery Dulles has been a theologian of the tradition, explicating ancient truths, stretching them a bit, exploring their implications, but never seeking cheap originality or sound-bite fame. Adherence

The Bitter Irony of Sex-Selective Abortion

May

Navy SEAL, "Martyr of Charity?"

Posted: Friday, May 30, 2008

Missouri state Treasurer Sarah Steelman recently earned the opprobrium of abortion-rights advocates by calling for a ban on sex-selective abortions. Critics have derided this as an attempt by the

California Puts Judicial Activism Back on the Agenda

Posted: Friday, May 30, 2008

No one knows whether, in the split-second of his decision, Michael Monsoor thought himself called to the martyrdom of charity; like most Catholics, he'd probably never heard the term. But

The Spiritual Fatherhood of John Paul II

Posted: Monday, May 26, 2008

Just as pundits were dismissing it as a phantom threat irrelevant to this fall's election, judicial activism came back with a bang. By a margin of one vote, four judges on California's

Remarks from the Piekary Slaskie Pilgrimage

Posted: Monday, May 26, 2008

During the many years this son of Poland walked the world's stage, he became a spiritual father to tens of millions, perhaps hundreds of millions, of people. He became a father in a world looking

A Papal Follow-Up

Schlafly Controversy Proves Her Continuing Relevance

Posted: Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Amidst some splendid Catholic theater, there were a lot of ideas to chew on in Benedict XVI's visit to the United States. As a master-teacher who seeks to bring his students to friendship

Posted: Friday, May 16, 2008

After more than four decades in the national spotlight, Phyllis Schlafly still has what it takes to generate controversy. The best-selling author and St. Louis native reprised a familiar role as the

The End of the Caricature

April

Americans got to see the real Pope Benedict, not the cartoon Rottweiler.

Young Catholics Meet a Man Who Understands Them

Posted: Monday, April 28, 2008

From his first moments at Andrews Air Force Base it was clear that Pope Benedict XVI was no hard-edged theological enforcer, no Rottweiler. Instead of the cartoon Ratzinger, America was

Posted: Friday, April 25, 2008

At 81, Benedict understands a fundamental truth about fervent young Catholics that many of their middle-aged elders miss: Their enthusiasm for the faith is not about rejecting the world. It is about

A Future Full of Hope

A Catholic Identity Overhaul

Posted: Monday, April 21, 2008

Young adults see connections, not conflicts, between their concern for the poor and their defense of the unborn, between their focus on a personal relationship with Jesus and their attraction to

Adding Spice to the American Mix

Posted: Friday, April 18, 2008

Benedict reminded his audience that Catholic schools exist to advance the Church's mission of spreading the faith by helping students seek truth through faith and reason. Since students who find

Fight-Club Culture Glamorizes Girl-on-Girl Violence

Posted: Friday, April 18, 2008

For the life of the Catholic Church in America, what the Pope says in his homilies in Washington and New York, and in his meetings with Catholic bishops, educators, priests, Religious, seminarians

Posted: Thursday, April 17, 2008

Any woman who has survived junior high knows that such subtle forms of female aggression as clique-forming and gossip-mongering are nothing new. Yet the rise in high-profile cases of criminal

Why the Pope Has Bin Laden Running Scared

March

Posted: Monday, March 31, 2008

Like Pope John Paul II, whose persistent reminders of the link between faith and freedom emboldened grassroots resistance to communism and enraged communist leaders, Pope Benedict has infuriated the

The McBrien Prize

And the winner is...

Posted: Monday, March 31, 2008

Americans interested in hearing what the pope actually has to say about the United States and its role in the world, and about the deeper issues of world politics, should pay particularly close

Easter vs. Irony

The Ignatian Possibility Today

Posted: Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Perhaps the trouble so many highly educated people have in accepting the gift of faith today is that their spiritual faculties have been dulled by the irony in which modern and post-modern high

Posted: Wednesday, March 26, 2008

It is regrettable that some read my "Questions for Father General" as a blanket indictment, even condemnation, of the Society of Jesus -- an interpretation that strikes me as

Allam & Allah

A war of ideas.

California Court Strikes Blow Against Individual Liberty

Posted: Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Magdi Allam has courageously defended the religious freedom of all while sharply criticizing those currents of thought in Islam which would deny the right of religious conversion to Muslims. Now he

Posted: Friday, March 21, 2008

California always has been known as a freedom-loving place where nonconformity reigns. So it came as something of a shock last month when a California appeals court effectively outlawed the most

Religious Commitment in a Conversion-prone Culture

February

Posted: Friday, February 29, 2008

Given the new Pew Forum poll that found nearly half of Americans have switched religious affiliations, it is worth pondering whether our contemporary conversions are driven by a sincere search for

Liebe Europ�er

Could Obama-mania Backlash Save Hillary?

Posted: Thursday, February 28, 2008

In a recent article in Die Zeit, former West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt confessed that he wants to "love America again." He listed 10 conditions for a lovers'

Lourdes and the Modern World

Posted: Friday, February 22, 2008

Maybe Hillary is not so bad. As Sen. Barack Obama accrues delegates and Obama-mania reaches fever pitch, I've realized that there is something I fear more than President Hillary. It's Messiah

Abortion Rebellion is Rooted in Realities Feminists Ignore

Posted: Friday, February 22, 2008

In mid-19th century Europe, Lourdes, a small town in the French Pyrenees, was about as backwater as backwater gets. Today, as for the past century and a half, Lourdes is one of the world's great

A Revolution in Reverse

Archbishop Marini on the Liturgy Wars

Posted: Monday, February 18, 2008

The feminist establishment has tended to dismiss stories of post-abortion trauma as evidence of patriarchal brainwashing. That explanation may comfort pro-choice feminists who see their ranks

Anonymity and Remembrance in Berlin

Posted: Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Those seeking insight into the ideas that shaped the Missal of Paul VI, the revised breviary, and other facets of the Church's post-Vatican II liturgy will have to look elsewhere than A

January

Why can't we call the enemy by its name?

Posted: Wednesday, January 30, 2008

I'd not been in Berlin since 1987 -- before the Wall came tumbling down -- so I eagerly accepted an invitation to speak at an international conference there this past November. The change is

The War Against Jihadism

Pope Becomes Latest Target of Academic Intolerance

Posted: Tuesday, January 29, 2008

What kind of campaign is this? Six-plus years after 9/11; while the Taliban attempts an Afghanistan comeback; as Islamist terrorists cause mayhem in Algeria and occupy huge swaths of tribal Pakistan;

Enjoying the Big Questions

Posted: Friday, January 25, 2008

The secular fundamentalists who would banish religious references from public discourse and religious voices from the public square epitomize the intolerance they condemn. They exemplify the

One Party Can't Defeat Jihadism

Posted: Wednesday, January 23, 2008

The antidote to the brain numbness that descends on any thoughtful person at this point in an election cycle is Leszek Kolakowski's new book, Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?

Negative ads used to be worse.

Posted: Tuesday, January 22, 2008

The war against jihadism is a war of ideas. Those who find it uncomfortable to argue in public about "God's will" had better get over their discomfort, because the ideas being contested

Buck Up, Candidates

Posted: Friday, January 18, 2008

Democrats are bickering over race, gender and character. Republicans are harpooning each other with negative ads about tax hikes and flip flops. And pundits are warning that this volatile primary