The Dispatch
The Summer Reading List: 2026
A 2025 YouGov poll revealed some interesting factoids about Americans’ reading habits—or lack thereof. 40% of us didn’t read a book last year. About a [...]
An Educational Perfect Storm
Essay
The 1991 “perfect storm,” made famous by the movie of that name starring George Clooney, resulted from a rare collision of three distinct weather systems that converged to create an exceptionally massive and destructive storm. [...]
On the Faith of Saint Anne
Essay
1Editor’s note: This homily was preached on the Seventeenth Sunday, July 26, 2026, at the Church of the Holy Innocents, New York City. Last Sunday, we considered the centrality of grace in the Christian life and [...]
Books
Exploring Landscapes of Grace: On the Virtues of Wandering Around Outside
I thought of Jeff Gardner’s Landscapes of Grace during a recent mellow evening ramble with my teenage son. I thought of it again last weekend as I slogged uphill on a hot day, with the [...]
Analysis
Listening Without Hearing: A Critique of Synodal Study Group 9 on Homosexuality
Editor’s note: The following essay was penned by a participant in the Catholic apostolate of Courage. Author’s note: I did not read the official response by Courage International before writing this essay, and thus arrived at [...]
Essay
A Transformative Eucharistic Spirituality
Faced with the urgency of “safeguarding the dignity of the human person in the time of artificial intelligence,” Pope Leo addresses his encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, not only “to all the Catholic faithful,” but also “to all Christians [...]
Features
Bishop Barres, Catholic sisters sue New York over assisted suicide mandates
The bishop said “we will never submit” to “the culture of death” as the Catholic diocese and religious sisters argue that their faith prevents them from participating in physician-assisted suicide. […]
Features
“This constant sword hanging over”: Life as a religious minority in Pakistan
Blasphemy accusations in Pakistan have been a longstanding problem — one that became far worse in recent years. In 2024, there were reportedly more than 40 times as many cases as there were in 2020. [...]
Books
Odysseus and the Passage of Time
The Odyssey is one of the oldest and most lasting works in Western literature, so it’s no surprise that Christopher Nolan is the latest in a long line of people–authors, artists, and filmmakers–who seek to [...]
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In Part One of this essay on Dignitatis Humanae, I made the argument, following Tracey Rowland and Russel Hittinger, that DH should be read minimalistically as a simple affirmation that no person should be forcibly [...] -
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“Indeed it is through chastity that we are gathered together and led back to the unity from which we were fragmented into multiplicity.” — Saint Augustine, Confessions (quoted in CCC 2340) “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by [...] -
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mrscracker:
"Death With Dignity" is one of those slogans invented to ease our conscience when a human life is taken. As…
G. M. (Mark) Baker:
“It Will Mean What the Words Say!” -- Yes, but what the words say can differ according to the stories…
Gerard:
@badcattitude I stopped reading once you quoted Ayan Rand. FYI that is a tell of sophomoric and callow opinions to…
