Analysis
What Kind of Evil?
“The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid ‘dens of crime’ that Dickens loved to paint. It is not done even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final […]
Analysis
Analysis
Catholic Men Need Priests Who Will Lead
The New Evangelization has been a major effort in the Catholic Church for more than 40 years. Unfortunately, it has failed to stem several significant downward trends among faithful in the United States. Since 2000, […]
Analysis
The Consistent—and Not So Seamless—Ethic of Life
In an August 3rd Chicago Tribune article, Archbishop Blaise Cupich of Chicago suggested that the widespread outrage ignited by the revelations that Planned Parenthood was selling body-parts extracted from aborted children represented an opportunity for […]
Analysis
Taking the “long view” on Russia
Queried about the Holy See’s less-than-vigorous response to Russian aggression in Ukraine, senior Vatican officials are given to saying (often with a dismissive tone, as if the question came from a dim-wit), “We take the […]
Analysis
“Senseless” Violence and Ideological Warfare
Soon after the murder of five servicemen in Chatanooga, politicians and government officials began to refer to the massacre as “senseless”. Defense Secretary Ash Carter called it a “senseless act of violence,” Hillary Clinton pronounced […]
Analysis
Analysis
Is Less Really More? Reflections on Scarcity in “Laudato Si’”
During his recent three-nation trip to Paraguay, Bolivia and Ecuador, Pope Francis spoke at Quito’s Catholic University, urging students and professors to champion responsible care for the environment: “It is no longer a mere recommendation, […]
Analysis
Health Care Rights of Conscience: An Endangered Species
There are emerging conflicts in what I call the second round of health care conscientious objection. The first round, following Roe v. Wade, continues to engage religious health care providers in conscientious objection to abortion, […]
Analysis
Lessons From the Christian East
Twenty years ago, in his apostolic letter Orientale Lumen (May 2, 1995), the late St. Pope John Paul II called on Roman Catholics to deepen their knowledge of and love for the Christian East. I […]
Analysis
The Incoherent, Dangerous Formulations of Justice Kennedy
Anthony Kennedy’s opinion for a five-justice Supreme Court majority announcing the hitherto undiscovered existence of a constitutional right to same-sex marriage rests on one fundamental thought. Although it takes Kennedy 28 pages, plus six pages […]