Overcoming Polarization Within the Church

Reconnecting the Sacraments with the Moral Life

Note: This article originally appeared in The Catholic Journal, July 4, 2019. Introduction: Framing the Issue Sadly, our world is more divided than ever before. Even a cursory glance at politics, education, or culture suffices to give one … [Read more...]

Amy Coney Barrett, the Bible, and the Constitution

Criticism of Amy Coney Barrett in the wake of her nomination to the Supreme Court last autumn has focused on her legal philosophy and on her devout Catholic faith.[1. “The conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you,” rem … [Read more...]

Preaching Politics from the Pulpit

With the 2020 electoral campaign now behind us, candidates in close races strategize about how to garner votes among religious believers in two and four years. So, too, religious leaders will once again have to brace for political battle in … [Read more...]

A Catholic Vote Must Be a Moral Vote

There was a time not too long ago in our nation’s history when Catholic doctrine positively influenced the outcome of ballot votes by effectively contributing to meeting the perennial need to keep civil law in harmony with moral law. One m … [Read more...]

Some Unpolitical Thoughts in a Time of Crisis

The former mayor of Chicago and Obama political advisor, Rahm Emanuel, made himself noteworthy by recently reiterating his political principle, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do … [Read more...]

A Te Deum for Coronavirus?

Given the reality of the coronavirus pandemic which besets the country and the world, it seems only a matter of a short time before the anti-God proponents start dragging out the same old, tired arguments which they feel attack the … [Read more...]

Fr. Martin, Compassion, and Immigration

The world is full of violence wielded by revolutionaries struggling to overcome unjust structures of oppression in order to introduce a new world order and by conservatives upholding traditional values against forces of chaos and … [Read more...]

What Is True Mercy?

Is mercy merely the affirmation, allowance, or clemency an authority figure extends toward a subject — in light of the subject’s understanding of an act he or she desires to engage in given a specific circumstance? Or, is mercy something muc … [Read more...]

Book Reviews – February 2020

Habits for a Healthy Marriage: A Handbook for Catholic Couples By Richard P. Fitzgibbons. Reviewed by Christopher Siuzdak. (skip to review) Debating Religious Liberty and Discrimination By John Corvino, Ryan Anderson, and Sherif … [Read more...]

The Revised Catechism on the Death Penalty

A Careful Reading

With popular news articles beginning on August 2, 2018, various media agencies have been proclaiming: “Pope Francis has declared the death penalty wrong in all cases, a definitive change in church teaching . . .” (New York Times), “Pope Fran … [Read more...]

A Church Without Borders

In a recently published book-length interview with Pope Francis, French sociologist, Dominique Wolton, questions the Holy Father about his repeated references to the borders of nations, wall-building, the plight of refugees, and the … [Read more...]

Autumn Book Reviews

Behold the Man: A Catholic Vision of Male Spirituality by Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2015), xi + 279 pp. Reviewed by Dr. Joshua M. Evans. Catholics and Protestants: What Can We Learn from Each Other? … [Read more...]

Of Horses and Men

Over thirty-five years have passed since St. John Paul II issued his encyclical, Laborem exercens. Its key principle—that human labor has priority over raw capital (§12)—was, and remains, a revolutionary proposition. It shouldn’t be. Capita … [Read more...]