Columns
Is the Church of England in a Death Spiral?
The Anglo-American poet, T.S. Eliot (born in St. Louis), wrote “The Hollow Men” in 1925. The poem concludes with this haunting quatrain: This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang…
Is the Church of England in a Death Spiral?
The Anglo-American poet, T.S. Eliot (born in St. Louis), wrote “The Hollow Men” in 1925. The poem concludes with this haunting quatrain: This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang…
Worth & Worship – The Catholic Thing
What is a thing worth? In economics, it’s relative. Prices fluctuate. Markets rise and fall. A thing is worth what someone’s willing to pay for it. Back in the 1980s, my LPs were worth a lot. With the arrival of CDs, they were worth almost…
The First, Second, and Third Rome – in Paris
The Cardinals attending the extraordinary consistory in Rome will depart today, just as the customary delegation from the Patriarchate of Constantinople arrives for the solemn feast of Peter and Paul. It’s an annual fraternal custom. A…
Amateur Impressions of the Odyssey
A long drive recently allowed me to listen to the unabridged audiobook of Homer’s Odyssey. It was worth all 780+ minutes. Hearing the poem helped me understand why it is foundational to the Western understanding of human life, and how archetypal…
Becoming Relics – The Catholic Thing
As you surely know, not least because it has been mentioned repeatedly in these pages, the bishops of the United States, in preparation of the celebration for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence have consecrated the entire…
What Does Love Look Like?
It’s a commonplace observation that most people think more readily in pictures than in abstract concepts, and that stories move and transform us in ways that logical arguments often don’t. God, who of course knows this, therefore has revealed…
Two Views on Just War
Just-War Reflections Randall Smith The next synod might or might not deal with the Church’s “just war” doctrine. So, let me go on record as saying: I don’t like war. It doesn’t represent a great “profile in courage” to say that. I mean, who…
Can the Catholic Church Save Education?
There’s a strange ferment underway in American education. This week, two promising Catholic initiatives emerged: a gathering at Christendom College on K-12 education that resulted in the Front Royal Principles, and a high-level consultation in…
A Perfect Model of Fatherhood
Excerpted from Address of John Paul II to the members of the Pontifical Council for the Family, June 4, 1999 The theme of fatherhood, which you have chosen for this plenary meeting, refers to the third year of preparation for the Great Jubilee,…