Commentary
Rome and the Church in the United States
In a conversation with the great historian John Tracy Ellis, Baltimore’s Archbishop Michael J. Curley, who had had his share of tussles with the Vatican, once blurted out, “Rome will use you, abuse you, and then throw you away!” It was an…
The grace to see things right
Fr. Gerald E. Murray, Human Life Review Thursday, December 11, 2025 Gratitude is the right approach to life; those who live gratefully develop an appreciative attitude towards everyone and everything around them, beginning with the Good Lord.…
Memo to the White House: God became man at conception
Editors, National Catholic Register Thursday, December 11, 2025 According to the recent presidential message celebrating the Virgin Mary’s own conception without any stain of original sin, “God became man when Mary gave birth to a son, Jesus,…
Why is Christianity so hard to find in the Trump administration?
Ross Douthat, New York Times Wednesday, December 10, 2025 There’s a lot of talk these days about “Christian nationalism,” and it seemed to be a feature of the 2024 Trump campaign. Secretary of Defense Hegseth’s order to rain down death on…
Navigating the Post-Conciliar Church – The Catholic Thing
Hans Feichtinger, First Things Wednesday, December 10, 2025 The liturgy wars that have emerged post-Vatican II are as lamentable as they are understandable, and the post-conciliar debate about “Church as communion” vs. “Church as perpetual…
Don’t blame Vatican II – The Catholic Thing
Gavin Ashenden, Catholic Herald Tuesday, December 9, 2025 It is commonplace to distinguish between the Council itself and the “spirit of the Council”. But it is equally clear that there are people on both wings of the Church who are unwilling to…
Leading Mariologists publish scathing critique of Vatican note on Mary’s titles
Edward Pentin, National Catholic Register Tuesday, December 9, 2025 In a lengthy response, the International Marian Association Theological Commission highlights significant errors and omissions in the Vatican’s controversial doctrinal note…
What Benedict XVI taught us about the people of Israel
When devout Catholic young people express concern that God has abandoned the Jews or that Jews are responsible for our social ills, it becomes clear that something has gone deeply awry in our transmission of the Faith. Pope Benedict XVI…
Pope Leo is “high profile”
The profile of Pope Leo XIV is among the most viewed pages on the digital encyclopedia Wikipedia, and his names — both the one he took upon beginning his pontificate on May 8 and his given name, Robert Francis Prevost — are among the most…
On the limits of violence in drug interdictions
Everyone shares the concern about drug trafficking and the use of illegal narcotics in our country. If there is no market, the profits of cartels and those who support them will collapse, and with them, the incentive to smuggle drugs into this…