Stephen P. White
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…
The Consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart
The bishops of the United States are gathered in Orlando, Florida this week for the USCCB’s annual June meeting. The conference’s June meetings are generally more low-key than the November plenaries in Baltimore. That said, this week the…
Coherence in Continuity – The Catholic Thing
Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas, was released earlier this week. It is long for an encyclical, and unexpected in some ways. It is worth reading, worth sitting with. What follows is not a summary, still less a “review” of the…
The Ascension as a Gift of Faith
Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Ascension. (Depending on where you are; check your local listings.) It’s worth pondering: Why did Christ ascend? Why, having conquered death, did He not remain? Wouldn’t it have been simpler for a…
A Light Shines in the Darkness
God made man in His own image and likeness. God Himself, then, is the primary reference point for man’s self-understanding. Accordingly, when man loses sight of God, he loses sight of his own humanity. This is the story of our secular age writ…
‘The Deepest Reality of the Greatest Event Ever to Take Place’
For Lent this year, I resolved to pray the Angelus in the morning, at midday, and in the evening – a practice, of course, long a part of Catholic piety. In my adult life, I’ve been up and down in adhering to this practice, and this year I wanted…
The Body of This Death Comes for the Archbishop
I wouldn’t describe myself as a “fan” of science fiction. I shrug my shoulders at Star Wars and Star Trek, and became so frustrated with Frank Herbert’s Dune that I barely finished it. Nevertheless, I confess a certain guilty fascination with…
Two for Thanksgiving – The Catholic Thing
Stephen P. White There is something fitting about the date of Thanksgiving. I don’t mean that there’s anything particularly special about the fourth Thursday of November except that it invariably falls in the last week of Ordinary Time. And so…
The Future of the American Presbyterate
The Catholic Project at The Catholic University of America (where I serve as executive director) has just published the results of a new major survey of American priests. The study builds on our past research (here and here), giving a clearer…