Ever since I started teaching the Divine Comedy years ago, I’ve been on the lookout for lacunae. Just when I think I’ve found one, it turns out Dante has covered it with incomparable sagesse. Take gamblers. Why don’t we find them in Hell? Well,…
In a recent New York Times guest essay, Catholic writer David Gibson praised Pope Leo for moving his church away from “pelvic theology.” It is a way of dismissing those concerned with all matters related to sex—from abortion to LGBTQ rights to…
Catholic universities should reflect “authenticity as true disciples of Christ” as they guide students’ desire for knowledge into a passion for the truth, Pope Leo XIV told university presidents from the United States on Wednesday. …
It’s been a week since the publication of Magnifica humanitas, and I’ve been re-reading certain sections, trying to probe into it more deeply (after my own quick reactions on a recent Prayerful Posse, the very day Pope Leo’s first encyclical…
“Life is no less beautiful when it is accompanied by illness or weakness, hunger or poverty, physical or mental diseases, loneliness or old age.” These inspiring words were written by my beloved predecessor Terence Cardinal Cooke shortly before…
Catholics who sometimes worry that the Church is no longer sufficiently bold in its preaching of the Gospel might at least derive some comfort from its buildings. Sacred buildings stand a long time and carry on the convictions of those bolder…
While cultural Christianity can prove valuable as a conservative force that resists thoughtless reforms, when divorced from the Church’s core mission of salvation and conversion, it ultimately proves not only insufficient but even…
If we were to travel to the distant past, say, way back to 1976, I’m pretty sure we’d find nobody advocating for adults having sex with children. Then came the revolution of 1978. What revolution, you ask? I refer to the founding of the…
Michael Hanby, The Lamp on Monday, June 1, 2026 © 2026 The Catholic Thing. All rights reserved. For reprint rights, write to: The Catholic Thing is a forum for intelligent Catholic commentary. Opinions expressed by writers are solely their own.…
Tolkien once stated, “‘The Lord of the Rings’ is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to…
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