A common misconception holds that early “modernity” invented the “individual”: the idea that everyone is a someone with a unique identity independent of family, tribe, racial group, or nation.
Guest Columnists
The Sacred Earthiness Of Christmas
Christianity begins in a real place, at a specific point in time in which real men and women met an itinerant rabbi named Jesus of Nazareth — and after what they had thought to be the utter catastrophe of his degrading and violent death, met him anew as the Risen Lord Jesus.
USCCB Certainly Had A Stance on Abortion
When I began working with some regularity in Rome thirty years ago, my elders and betters taught me that no one paid much attention to the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.
From Germany in 1936 to Beijing 2022
In July 2016, as we were sitting on the fantail of the Swiss sidewheeler Rhone while she chugged across Lake Geneva, my host pointed out the city of Lausanne, where a massive, glass-bedecked curvilinear building was shimmering in the summer sun. “Isn’t that the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee?” I asked.
Books to Give For Christmas 2021
Some suggestions for Christmas giving, in the form of books that amuse, inspire, educate or all-of-the-above.
Nativity Mystery Through The Eyes Of St. Joseph
Early in December, we will be closing the Year of St. Joseph. Just like so many partings, we may find ourselves with mixed emotions. One thing is for sure: This year of grace has blessed the Church and has enriched many lives spiritually. It also has fostered more devotion to the Patron of the Universal Church and the Master of Interior Life.
On Being Thankful for America at Thanksgiving
This Thanksgiving, no one living in the United States should be anything but profoundly grateful for the privilege of living in this country. No one.
Catholic Progressives And the Culture War
The culture war defining much of contemporary public life throughout the western world comes in two forms.
U.S. Bishops, Officials, Media: Communion Clarity Needed
The confusions originating from online Catholic sources and social media have been exacerbated by a mainstream press that has consistently misrepresented what the bishops are doing. I hope the following clarifications are useful.
On St. John Paul II’s 75th Anniversary
By any worldly measure, 1946 was an annus horribilis in Poland. With the exceptions of Cracow and Lodz, every Polish city lay in ruins. The homeless and displaced numbered in the millions. As a ruthless Stalinism tightened its grip on a country that had been doubly decimated during World War II, heroes of the anti-Nazi resistance were executed on spurious charges by Poland’s new communist overlords.