When confronted by the evil in the world, we are often tempted to impatience and rash action. We can appoint ourselves as God’s champions and avengers, scouring the world for evil to eradicate. Such attitudes, however, tend to produce more...
During his general audience on July 28th, Pope Francis discussed the life of St. Mary MacKillop, Australia’s first canonized saint. As Mother Mary of the Cross, MacKillop founded the Josephites, an order of religious sisters dedicated to the education and...
There is a growing realization that Christians need community. As Pope Francis wrote in Fratelli Tutti: “No one can face life in isolation… We need a community that supports and helps us, in which we can help one another to...
If we give away our wealth, we can come together as a community to fulfill the Great Commission given to us by Jesus.
On January 11th, Pope Francis began a new cycle of Wednesday Audiences by returning to one of his favorite themes: the difference between proselytism and evangelization. After commenting on the importance of evangelization in the Christian life, and reflecting on...
[Author’s note: Conservative Catholics sometimes argue that Pope Francis puts too much emphasis on the social dimension of Catholic teaching; they worry that such an emphasis on the communal will distort the Church’s moral teachings. In reality, however, the Church...
Reactionary Catholics often boast about the youthfulness of their movement. In many ways, the rise of reactionary traditionalism is playing out as an intergenerational struggle. While there are certainly many elderly traditionalists, and while the majority of young Catholics around...
‘Tis the season. The weather is turning colder, the colored lights are going up, family gatherings are being planned—and right on cue, one of the routine culture war battles is heating up. It is time to signal your allegiance; will...
Sometimes, the Church’s call to embrace voluntary poverty and her emphasis on the poor and oppressed can seem counterproductive. After all, growing in virtue is an important part of the Christian life—and wealth would seem to be conducive to such...
During his return trip from Kazakhstan, Pope Francis was asked about the state of the Church in Germany. In response, he spoke about the importance of having pastors, not just pastoral plans. Too often, he said, we have put pastoral...
Our public discourse is increasingly unhinged. In a recent article for WPI, Christina M. Sorrentino advises us to “think twice and tweet once.” She quotes an address Pope Francis gave to the 2022 World Congress of SIGNIS, in which he...
Reactionary traditionalists[1] criticize all sorts of things about the mainstream Church, from architectural styles to papal pronouncements, from ecumenism to the use of the term “Holy Spirit.” Among this storm of criticism, however, one overarching concern stands out; traditionalists feel...
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