The Best of 2021

Written by Mike Lewis

On New Year’s Eve, some of the contributors and I put our heads together to try to determine the best pieces we published in 2021. Going all the way back to January, it was astounding to see just how much good, hard, quality work our contributors did, and on such a wide range of subjects. It goes without saying that this was our biggest year yet in terms of numbers, our fourth year in a row of tremendous growth.

For those new to the site or who are interested in looking at a fairly representative sample of the work we’ve done, a rather large sampling is below. There were so many (we had well over 500 posts this year) that we simply had to stop. (Maybe another contributor can put together a part 2…)

But first of all, I would like to share three series of articles by three extremely talented writers: a cloistered nun, a hermit, and a lay theologian. Each of them approached me with an idea for a series, and the results have been accessible, enjoyable, and spiritually uplifting. Our readers have benefited greatly from their experiences and insights.

The articles found at these series links are in reverse chronological order, so start from the bottom and work your way up:

Combat for Contemplative Life

by Sister Gabriela Hicks

A series about an ongoing struggle in the Carmelite order over the implementation of the Pope Francis’s reforms to women’s contemplative life. What are these reforms, how have they been received and implemented by the sisters, and how have the pope’s attempts to renew contemplative life become a new front in the war against Pope Francis?

Unpacking Dei Verbum

by Adam Rasmussen

In each installment, Rasmussen assists readers in their understanding an aspect of Dei Verbum, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, from the Second Vatican Council, promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 18 November 1965. He gives essential background to its teachings (including the controversies and debates leading up to the final document), and gives examples of how and where the teachings of Dei Verbum are applied.

Postcards from the Camino

by Gareth Thomas

“Postcards from the Camino” is a series of sketches on the theme of pilgrimage to the shrine of the Apostle Saint James (Santiago in Spanish) in Compostela. Pope Francis declared a double Holy Year 2021-2022 for pilgrims to the shrine. The writer, Gareth Thomas, is British but lives in Spain and sees European culture as reflecting centuries of shared Catholic tradition. Also, be sure to check out “The Camino Revisited,” when the author returned to the Camino in Summer 2021 and posted live updates over the course of two weeks.

The following is a large selection of our articles from 2021 on a wide range of issues and topics, by many talented writers, in no particular order:

Willing the Good: A survivor’s call for restorative justice

by Melinda Ribnek

(Trigger Warning) The survivor of a violent assault calls for restorative justice and the abolition of the death penalty

What’s Motivating the Co-Founders of Veritatis Splendor?

by Rachel Amiri

Vaccine Equity is a Human Right

by Adam Rasmussen

The most important human rights issue surrounding the Covid-19 vaccine

Write Less, Read More; Talk Less, Listen More

by Nathan Turowsky

Time spent suffering from chronic pain can mean a decline in productivity, but that time can still have meaning.

Venerable Augustus Tolton: A Black Priest who modeled Christ

by Efran Menny

‘Who do I ask?’ Transportation to Mass is an unrealized need

by JM Kraemer

On access to the sacraments for the disabled

Hope for Iraqis: A Chaldean Catholic Anticipates Francis’s Visit

by Mark Chamoun

A young Iraqi Catholic living in Canada reflects on the meaning of the pope’s historic visit to his people who are suffering in his war-torn homeland.

The Death of Pope John Paul I (Part 1)

In this video, David Lafferty and Mike Lewis dig into the questions and conspiracy theories surrounding the sudden death of Pope John Paul I.

The Death of Pope John Paul I (Part 2)

The thrilling conclusion

MLK’s dream and the great stumbling block

by Melinda Ribnek

Pachamama 1.0

by Nathan Turowsky and Meredith Dawson

Centuries before the 2019 Amazon Synod controversy, controversy and accusations of paganism swirled around another Christian devotion of indigenous people in Latin America.

The cultural garment of Filipino Catholicism

by Preslaysa Williams

I Remember: 9/11, Twenty Years Later

by Deacon Greg Kandra

The hour of the People: Pope Francis and the Post-Covid moment

by Austen Ivereigh

Joseph, the Most Chaste

by Paul Fahey

Apologia liturgica: A Catholic life in six Masses

by Dr John Morrissey

An English doctor’s journey of conversion across different rites, languages, and cultures.

The Eucharist needs to be more inclusive

by Angela Rasmussen

The Church must be attentive to the needs of celiac Catholics.

Viganò’s Pendulum: A Roman summer night’s dream

by Gareth Thomas

The latest saga surrounding the rogue archbishop takes the form of an Umberto Eco novel

Cardinal Bernardin’s true legacy

by Steven P Millies

Don’t believe the conspiracists.

The Chair of Saint Peter, the Rock

by Mike Lewis

The Seamless Garment must be properly understood

by Pedro Gabriel

Gregorian chant and the post-Vatican II liturgy

by Mike Lewis

Is Catholic teaching against the death penalty optional?

by Mike Lewis

Untangling Sex from Same-Sex Love

by Patric Peters

Personal Reflections on ‘Traditionis Custodes’

by Deacon Bill Ditewig

Chaste love is for everyone

by Dawn Eden Goldstein

A Blind Eye

by Mike Lewis

Learning to accept life with glaucoma.

Traditionalism’s flawed approach to the Magisterium

by Adam Rasmussen

What Fr. Chad Ripperger and other leading traditionalists don’t seem to understand about authority and doctrinal development.

Fratelli Tutti Study Guide

A collaborative project led by Paul Fahey. A great resource for your church or book group to study Pope Francis’s encyclical on human fraternity.

Catholic Transgender Ministry: People, Not Ideologies

by Nathan Turowsky

Catholic Media and Critical Thinking

by Mike Lewis

“This is a movie about people who think they’re living in a movie.”

Slander, EWTN, and Cannibalism

by Mike Lewis

Pope Francis said EWTN does “the work of the devil.” They responded. Sort of.

A different religion?

by Rachel Amiri and Mike Lewis

A response to Michael Brendan Dougherty’s claim in the New York Times that traditionalism and Catholicism in union with the pope are not the same religion. Maybe he has a point.

My Sister’s Heart

by Mike Lewis

Mike Lewis offers a tribute to his special-needs sister after her unexpected death in May.

A Catholic moral panic, two years on

by Mike Lewis

A retrospective on the story behind the unfounded “paganism in the Vatican” hysteria of October 2019.

Sadly, Traditionis Custodes was necessary

by Rachel Dobbs

A former traditionalist looks back at the troubling ideologies of many of those involved in the movement surrounding the ancient liturgy she loves.

My Catholic circle is trying to Stop the Steal

by Marissa Nichols

The radicalization of a Catholic Homeschooling Moms’ email list.