Conversations about the Catholic Church often get weighed down by all kinds of myths that not only confuse people and keep them from the truth of what the Church teaches, but it hurts people and prevents ecumenical healing. In a new book, The Seven Big Myths About the Catholic Church, Christopher Kaczor, professor of philosophy at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, tries to make some progress. He talks about Seven in an interview. KJL: In your new book, you... Read more
In a speech to leaders in the arts and science in Malta in May, 1990, Blessed John Paul II said: Of course the economic, political, and social dimensions of life require careful attention and forthright commitment on the part of all. But at the same time it is necessary to reaffirm adamantly the primacy of ethics over technology, the primacy of “being” over “having.” This is especially imperative when we are immersed in a false culture of “appearances,” the result... Read more
I’m using up the remaining minutes on my satellite time on the National Review post-election cruise (more on this shortly) and couldn’t think of any better way to return to dry land than with what Pope Benedict had to offer in his Angelus address this morning, based on today’s Gospel reading: “Everything passes, but the Word of God does not change, and each of us is responsible for his behavior before it.” “It is upon this, that we shall be... Read more
Pope Benedict Sunday pointed to the greatest challenge of surrender. It is the greatest sacrifice, the key to the greatest joy, a life of the fullest freedom: A willing labor and living in service to the Will of God. It’s worth pointing out because the renewal we so desperately need will never happen without it. It’s why the lives of the saints — told in the most relevant of ways to the modern-day by Colleen Carroll Campbell in her new... Read more
Politics is imperfect, but then so are we. Read more
And so, when he entered the world, Christ said, “Behold, I come to do your will, O God” (Heb 10:5-7). “Obedience” is the new name of “love”! Over the course of his life, the Gospels portray Jesus as always intent on performing the will of the Father. To Mary and Joseph who searched for him in desperation for three days, the twelve-year-old Jesus responded, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my... Read more
Here is a reflection for today: God has created us for himself and, in the words of Saint Augustine, our hearts are restless until they find their rest in him. Even in today’s secularized society, this desire for God continues to make itself felt, above all in the experience of love. In love, which seeks the good of the other, we find ourselves by giving ourselves away, in a process involving the purification and healing of our hearts. So too... Read more
Reread what Carl Anderson said. There’s an awakening, despite ourselves, our votes… Read more
Last night, in his graceful, humble concession speech, Mitt Romney said: “We look for our pastors, priests, rabbis, and counselors of all kinds to testify of the enduring principles upon which our society is built: honesty, charity, integrity and family,” And this morning, Cardinal Dolan sent a letter to President Obama: In my capacity as President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, I write to express my congratulations on your re-election as President of the United States. The... Read more
Toward moral policymaking. Read more
Kathryn Lopez
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