Advice Gianni Russo (aka “Carlo Rizzi”) once gave me

August 8, 2022 By Francis J. Beckwith

As a kid I worked in my folks’ candy store, Sweets of Las Vegas. I once delivered an expensive basket to Gianni Russo, who played Carlo Rizzi in The Godfather. (Rizzi was married to Michael Corleone’s sister, Connie). Arriving at his high rise condo door, I said, “That’ll be $104.” “Can you break a 20?” “No sir. I’m sorry. I don’t have change.” He then gave me $120 and said, “Good delivery boy never has change.” Never forgot that. Read more

The Heart Has Its Reasons – a reflection on 15 years after my reversion to Catholicism

July 11, 2022 By Francis J. Beckwith

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April 28, 2022 marked 15 years since I returned to the Catholic Church. Last week I published an essay reflecting on my journey. It appeared in Notre Dame’s Church Life Journal. Here’s how it begins: The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know. We feel it in a thousand things. —Blaise Pascal In summer 2021, when I realized that on April 28, 2022 it would be exactly fifteen years since I had returned to the Catholic Church, I began ruminating... Read more

My contribution to The New Apologetics: Defending the Faith in a Post-Christian Era

July 4, 2022 By Francis J. Beckwith

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I am happy to report the release of a new book published by Word on Fire, the Catholic ministry founded by Bishop Robert Barron. Entitled, The New Apologetics: Defending the Faith in a Post-Christian Era, it is edited by Matthew Nelson with a foreword by Cardinal Thomas Collins and an afterword by Bishop Barron. Invited to contribute to the volume, my chapter is entitled “Moral Relativism: Arguments For and Against.” (You can download a pre-publication copy of the chapter on my... Read more

Forthcoming chapter: “Violinists, Burglars, People-Seeds, Samaritans, and Reluctant Bone Marrow Donors: Why Do We Need Analogies to Pregnancy in Order to Understand It?”

May 26, 2022 By Francis J. Beckwith

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In late July (2022), Routledge Publishing will be releasing the anthology of original essays: Agency, Pregnancy, and, Persons: Essays in Defense of Human Life, edited by Nicholas Colgrove, Bruce Blackshaw, and Daniel Rodger. I am happy to report that I have contributed a chapter to this volume: “Violinists, Burglars, People-Seeds, Samaritans, and Reluctant Bone Marrow Donors: Why Do We Need Analogies to Pregnancy in Order to Understand It?” I have posted a prepublication version of it on my SSRN page here.... Read more

New Working Paper: “What’s So Special About Religious Liberty? Law, Philosophy, and Serving God”

May 26, 2022 By Francis J. Beckwith

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On March 24-25, 2022, I participated in the conference: “Beyond `Defensive Crouch,’ Religious Freedom.” It was hosted by the Liberty & Law Center of the Antonin Law School at George Mason Univeristy. The paper I delivered at the confernce is now available over at SSRN. Entitled “What’s So Special About Religious Liberty? Law, Philosophy, and Serving God,” a final version of it will be published later this year in GMU’s Civil Rights Law Journal. Here is the paper’s abstract: This... Read more

It’s unwise to publicly comment about who is telling the truth in sexual misconduct cases when you’re not privy to all the evidence [Updated]

May 22, 2022 By Francis J. Beckwith

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Update: On May 23, 2022, Princeton University officially fired Joshua Katz, the New York Times reported. Three days later, Dr. Katz’s wife, Solveigh Lucia Gold, published a robust defense of her husband at Bari Weiss’s website Commonsense here. In a piece entitled, “Free Speech and Due Process at Princeton: The Case of Joshua Katz,” Robert P. George, Katz’s colleague in the Princeton politics department, offers a stinging rebuke to the university and its administration. I have known Robby George for over... Read more

My review of Michael Ward’s After Humanity, a guide to C. S. Lewis’ Abolition of Man

May 20, 2022 By Francis J. Beckwith

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Many readers are familiar with C. S. Lewis’ The Abolition of Man. Last summer Word on Fire publised a wonderful companion to the book. Authored by theologian and literary critic, Michael Ward, it is entitled After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis’ The Abolition of Man. My review of Professor Ward’s volume just appeared this morning in The Catholic Telegraph. Here’s how it begins: During the height of the Second World War, in February 1943, C. S. Lewis delivered the... Read more

A Billy Joel Passover

April 18, 2022 By Francis J. Beckwith

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HT: Volokh Conspiracy. A delightful musical montage from the group Six13. Read more