Pope Francis has obviously turned up the volume on a number of issues, and this has generated criticism from those who identity themselves as American conservatives. There are religious voices that rival and complicate the voice of First Things in prominence, at places like Ethika Politika and The American Conservative and elsewhere (including here at Patheos). The more traditional alternatives like Commonweal and America seem to be on the ascendancy. It has become somewhat fashionable to give Francis all the credit for this. But that’s not the... Read more

There was a time, not too long ago, when adults heckled children — protesting the school integration movement. Sometimes these protests became physically violent. But there can be violence in a look. There can be violence in a word.  The time of adult violence against children is not over. There was a time, long ago, when — as Billy Kangas reminds us — a child named Jesus was an undocumented refugee, too. Read more

Yesterday, Timothy Cardinal Dolan posted a brief note at his site where he unambiguously reprimands those treating immigrants with hostility and scorn. A week or so ago, I watched with shame as an angry mob in southern California surrounded buses filled with frightened, hungry, homeless immigrants, shaking fists, and shouting for them to “get out!” It was un-American; it was un-biblical; it was inhumane.  It worked, as the scared drivers turned the buses around and sought sanctuary elsewhere. The incendiary... Read more