Russell Shaw
Vatican PR
One day back when I was doing media relations for the American bishops’ conference, a journalist asked me what my... Read more
Primacy vs. synodality
Something that happened at a bishops’ meeting nearly half a century ago raises questions about the Vatican’s action last month... Read more
Prolife Prospects Hopeful but Uncertain
When thousands of prolifers turn out for the annual March for Life in Washington on January 18, four days before... Read more
In Praise of Rudolph, et alia
Deploring the commercialization, secularization, and general thinning-out of the spiritual meaning of Christmas is part of the stock in trade... Read more
The roots of secularist coercion
When, several weeks ago, a Christian couple who own a bakery in Northern Ireland won a court ruling allowing them... Read more
On current interest in the End Times
As I stood in line waiting to go to confession recently (yes, I still do that), a man who’d lately... Read more
The Kavanaugh hearings
As I think about the Senate hearings on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, the entire affair takes on... Read more
The canonization of Pope Paul VI
“Am I Hamlet or Don Quixote?” Pope Paul VI once asked that question about himself, and whatever his answer might... Read more
How Catholics are responding to the scandals
What do serious, practicing Catholics think about the sex abuse crisis? To find out, you can commission a public opinion... Read more
Smoke of Satan Again?
The speaker was a highly sophisticated layman, possessor of a doctorate and professor of theology at a major Catholic university.... Read more
We Need Truth
Statements by Pope Francis and American bishops reacting to the Church’s sex abuse scandal suggest they are serious about getting... Read more
The ‘reception’ of Humanae Vitae
In the half-century since Pope Paul VI published his encyclical Humanae Vitae reaffirming that contraception is always wrong, opponents of... Read more
The Trump-Kim summit and human rights
On the eve of the Trump-Kim summit in Singapore, Pope Francis led a crowd of 20,000 in St. Peter’s Square... Read more
The Kennedy succession
For Americans on both sides of social issues like abortion and same-sex marriage, the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy from... Read more
Evelyn Waugh's The Loved One at 70
Just 70 years ago this month a slender novel bearing the innocuous title The Loved One made its appearance in... Read more
Justice Kennedy and the Supreme Court
Rumors have been flying around Washington that Justice Anthony Kennedy will announce his retirement from the Supreme Court shortly after... Read more
The speaker and the chaplain
Barring further developments (and let’s hope that there aren’t any), the kerfuffle over the Catholic chaplain of the House of... Read more
Evangelicals and the first amendment
According to reports, evangelical leaders are planning a gathering that will bring a thousand pastors to Washington later this spring... Read more
Viri probati
The news that Pope Francis has set in motion the planning for a synod of bishops of the Amazon region... Read more
