Russell Shaw
Survey says
Worried conservatives reacted negatively to the news that Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York had invited Barack Obama to the... Read more
Sunny side of persecution
Will the present whiff of secularist persecution be a help toward healing what ails American Catholics as a Church? Leaving... Read more
The crisis of community
In recent years social critics like Robert Putnam (Bowling Alone) and Charles Murray (Coming Apart) have documented and deplored a... Read more
The Vatican's real communication problem
“Smart move.” That’s how many loyal Catholics reacted to the announcement that the Vatican had hired a veteran American newsman... Read more
The 'Catholic sensibility' of George W. Bush
Does George W. Bush have a “Catholic sensibility?” Tim Goeglein thinks so, and he’s better situated than most people to... Read more
Political partisanship
A prominent Republican congressman, a Catholic, says his economic proposals reflect the social doctrine of the Church. Statements from the... Read more
Court nominations
With the exception of Bush v. Gore, which in effect confirmed George W. Bush’s victory in the 2000 presidential election,... Read more
Truth, not words, will win the marriage debate
President Obama’s announcement that he supports same-sex marriage underlines the urgent need for the Church to launch a massive new... Read more
Diversity or assimilation?
I was nearing the close of Pat Buchanan’s new book, “Suicide of a Superpower” (St. Martin’s Press) when I read... Read more
The Pope at 85
Nearing his 85th birthday April 16 and, three days later, the seventh anniversary of his election to the throne of... Read more
Converting the culture
“Social issues.” It’s a squishy, equivocal term suited to a mentality ill at ease with the hard-edged implications of “moral... Read more
Contraception or religious freedom?
In determining to fight President Obama’s famous—or should I say infamous?—contraception mandate, the American bishops, I suspect, were devoutly hoping... Read more
The larger issue behind the contraception mandate
As the controversy over the Obama administration’s January directive to religious institutions to pay for employees’ contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortion-inducing... Read more
The future of the Church in America
A quiet, closed-door meeting in Washington next month will be of crucial importance in shaping the Church’s response to the... Read more
The crisis in American marriage
I was chatting with a priest who is a judge with the marriage tribunal of his large Eastern diocese when... Read more
The crisis of marriage
Is it possible that secular liberals, some of them anyway, are starting to realize that knocking the supports out from... Read more
Why is LGBT 'rights' now a US foreign policy priority?
An address by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on gay rights as a priority of U.S. policy deserves far more... Read more
Maybe we are expecting too little for Christmas
The problem many of us have with Christmas isn’t that we expect too much of it but that we expect... Read more
Iraq and its aftermath — what happens when the troops go home?
As active U.S. military involvement in Iraq draws to a close, what does the moral scorecard on this adventure look... Read more
The meaning of silence in a media age
I have to admit that it really didn’t impress me very favorably the first time I read it: “Silence and... Read more
