via Notre Dame: It was May 1924, and the Ku Klux Klan wanted to showcase its power and cement its sudden grip on Indiana politics by holding a picnic and parade in South Bend, the most Catholic area in the state. About 500 University of Notre Dame students showed their objections by storming downtown and… Read More Flashback: When the Fighting Irish Confronted the KKK

I contemplated publishing an open letter to our new baby, Anthony Francis Crawford. That felt too personal. I love you all, but some things should stay between father and son. I did want to write a reflection on my hopes for this beautiful child and for the world that welcomes him. Some people ask why… Read More My Hopes for Anthony Francis Crawford

via the Vatican: I think also of the situation here in the West, now all too marked by the effects of individualism, where the once-stable networks of family, friendship and community are giving way to greater fragmentation, and where freedom is increasingly presented as absolute autonomy – the ability to pursue happiness without any moral,… Read More Pope Leo Explains How Excessive Individualism Actually Reduces Our Freedom

Millennial writer Chris Crawford writes: The greatest danger of election distrust is that it breeds cynicism, and that can dissuade people from participating altogether. It can leave voters feeling as if casting their ballot is simply pointless. Bad actors can exploit that uncertainty to divide neighbors and cast doubt on legitimate outcomes. Left unaddressed, this… Read More Religious Leaders Can Strengthen Trust in Democracy

NEW: I asked New York Mayor Mamdani what he wanted to say to Catholic New York on the 25th anniversary of 9/11. “We can never say thank you enough to the Catholic community that … in this city’s darkest ever day, showed so much of the light that kept New Yorkers moving… pic.twitter.com/BFnOPMsaK2 — Christopher… Read More Mayor Mamdani to the Catholic Community of New York 25 Years After 9/11

via the Vatican: In his Encyclical Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis taught us to cultivate social friendship, which is the public, dynamic and concrete expression of fraternity. Indeed, when we recognize one another in the dignity of being children of God, we come into contact with that which fundamentally unites human beings, beyond every difference, division… Read More Pope Leo: Persons Must Always Come First, Only Love Can Overcome Evil