In one of the most remarkable talks of his papacy, Pope Francis made a strong case for the common good—for social justice based on solidarity. I would like to make an appeal to those in possession of greater resources, to public authorities and to all people of good will who are working for social justice:… Read More The Slum Pope’s Unambiguous Call for Social Justice
In the Prayer of Saint Francis we ask that we may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love. It’s one of my favorite prayers. It is a prayer to be released from the chains of egotism and self-centeredness. But the… Read More Accepting Love and Help: Lessons from the Good Samaritan
When we think of evil, we often think of fanatics foaming at the mouth as they rant against those they wish to exploit or harm, spewing hatred with hyperbolic and inflammatory remarks. In fact, evil can be mundane and bland. The banality of evil can arise in a cultural milieu where the dehumanization and depersonalization… Read More Casual, Boring Evil
Today is Malala Day, named after the extraordinary, courageous Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai. Malala remains a fierce proponent of education for all, even after being shot in the head by members of the Taliban and seeing her friends murdered. As she said earlier today, “They thought that the bullet would silence us…but they failed.” Malala… Read More Malala at the UN: Education for All
Humility prevents me from giving this post the title ‘Top 23 Quotes from Lumen Fidei’, so I will simply say that these are the passages that caught my eye as I read the encyclical, which was released earlier today: “Yet in the absence of light everything becomes confused; it is impossible to tell good from… Read More 23 Quotes from Lumen Fidei
The second Fortnight for Freedom wraps up today. It would be difficult to say that it has been a sterling success. Certainly some Catholics have benefited from thinking about religious freedom and threats to this fundamental human right. But it has done little to penetrate the larger culture and it has not generated a great… Read More Fortnight for Freedom III: Freedom from Want, Please
I’m incredibly patriotic. To quote the first line of one of my favorite movies: I believe in America. I am conscious of this, which hopefully helps me to minimize the impact my experience as an American has had in distorting my understanding of the universal principles of my faith. I believe religious freedom is one… Read More Our Lady of ‘Merica
Millennial 