Bishop Robert Barron
Putting teeth back into Faith, Hope, and Love
St. Paul famously tells the Corinthians that there are “three things that last: faith, hope, and love.” At this Pauline... Read more
Victor Hugo’s re-telling of the Gospel
Just in advance of Christmas, the film version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit appeared. As I and many other commentators... Read more
How Many Are Saved?
Dr. Ralph Martin, Professor of Systematic Theology at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, has written an important book titled “Will... Read more
The greatest meeting of all time
Just a few weeks ago, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. Accordingly, there... Read more
Resisting an aggressive secularism
It was with barely concealed delight that “Chicago Sun-Times” columnist Neil Steinberg conveyed the findings of the recent Pew Forum... Read more
Sex, Love, and God: The Catholic Answer to Puritanism and Nietzcheanism
Many of the Catholic Church’s teachings are vilified in both the high and popular cultures, but none more than its... Read more
Why the sciences will never disprove the existence of God
Given the ruminations of Stephen Hawking, Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennett, one might have thought that the absolute limit of... Read more
Savvy headhunters and the hookup culture
I first came across the term “hookup culture” in Leonard Sax’s thought provoking and disturbing 2005 book, Why Gender Matters.... Read more
Why the Queenship of Mary matters
The Catholic Church annually celebrates the feast of the Queenship of Mary. I would imagine that most people, upon hearing... Read more
The great both/and of Catholic social teaching
For many on the left, Paul Ryan is a menace, the very embodiment of cold, indifferent Republicanism, and for many... Read more
´The Dark Knight Rises´ and the Cinematic Christ
In one way or another, all religions deal with the problem of evil, both how to explain it and how... Read more
Woody Allen, moralist, 'To Rome With Love'
Who would have thought that Woody Allen, who twenty years after separating from his longtime girlfriend to notoriously marry her... Read more
Spider-Man, Iron Man, Superman, and the God-Man
This past decade has seen a plethora of movies dealing with superheroes: the “Batman” films, “The Green Lantern,” “Iron Man,”... Read more
The 'City Upon a Hill' and 'an almost chosen people'
Ross Douthat’s "Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics" has certainly been the most talked about book on... Read more
Yves Congar and the meaning of Vatican II
One of the most theologically fascinating and just plain entertaining books I’ve read in a long time is Yves Congar’s... Read more
Viva Cristo Rey!
The new feature film “For Greater Glory” tells the story of the Mexican Cristero war, which broke out in the... Read more
Why it's okay to be against heresy and for imposing one's will on others
Last week, two prominent Catholic women—Kathleen Sebelius in an address to the graduates of Georgetown University’s public policy school, and... Read more
The new evangelization and seminaries
Just last week it was announced that I have been named the new Rector/President of Mundelein Seminary, my alma mater... Read more
How to solve the bully problem
It is very difficult indeed to watch the new documentary “Bully” without experiencing both an intense sadness and a feeling... Read more
Why do Catholics leave, and what can be done about it?
I saw an advance copy of a survey by William J. Byron and Charles Zech, which will appear in the... Read more
