The issue you’re holding marks the final print edition of Crisis Magazine. Last month, I explained our reasons for moving the publication entirely online. This month, I want to give you the rest of the story. You see, while it’s true that financial necessity forced our hand a bit, it’s also true that we’ve been … Read more
As you may know, for the past five years the magazine business has been in a slow but unmistakable decline. While there are a few exceptions, most publications share the same lament: Postage and printing costs continue to rise, while response rates to subscription offers decline. The fact is, people are no longer as interested … Read more
It’s always a bit touchy discussing a recent religious conversion. But there are times when a conversion is so public that talk is bound to come. Such was the case last month when Francis Beckwith, the president of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS), announced his return to the Catholic Church. Beckwith had been raised Catholic … Read more
I have great news for you: Anti- ]Catholicism is a myth, a scheme cooked up by religious conservatives to deflect criticism away from themselves. At least that’s what prominent “freethinker” Susan Jacoby believes. She wrote as much in a March 14 column on the Newsweek/Washington Post Web log: The idea that anti-Catholicism is a significant … Read more
You’ve got to hand it to Hollywood producer James Cameron: He’s not about to let his lack of knowledge, credentials, and competence stand in the way of announcing a major archaeological find. On March 4, the Discovery Channel aired a Cameron-produced documentary titled “The Lost Tomb of Jesus.” In it, various “experts” argue that a … Read more
Dinesh D’Souza knows controversy. The author of the bombshells Illiberal Education: The Politics of Race and Sex on Campus (Free Press, 1998), The End of Racism (Free Press, 1996), and What’s So Great About America (Penguin, 2003)—as well as a former editor of crisis—he is not afraid to stir things up. So it is with … Read more
When CRISIS commissioned the study that makes up the bulk of this issue, we had two goals in mind. First, we wanted to find a way— if possible—to quantify diocesan health. This is a controversial aim, and for good reason. How, after all, do you measure the health of the local Church, and how do … Read more
Early last December, Vatican archaeologists uncovered what they believe to be the tomb of St. Paul in Rome. Tradition had it located under the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, and that is just where they found it. Of course, at this stage, the researchers can make no firm conclusions. There’s little that can … Read more
The Republicans took a beating on November 7. No need to belabor the reasons. Suffice it to say that the unfortunate combination of Iraq, recent congressional scandals, and a general feeling of governmental arrogance all played their parts. Regardless of our own place on the political spectrum, we must admit that election night was hard … Read more
Last month, popular conservative writer and Dallas Morning News columnist Rod Dreher announced his departure from Catholicism and entry into the Orthodox Church. He issued a long and moving statement explaining his decision on his Web log. In short, the pain of being on the front lines of the sex-abuse scandal (as a journalist) coupled … Read more
Three years ago, Garry Wills came out with a book titled, Why I Am a Catholic. Apparently, after his earlier work, Papal Sin: Structures of Deceit, a lot of people were wondering why he chose to remain in the Roman fold. His answer—a combination of personal nostalgia and belief in the basic truth of the … Read more
When Paul Weyrich cofounded the Heritage Foundation in 1973, the conservative movement was in low ebb. Barry Goldwater had fallen short in 1964, Watergate was in the papers, and the nation churned over Vietnam. Weyrich and co-founder Edwin Feulner sensed the drift—more to the point, they noted the absence of fresh conservative ideas in the … Read more
Ever since the Enlightenment, scientists have gone to great—and often ridiculous— lengths to explain away the miraculous events described in the Bible. Such efforts have even wormed their way into the Church. Have you ever heard a homily that dismissed the multiplication of the loaves as a grand instance of neighbor sharing with neighbor? Unfortunately, … Read more
Politics is a nasty business, or so we’ve made it. For the past two decades—from elements on the left and the right—we’ve been treated to an endless stream of political vitriol. Ronald Reagan pilfered the poor to enrich the wealthy (and had a nice cocaine smuggling business on the side, courtesy of the Contras and … Read more
There’s big money to be made in undermining traditional Christianity. We saw it first in the phenomenal success of The Da Vinci Code, the film version of which will be in theaters later this month. You’re already no doubt familiar with the book’s unrelenting attack on the Church. And the movie looks to be no … Read more
On the last day of February, 55 Catholic House Democrats released a joint document titled, “Statement of Principles.” It’s the usual pitch from the usual suspects. There’s the bit about how proud they are to be part of the “living Catholic tradition,” as well as the lip service to the “undesirability of abortion.” And then … Read more
Faithful Catholics at the beginning of the 21st century can be forgiven a little pessimism. We’ve seen heterodoxy taught in seminaries, spouted from the pulpit, and promoted in Catholic colleges. We’ve witnessed sideshow liturgies, plummeting Mass attendance, and the recent sex-abuse scandal. All around us, it appeared as though our 2,000-year-old Church was crumbling. In … Read more
As a hard-core Augustinian, I have a little joke I like to blurt out at Thomist parties: The African saint is particularly beloved by God, because he saved Him the trouble of having to inspire a third Testament. Then I express my gratitude for Aquinas’s life-long work while indexing Augustine’s insights. Fisticuffs usually follow. While … Read more
There’s an old trick that seems to be hardwired into the brain of every child: When he doesn’t get his way about this or that, he threatens to leave home. Possibly for the circus. I did this myself, once actually packing a bag before I was lured back by the irresistible draw of cookies and … Read more
The long-awaited apostolic visitation of American seminaries is now underway, and that’s very good news. It’s no secret that priestly formation in the United States suffered in the 1960s and 1970s, when fidelity to authentic Catholicism often took a backseat to the social and theological fads of the age. While things are clearly better now, … Read more