Paul Kengor

Paul Kengor is Professor of Political Science at Grove City College, executive director of the Center for Vision and Values. He is the author, most recently, of The Devil and Karl Marx (TAN Books, 2020). He is also the editor of The American Spectator.

recent articles

Nancy Pelosi

In Persona Pelosi

“I think I can use my own judgment on that.” That was the assessment of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a longtime “pro-choice” Catholic, when asked her reaction to U.S. bishops and the Vatican considering the question of whether abortion-advocating Catholic politicians should be denied the Eucharist. The reporter acknowledged the Church’s position that … Read more

Socialism

The Early Church Was Not Socialist

“The early church was a socialist church.” So said Rev. Raphael Warnock in 2016, four years before the citizens of Georgia elected him a U.S. senator. It’s a strange statement, least of all because the description “socialist church” is an oxymoron. Not only would the Church fathers be puzzled by it, but so would socialism’s … Read more

Pagans

Pagans for Biden

Impeccable authorities on all-things-religious, such as The New York Times, are swooning over “perhaps the most religiously observant commander in chief in half a century.” That would be President Joe Biden. That obviously unproven statement is patent political propaganda. Of course, it’s a statement impossible to know let alone claim, least of all as this … Read more

Facebook Ads

The Devil and Facebook

“I wanted to let you know about some of our ads that have recently been pulled on Facebook,” wrote my publicist at TAN Books in an email, “including all of our ads for The Devil and Karl Marx.” That would be my book: The Devil and Karl Marx. It has sold thousands of copies, is … Read more

Saul Alinsky: Playing Merry Hell

Of all the sordid figures of the American “New Left,” few strike the interest of Catholics quite like Saul Alinsky. This is no doubt because of Alinsky’s rather curious Catholic connections in and around Chicago in the 1960s. Many of them disturbing, given how often he collaborated with senior Church officials. It says as much … Read more

The Opium of the Marxists

The most infamous of Karl Marx’s remarks on religion was his demeaning assessment that religion is the “opiate” or “opium” of the masses. Few, however, are familiar with the wider context of the assessment, the larger passage that is no less reassuring, and that, like much of Marx and his disciples’ writings, becomes even more … Read more

The Communist’s Catechism

The opening lines of the Communist Manifesto could not have been more eerily apt: “A specter is haunting Europe—the specter of communism,” wrote Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848. “All the powers of old Europe have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this specter: Pope and Tsar, Metternich and Guizot, French Radicals and … Read more

Roman Catholics: The Original Abolitionists

Progressives eagerly remind America of its past of slavery and racism. So much so that The New York Times’ 1619 Project literally dates America that way, defining the country’s start by the year 1619 (rather than 1620 or 1776), with the arrival of the first Africans to Virginia that year. Mobs target statues of everyone … Read more

Joe Biden Betrays His Fellow Catholics

With the exit of effectively everyone but Bernie Sanders from the Democratic presidential race, the path to the party’s nomination has been cleared wide open for Joe Biden. It’s now one-on-one, Biden vs. Bernie, with Biden almost certain to win out. If you’re a betting man, the odds are literally and overwhelmingly on Biden—87 percent, … Read more

The Religious Left Just Doesn’t Get It: Socialism Is Anti-Christian

“If someone calls it socialism,” said Rev. William Barber at the August meeting of the Democratic National Committee, “then we must compel them to acknowledge that the Bible must then promote socialism, because Jesus offered free health care to everyone, and he never charged a leper a co-pay.” Barber’s statement brought secular progressives to their … Read more

Giving the Devil His Due

I wrote here at Crisis back in March 2018 about the all-too-common link between mass shooters and fatherlessness. That was in the aftermath of the Parkland, Florida incident. Looking at a list of the worst mass shooters in U.S. history, it was clear that the vast majority came from broken families lacking a consistent biological … Read more

Popes Francis Again Confronts Gender Ideology

“The Vatican’s new document on gender will be used to oppress and harm LGBT people. It perpetuates false stereotypes that encourage hatred, bigotry, and violence.” This statement from New Ways Ministry was tweeted by Fr. James Martin in reaction to an important new Vatican statement by Pope Francis’s Congregation for Catholic Education. Issued during Pride … Read more

Notre Dame’s 2020 Commencement Speaker: Donald J. Trump

No, this is not a press release. I’ll leave that to Notre Dame’s communications office. Rather, it’s a simple statement and assumption of the obvious. I wanted to be the first to hog the honor of announcing it. President Donald Trump will be Notre Dame’s commencement speaker next year, a presidential campaign year no less. … Read more

The Politically Incorrect Francis—14 Shocking Statements

Editor’s note: The following essay by Professor Kengor is considerably longer than the typical Crisis article. We try to be mindful of the reading habits of our Internet audience which tends to favor shorter pieces. However, Professor Kengor’s essay is original, timely, well-documented, and very readable. Crisis welcomes the lively discussion and debate it will … Read more

Sins of Omission: The Abusive PA Clergy Abuse Report

Back in August, after a special solemnity Mass in my parish in the Diocese of Erie, Pennsylvania, I came home and read the grand jury report on clergy sex abuse in six Pennsylvania Catholic dioceses, including my own. I read the 884-page online version. I saw allegations against priests in my diocese and the Pittsburgh … Read more

Sowers of the Current Chaos

For keen insight into some of the malevolent forces at work in the Church right now, an unexpected source is a fascinating book by Father Charles Theodore Murr, titled, The Godmother: Madre Pascalina. Published in May 2017, for the centenary of Fatima, it is one of the most interesting yet underreported Catholic books of recent … Read more

The Supreme Court Deals a Blow to the Abortion Industry

The U.S. Supreme Court this week, in yet another narrow decision, this one titled, National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra, has struck down a 2015 California law that would have forced pro-life crisis pregnancy centers to advertise abortions, that is, centers established for the very purpose of not doing abortions and providing … Read more

Shootings and Fatherlessness: A Clarification on the Data

Earlier this week I published a piece at Crisis for which I owe readers an apology and explanation. In 30 years of commentary writing, I’ve never had to do this, which surely has been God’s grace, given my many bouts of arrogant stupidity, but maybe the good Lord gave me this one for some badly … Read more

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