“The glorious City of God is my theme in this work,” says Augustine in the opening of his masterpiece by that name, a masterpiece of theological historiography, for the pagan Romans had cried out, “The Christians have come into our inheritance!” Therefore, they said, the gods had abandoned the old and venerable city—queen of the … Read more
The constant infiltration of illicit drugs from south of the border and the devastation it has wrought on American cities and sizable portions of the population do not seem to have been enough for the U.S. to move against the drug cartels. However, the shocking, brutal massacre by cartel thugs some days ago of the … Read more
It is a rare pleasure to be able to write in full-throated commendation of a signal event at an important academic institution. Last month, Hillsdale College marked its 175th anniversary by dedicating Christ Chapel, a magnificent new building designed by the distinguished ecclesiastical architect Duncan Stroik, a professor of architecture at Notre Dame. The chastely … Read more
Editor’s note: The “Groypers” are followers of the youthful controversialist Nicholas Fuentes, host of a popular YouTube show many have accused of endorsing Holocaust denial and other troubling beliefs. The Groypers have positioned themselves against Turning Point, USA, and its leader, Charlie Kirk, the most powerful of the under-30 activists who rose to prominence during the … Read more
On November 12, the Most Reverend José Horacio Gómez, Archbishop of Los Angeles, was elected president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. His Excellency graciously granted Crisis his first substantial interview since his election. Your Excellency, some Catholic intellectuals today are questioning whether we Catholics can be loyal citizens of the American republic. They say … Read more
“Having trivialized the past by equating it with outmoded . . . fashions and attitudes, people today resent anyone who draws on the past in serious discussions of contemporary conditions or attempts to use the past as a standard by which to judge the present… A denial of the past, superficially progressive and optimistic, proves … Read more
Not long ago, Austen Ivereigh took to Twitter to compare conservative Catholics to feces. He called them racists, anti-Semites, and sedevecantists. In another tweet, Austen compared faithful Catholics—specifically the Pachamama Dunkers—to ISIS head-choppers. The only difference between the Dunkers and Islamic terrorists, said Austen, is that the terrorists have the “guts” to show their faces … Read more
After Fr. Karl Rahner, SJ, had read the preparatory documents (or Schemata) for the Second Vatican Council, he wrote to Franz Cardinal König in Vienna. The Schemata were doctrinally correct, he thought, but without any charism and unable to convince anyone today. In Rahner’s judgment, their authors did not even attempt to empathize with the … Read more
The feminist writer Florynce Kennedy once said, “If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament.” She didn’t give the left enough credit. Abortion has become a kind of “sacrament” because women can get pregnant. Abortion has morphed from a taboo tragedy to a constitutional right: a sine qua non of the Democratic Party, … Read more
What if just ten percent of Christians actually lived the way Jesus calls us to live? What would that world look like? Can we even imagine it? The historian and theologian Ronald J. Sider writes, “I have no doubt that if 10 percent of the Christians today would really live the way Jesus called us … Read more
The Reverend Robert E. Morey of Saint Anthony Catholic Church in Florence, South Carolina, denied former vice president and leading Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden Communion during a Sunday morning Mass in late October. Rev. Morey told a local newspaper that Biden, who was in Florence for a campaign stop, was denied Communion because of … Read more
Lord Acton’s dictum, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” has been getting a good airing in the media lately. “Donald Trump, Absolutely Corrupted” ran an October 11 Washington Post headline, but they’re not the only ones quoting Acton as a satisfactory explanation of the President of the United States’ disturbing tendency to run … Read more
The Religious Freedom Institute honored Philadelphia’s Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., at its annual dinner, November 9, for his decades-long commitment to religious liberty. The following is adapted from his remarks. As I was getting ready for tonight, I remembered a line from the Israeli peace negotiator who said that pessimists are simply optimists … Read more
One of the most encouraging developments in the Church in recent years has been the emergence of good, solid prelates from Africa. One thinks of Cardinal Arinze, whom many had thought might become the first African pope, and now there is the indomitable Robert Cardinal Sarah, whose forthright and courageous stance against much of the … Read more
This month, the question of how to deal with the rapid spread of gender dysphoria among young children reached a breaking point. In Texas, a jury ruled that Jeffrey Younger could not do anything to prevent his seven-year-old son James from undergoing irreversible hormone-replacement procedures, which can cause infertility and significant health issues if used … Read more
It has become a known fact of modern life that nearly all cultural institutions are crumbling. Fewer people are involved in local organizations, clubs, and churches, and more spend the majority of their time online. Among the younger generations, this phenomenon is far more pronounced; far more youth seek their 15 minutes of fame on … Read more
What makes worship in the Catholic Church of 2019 different from everything else one experiences during the week—a place of true spiritual, intellectual, and emotional respite? We genuflect and kneel, and foster a spirit of quiet reverence because Jesus is truly present in the tabernacle and on the altar. External factors can bolster this catechesis: … Read more
Certainly within Catholic circles, a film about the latest, most significant spiritual devotion—the Divine Mercy image and Chaplet—has been much anticipated, and if the nearly-full theatre where I viewed the film is any indication, its premier showing was well attended in a limited theatrical release. Due to popular demand, the film is scheduled for an … Read more
The Catholic cybersphere has recently exploded, first with a video showing Pachamama statues being dumped into the Tiber, and then the video’s sequel, in which 26-year-old Alexander Tschugguel explained that he threw the statues in the river because he felt their presence in a Catholic church violated the First Commandment. It turns out Alexander and … Read more
Editor’s note: this article originally appeared in the April 2002 print edition of Crisis. It has been edited for brevity. Misconceptions about the Crusades are all too common. The Crusades are generally portrayed as a series of holy wars against Islam led by power-mad popes and fought by religious fanatics. They are supposed to have been the … Read more