The initial euphoria of Pope Francis's election was being replaced by the realization that we women would continue to be joked about, romanticized, and patronized.
Slots, video poker, and other gambling machines are often described as games, but they're a sinful rejection of the goodness of the world and a failure to rejoice.
A Darwinian view argues that genes themselves are selfish. An evolutionary biologist in Darwin's camp, David Wilson wishes to refute this argument once and for all.
Fleming Rutledge probes “the strange new world of the Bible” to its mysterious and scandalous depth in the crucifixion of God's son, and diagnoses our deepest need.
Before the "Declaration on Religious Freedom" was created, church leaders warned that embracing religious freedom would betray the church’s doctrinal heritage.
Jack Mulder seeks to “explain why the Catholic story captivated, and still captivates” so as to enhance Christian dialogue. He succeeds in only one of those aims.
Though many Westerners think of Iran as a theocratic monolith, Christians of various kinds consider it home and see the Shiite majority not as hosts but neighbors.
Why did a text so significant to the history of Catholicism get such a muted reception in Protestant thought and practice? Look to early commentaries for answers.
There is no one Orthodox Christian theology of marriage. And as to any universal rules about divorce and remarriage: In the Orthodox context, "it depends."
Pope Francis's "seemingly ambivalent" attitude toward clergy sex abuse; Canadian archbishop calls for the church to involve women in all levels of ecclesial life.
Papal infallibility is utterly misunderstood. Nowhere is it decreed that the pope is infallible; the Catholic Church has never taught that any pope is infallible.
Terry Eagleton gives a witty and insightful tour of hope’s complicated linguistic terrain that carefully avoids proposing some once-and-for-all grand Theory of Hope.
Writers engage biblical texts ranging from the Psalms to a single parable.Their essays are wildly heterogeneous in tone and method, kind of like the Bible itself.
Frederica Mathewes-Green on Eastern Orthodoxy; Brian E. Daley and Paul Kolbert on Psalm interpretations, Philip Jenkins on lost gospels; James O'Donnell on pagans
Philip Jenkins sets out to demolish a popular theological myth that the second-century apocryphal writings were unknown until recently; he makes a convincing case.
Paul Misner's new book goes beyond social and labor movements in the church to deal with papal and episcopal action vis-à-vis the great powers between 1914 and 1965.
For scholars interested in the history of theology and biblical interpretation, these twelve short essays offer new approaches to Psalms, moral philosophy, and more.
Mathewes-Green, a convert from the Episcopal tradition, focuses on Orthodoxy as a path to God and uses the actions and prayers of the liturgy as a basis for theology
Bruce Chatwin casts travel as an act of sacrifice, of “sloughing-off” the world and discovering the self anew. His work contains moments of aching spirituality.
Engagement with vexing questions is part of the life of a pilgrim church. It is strangely un-Catholic to assert that doctrine does not and cannot change.
Readers weight in on the debate started by Albert B. Hakim on universal salvation and damnation for the unjust, and fact-check our review of 'Spotlight.'
The concept of the rule of law helps provide a broader framework that makes sense of the critics and the defenders of the prolife movement after Colorado Springs.
"Metaphysics." The word unexpectedly provided me with new reflections on the deepest meaning of the birth of Jesus and the Incarnation—the seen and the unseen.
For the men I met with for a biweekly seminar at a mid-level security prison, the biblical struggle with Satan is an everyday affair, expressed in just those terms.
Vatican confirms details of Francis's trip to Mexico; Francesca Chaouqui claims some cardinals want the pope dead; and globalization brings Christmas trees to Rome.
People with disabilities present us with a mystery, Jean Vanier once explained; they are the very presence of Jesus. There is something particular in their kindness.
Pope Francis opened the Jubilee Year of Mercy heralding "mercy before judgment" in the spirit of Vatican II. But did the liturgy symbolically contradict the message?
Almost without exception, students respond favorably to René Girard’s work. In some cases, the encounter with Girard changes their lives--as it has changed mine.
John’s gospel is not a story about shepherds and angels. And for that reason, though it's the assigned reading for Mass on Christmas day, most people won't hear it.
John Boyne’s new novel pays attention to the circumstances of priestly life in real-world Catholic Ireland, asking: How does one be a good priest under suspicion?
The church historically has not been kind to the idea of universal salvation. But there have always been theologians who dared to hope that hell would remain empty.
Vatican translators edit piety into pope's speeches; Francis plans 'twelve big gestures to demonstrate God’s mercy' for Jubilee Year; More on 'Vatileaks II' scandal.
To understand how Islamic extremism grew, one must consider Washington’s decades-long military support to Pakistan, and its protection of the Saudi Arabian monarchy.
What Pope Francis is doing during his first trip to Africa, despite security threats; who among the cardinals thinks the pope is "wobbly" on church teaching, again.
Selected articles, interviews, and video from our coverage of the Synod on the Family—and the continuing dialogue about sex, marriage, and Catholic family life.
Pope sows "confusion" by inviting Muslims take part in upcoming Jubilee Year, giving a Eucharistic chalice to a Lutheran pastor, and remaining the Bishop of Rome.
So this, I realized as I watched, was still a church of surprises. Vatican II lived on. A weight accumulated over thirty-five years dropped from from my shoulders.
Pope Francis to everyone: reread Evangelii Gaudium; to bishops: be pastors, nothing more; to St. Peter's square audience: I need your help in reforming the church.
