According to Audrey Clare Farley at The New Republic, some conservative Catholic priests believe they are engaged in a spiritual war against Black Lives Matter, Marxism, critical race theory, intersectionality, and wokeness. Here is a taste of her piece: Last […]
catholicism
Remember your death
Over at The New York Times, Ruth Graham has a fascinating piece on Sister Theresa Aletheia Noble of the Daughters of St. Paul convent in Boston. Here is a taste: These days, Sister Aletheia has no shortage of skulls. People […]
Pope Francis reaches out to Italian Pentecostalism
As someone shaped by Roman Catholicism, evangelicalism, (though not Pentecostalism), and Italian-American culture (which I realize is quite different from Italian culture), I was pleased to see this. Here is Vatican News: Pope Francis has expressed his closeness to the […]
Joe Biden’s Georgetown pastor: “The Eucharist is not to be used as a weapon”
The U.S. Conference on Catholic Bishops is divided over whether Joe Biden can uphold pro-choice policies on abortion and still partake of communion. Here is a taste of Michelle Boorstein’s piece at The Washington Post: The Rev. Kevin Gillespie, pastor […]
Obama 2.0?
As my piece today at Current suggests, I see a lot of continuity between the Obama and Biden presidencies. Obama inherited the 2008 recession. Biden inherited COVID-19, an economic recession, racial tensions, and the Trump-induced threats to American democracy. Both […]
Steve Bannon will need to find another location for his “Catholic political academy.” Italy says no.
I had no idea Bannon was trying to establish what Reuters calls a “right-wing Catholic political academy” in Italy. Here is Philip Puella’s piece: Steve Bannon, the former adviser to ex-U.S. President Donald Trump, has lost a legal battle to […]
Jesuits come to grips with slavery
Here is Rachel Swarns at The New York Times: In one of the largest efforts by an institution to atone for slavery, a prominent order of Catholic priests has vowed to raise $100 million to benefit the descendants of the […]
A Catholic take on Ted Lasso
I have not seen a single episode of Ted Lasso, but after reading Zac Davis’s piece on the show at America I want to start watching it. Here is a taste: Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis, who just took home a […]
Mapping Catholic land; fighting climate change
Molly Burhans, a liberal arts graduate of Canisius College, a Catholic college in Buffalo, is leading a major project to help the Catholic Church map its vast landholdings in order to help it fight climate change. David Owen of The […]
When it comes to presidents quoting scripture and spiritual writers, Joe Biden may surpass Barack Obama
In 2012, I asked readers of my now defunct Patheos column if they would vote for a man who: …gives praise and honor to God before a public audience? …wants to seek God’s face with other believers? …admits that prayer […]
The Author’s Corner with Evan Haefeli
Evan Haefeli is Associate Professor of History at Texas A&M University. This interview is based on his new book, Against Popery: Britain, Empire, and Anti-Catholicism (University of Virginia Press, 2020). JF: What led you to write Against Popery? EH: I […]
Mark Galli’s journey to Catholicism
In September we did a post on Mark Galli‘s conversion to Catholicism. Read it here. Over at Denver Catholic, Aaron Lambert sheds a bit more light on the faith journey of the former editor of Christianity Today. Here is a […]
Pope Francis’s scathing critique of American life
Yesterday at The New York Times, Pope Francis published an excerpt of his new book Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future. He offers a devastating critique of the selfishness that we Americans try to pass off as […]
*The Washington Post* religion desk tackles Amy Coney Barrett and People of Praise
Here is Emma Brown, Jon Swaine, and Michelle Boorstein: While Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett has faced questions about how her Catholic faith might influence her jurisprudence, she has not spoken publicly about her involvement in People of Praise, […]
People of Praise and South Bend, Indiana
Over at Politico, Adam Wren writes about the relationship between People of Praise and the city of South Bend, Indiana. Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court has brought attention to this small Catholic community. Here is a taste […]
Local coverage of the South Bend People of Praise community, 1977
Sun, Aug 7, 1977 – 30 · The South Bend Tribune (South Bend, Indiana) · Newspapers.com Later today Trump is expected to announce his nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. […]
Amy Coney Barrett and the People of Praise
It looks like Trump will nominate Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court later today. Over the next several weeks, Senators and pundits will want to know more about People of Praise, a Catholic charismatic group in which the Barrett […]
Watch Springsteen’s convocation address at Boston College
Get up to speed at the end of this post. If you don’t want to watch the entire thing, here are the highlights: Context: (For more on Created and Called for Community at Messiah University click here).
What are the court evangelicals saying about the DNC convention?
We have now had two nights of the DNC convention. Let’s check-in on the court evangelicals: I think this must have been taped before the convention, but watch Eric Metaxas and John Smirak mock Kamala Harris’s first name. And then […]
The “moral complexity” of Junipero Serra
Father Junipero Serra, a Franciscan priest who established some of the earliest Spanish missions in California, has been under attack of late. On June 19, 2020, activists pulled-down a Serra statue in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. The following day, […]