
Francis X. Maier
Senior Fellow
Francis X. Maier is a senior fellow in the Catholic Studies Program at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Mr. Maier’s work focuses on the intersection of Christian faith, culture, and public life, with special attention to lay formation and action.
Francis X. Maier is a senior fellow in the Catholic Studies Program at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Mr. Maier’s work focuses on the intersection of Christian faith, culture, and public life, with special attention to lay formation and action.
Mr. Maier served as senior adviser and special assistant to Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., for 23 years in Denver and Philadelphia. He previously served as editor in chief of the National Catholic Register, and as a story analyst and screenwriter based in Los Angeles. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and New York University’s School of the Arts, he is a former fellow of the American Film Institute’s Conservatory for Advanced Film Studies. He is a cofounding board member of the University of Pennsylvania’s Collegium Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture, and a board member of the Napa Institute.
His bylined work has appeared in First Things, National Review, The American Spectator, Crisis, This World, America, Commonweal, the New York Times Sunday magazine, Christian Science Monitor, and other national and foreign outlets.
Remembering an Exceptional Man: Cardinal Francis George
Francis X. Maier

We live at a moment when we urgently need the witness of good Christian men and women. In the life of the Church, we need leaders of courage and Catholic fidelity; men who will accompany the poor and the broken.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / February 6, 2023
My Kind of Antichrist
Francis X. Maier

It turns out that “antichrist” comes in all shapes and sizes.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / January 19, 2023
The Quiet Genius of Pope Benedict XVI
Francis X. Maier

The ‘pope between the times’ had an unshakable faith that complemented his luminescent intellect.
Articles
The Wall Street Journal / December 31, 2022
December Thoughts, Then and Now
Francis X. Maier

The last days of December are always a time for reflection; an opportunity to make sense of the past, take stock of the present, and set a course for the future.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / December 29, 2022
Archbishop Paglia: Financial Reform?
Francis X. Maier

Given the gaffes, problems, and lapses in judgment that seem to trail Archbishop Paglia like an unpleasant perfume, the correct thing to do would be to resign his positions.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / December 16, 2022
Everything is (not) Broken
Francis X. Maier

Every so often an article appears that demands to be shared. So I’m doing that here.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / November 30, 2022
How to Resist the New Totalitarianism
Francis X. Maier

Helen Alvaré’s new book is an extremely helpful aid in understanding the root of today’s legal battles over the nature and limits of religious freedom.
Articles
First Things / November 28, 2022
Confusion and Its Cost
Francis X. Maier

One of the lessons taught by the past is that conflict in matters of faith, at both the personal and cultural levels, can have the effect of a wrecking ball.
Articles
First Things / November 16, 2022
The Jesuits: What Went Wrong
Francis X. Maier

My unease with the Jesuits began right alongside my respect.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / November 10, 2022
‘Tis the Season
Francis X. Maier

We need to be wary about appeals to the “complexity” of issues like abortion because they so often amount to alibis and evasions.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / November 2, 2022