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, and the inaugural Senior Research Fellow (2020–22) at Notre Dame’s Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government. 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 and the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS).
His bylined work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, First Things, National Review, The American Spectator, The Catholic Thing, Crisis, This World, America, Commonweal, the New York Times Sunday magazine, Christian Science Monitor, and other national and foreign outlets. His book True Confessions: Voices of Faith from a Life in the Church, will be released by Ignatius Press in early 2024.
The Fine Art of Name-Calling
Francis X. Maier
Too often, the Christian left tends to serve as a kind of religious “Me Too” movement within the larger stream of progressive activism.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / September 12, 2022
Synodality and Its Issues
Francis X. Maier
For the sake of the Church, cheerleaders for synodality might profitably read two documents from the International Theological Commission, on the true nature of synodality and sensus fidei in the life of the Church, respectively.
Articles
Catholic World Report / September 12, 2022
Mother and Teacher
Francis X. Maier
The Church is mater et magistra. She is the teacher, not the pupil.
Articles
First Things / August 30, 2022
Our Parallel Polis
Francis X. Maier
The totalitarian instinct—the appetite for social control—morphs and adapts across cultures and time, exactly like a virus. Democracies are not immune.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / August 29, 2022
The Power of the Powerless
Francis X. Maier
The only “power of the powerless,” lies in refusing to cooperate with lies.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / August 10, 2022
On Synods Then and Now
Francis X. Maier
The synodal process the Church has embarked on—if done well, and honestly, and without the “hermeneutic of rupture” that has dogged Catholic life since Vatican II—can lead to a renewal of Christian faith.
Articles
First Things / August 9, 2022
All Things Made New: Living the Lay Vocation
Francis X. Maier
Whoever we are as laity, our vocation remains the same: using the raw material of our circumstances to give glory to God and to help other people share in his redemption through the witness of our lives.
Articles
Catholic World Report / August 8, 2022
Strange New World: A Guide
Francis X. Maier
No matter how loudly we express the unique and wondrous grandeur of our individuality, it all ends up in ashes or a casket.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / July 27, 2022
Clarifications After Dobbs
Francis X. Maier
The work continues, because it must.
Articles
The Catholic Thing / July 13, 2022
The Scent of a Soul
Francis X. Maier
Church teaching on the dignity of unborn life culls the progressive herd; it separates out those who take the word “Catholic” seriously, motivating some, embarrassing others.
Articles
First Things / July 7, 2022
