Stephen P. White

Opposition to Obamacare was, and remains, opposition to a bad law, not to the benevolent motives of the law’s supporters.

Those who would defend the church’s moral teachings—on “those issues” and all the rest—would do well to proclaim, first and above all else, the love of God in the person of Jesus Christ.

It would be terrible to put our troops in harm’s way with no clear objective; it would be far worse to ask them to kill in an unjustified war.

St. Francis of Assisi was uncompromising in his love for the poor. He was equally uncompromising in his fidelity to the Church in all her teachings. Expect the same from Pope Francis.

The Church’s concern for the environment extends beyond the usual “green” issues to our own human nature. When we misunderstand creation, we misunderstand both God (who is Creator) and man (who is part of creation).

A commitment to doctrinal orthodoxy and a commitment to social justice and serving the true needs of the poor are often mistaken for contradictory goals. In truth, each is the necessary condition of the other, and Pope Francis is a man who embodies both.

Pope Benedict’s last act — his resignation — may turn out to be his greatest long-term legacy. As the demands of apostolic life increase, we may see more and more popes following Benedict’s example, and, when old age robs them of their strength, humbly stepping aside for the sake of the Church’s fundamental mission: spreading the Gospel.

The pope is not a figurehead; he is an apostle. He is not a manager; he is a messenger. By announcing his resignation yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI has signaled that the Church of the 21st-century will not be a Church of business as usual.

Pope Benedict’s news — that he will step aside as pontiff — is still being processed by a shocked world as prayers commence for the future shepherd of the world’s Catholics.

Citizens, not governments, are the true guarantors of freedom. And citizens who forget their obligations to the good of all only invite the loss of their own.

The virtues and vices of a people shape the laws as surely as the laws shape the character of a people. Those who would blame the Constitution for America's woes should not pretend that America could be what she is without it. For if America is on balance a good thing, then great deal of the credit must go to that remarkable law by which she is constituted.

Catholics who see the ordination of women — something the Church insists it has no authority to do — as the necessary condition of equality within the Church take an unjustly privileged view of the priestly office.