Stephen P. White

The garden is more than an allegory for harmony with our Creator and his creation. Gardening is, or can be, a moral enterprise.

The abuse crisis is, in some important ways, a unique challenge for the Catholic Church. In some ways, though, its remedy is the same as the remedy for all the challenges the Church faces: strive for holiness, cling to the Church, preach the Good News in word and deed.

One could say that Jesus’ interactions with the Pharisees were a form of true accompaniment. They are a model for “dialogue” with a certain kind of interlocutor: for how a Good Shepherd accompanies the powerful, the obstinate, and the self-righteous.

For better or worse, Joe Biden’s words and actions as president will shape how the Catholic faith is perceived and understood.

If Protestantism no longer provides the ballast for this republic, and if Catholicism is not – at least, not presently – up to the task, then one of two options remains. Either our politics will continue to careen towards disaster or something else will, if it has not already, fill the void.

Christmas is when we encounter God at His most approachable and familiar: as a newborn baby.

The reception of Communion is a deeply personal matter, but it is a fundamentally ecclesial act, not a private one. This fact underlies all the ongoing debates about Catholic politicians and Communion.

We should be grateful that we are not responsible for saving this broken and miserable world. If its salvation were up to us, the world would be utterly without hope.

The blemishes of the saints, including John Paul II, ought not be hidden, nor should they scandalize us. Rather, they should be a reminder to us of both humility—in the face of our own many failings—and of hope.

The McCarrick Report has limitations, to be sure, and leaves many questions unanswered. But it also presents a detailed and incriminating account of institutional failures spanning multiple decades and multiple pontificates.

Our country is soul-sick from worshipping many idols – Mammon, Asmodeus, and Moloch. It shows. The signs are all around us, for those with eyes to see.

The distinctiveness of Barrett’s faith – and the consternation it causes among the champions of certain secular pieties – is refreshing. It also underscores the indistinctiveness of so many Catholics who hold public office.