Catholic Studies

As an integral part of the Ethics and Public Policy Center for more than thirty years, the Catholic Studies program explores the many connections between Catholicism and public life and seeks to clarify and deepen knowledge of modern Catholic social thought. We serve as a prominent reference point for government officials, members of Congress, and journalists seeking to understand the social doctrine of the Catholic Church and its application to public-policy questions. We argue for the robust moral and cultural foundations needed to sustain a society that is both free and virtuous.

EPPC Distinguished Senior Fellow George Weigel, who holds the William E. Simon Chair in Catholic Studies, is one of America’s leading public intellectuals and one of the most prominent Catholic thinkers in the world. His annual William E. Simon lecture provides a prominent forum for his work and has spawned influential essays, articles, and books.

EPPC’s Catholic Studies program runs the Tertio Millennio Seminar on the Free Society, an annual summer seminar on Catholic social teaching and the thought of Pope John Paul II.

EPPC Kate O’Beirne Fellow Mary Rice Hasson also directs EPPC’s Catholic Women’s Forum, which helps shape conversations in the Church and in the culture—about marriage and family, gender and sexuality, the role of women, religious liberty, and the dignity of human life—through expert commentary, presentations, scholarly articles, and in national and international conferences.

Other scholars affiliated with the Catholic Studies Program are EPPC Senior Fellow Francis X. Maier, EPPC Fellow Stephen P. White, EPPC Cardinal Francis George Fellow Mary FioRito, and EPPC Postdoctoral Fellow Gabrielle Girgis.

Please direct all inquiries about the Catholic Studies Program to:

Ella Ramsay
Catholic Studies Program Coordinator
202-715-3496
[email protected]

Program Publications

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The Flawed System of Sexual Abuse Settlements

Francis X. Maier

There was a window from the late 1980s through the early 2000s when the sex abuse of minors seemed to…

Articles

First Things / July 4, 2025

Independence Day #249

George Weigel

In the twelve months leading up to next year’s American semiquincentennial, the tale will frequently be told of Benjamin Franklin’s encounter with…

Articles

The Catholic World Report / July 2, 2025

Reading the Red Tory

Francis X. Maier

Jacques Ellul, the French Protestant philosopher, sociologist, and theologian, famously argued that technology evolves autonomously.  In effect, technology shapes society more than…

Articles

The Catholic Thing / July 2, 2025

Is the Traditional Latin Mass Booming?

Stephen P. White

The Pew Research Center (I served in an advisory capacity ) has a new report out that looks at Catholic life in…

Articles

The Catholic Thing / June 26, 2025

On Flannery O’Connor’s Centenary

George Weigel

How appropriate that Flannery O’Connor should have been born on the Solemnity of the Annunciation: the liturgical feast celebrating the…

Articles

National Catholic Register / June 25, 2025

‘Public’ Does Not Mean ‘State’ or ‘Government’

George Weigel

In its recent non-decision, St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Catholic School v. Drummond, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand an obtuse…

Articles

National Catholic Register / June 18, 2025

A Priest for Our Times

Francis X. Maier

I’m a sucker for history because it’s a great teacher.  And I talk a lot about the Reformation because, while…

Articles

The Catholic Thing / June 18, 2025