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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On the Way of the Cross, in Ukraine and Hong Kong

George Weigel

Last Christmas, I borrowed a thought from the English spiritual writer Caryll Houselander and suggested in this space that the wood of…

Articles

Syndicated Column / April 16, 2025

Synodality Against Episcopacy?

George Weigel

After defining, within strict limits, the infallibility of papal teaching on faith and morals, the First Vatican Council intended to take…

Articles

Syndicated Column / April 9, 2025

There Will Come Soft Rains

Francis X. Maier

I’m a 4 a.m. guy.  I rise early to think and work in the silence.  But every once in a…

Articles

The Catholic Thing / April 9, 2025

The Prophetic Tommy Lascelles

George Weigel

His 20th-century observations about the character of King Edward VIII are newly relevant in the Washington, D.C., of the 21st.

Articles

National Review Online / April 5, 2025

Stronger Families; Stronger Priests

Stephen P. White

In 2022, The Catholic Project at The Catholic University of America – where I serve as director – conducted the…

Articles

The Catholic Thing / April 3, 2025

Pope St. John Paul II, Doctor of the Church?

George Weigel

The Catholic Church is prudently patient in awarding the title “Doctor of the Church” to her greatest teachers. However luminous…

Articles

Syndicated Column / April 2, 2025

Aging and the Quest for Immortality

Francis X. Maier

Nobody wants to live to be a hundred, except the guy who’s ninety-nine. Or so the saying goes. But it’s…

Articles

First Things / April 1, 2025

Program Media

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George Weigel reflects on Pope St. John Paul II (Part 2)

Soul Food Priest / April 4, 2025

George Weigel reflects on Pope St. John Paul II (Part 1)

Soul Food Priest / April 3, 2025

George Weigel discusses Catholics and Antisemitism

The Philos Project / March 18, 2025

George Weigel answers “Why did Pope John Paul II pray at the Western Wall?”

Beyond Rome / February 18, 2025

George Weigel on Faith and Culture

The Catholic Conversation / December 10, 2025

George Weigel on the Martyrs of Communism

Hudson Institute / November 15, 2024

George Weigel discusses John Paul II, Human Work, and the Work of the Church

Ethics and Public Policy Center / November 13, 2024