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 Good News Is That The Bad News Isn’t All The News There Is

George Weigel

A suggestion for a different kind of Lenten fast: Give up Catholic bad news-mongering.

Articles

Syndicated Column / March 13, 2024

The ‘Our’ in Our Democracy

Francis X. Maier

“Our democracy” is on the brink of a theocratic coup. “Our democracy” is being hijacked by racists, fascists, homophobes, and misogynists.

Articles

The Catholic Thing / March 13, 2024

Pope Francis Waves a White Flag at Vladimir Putin

George Weigel

In urging the victim to yield to the aggressor, he repudiates centuries of Catholic teaching.

Articles

Wall Street Journal / March 13, 2024

How to Build a Healthy Culture

Stephen P. White

American culture, such as it is, has never really been Catholic. We have had many Catholic subcultures, some of them thriving.

Articles

The Catholic Thing / March 7, 2024

Two Who Didn’t Run

George Weigel

Both Stanley Rother and Alexei Navalny exemplified the cardinal virtue of courage, which is also a gift of the Holy Spirit.

Articles

Syndicated Column / March 6, 2024

Weigel: “Many in the West would prefer if Russia returned to the forests from which…

George Weigel

But it should be understood that the Catholic Church cannot abandon the just war tradition because that tradition is rooted in both revelation and reason and is the permanently valid method of moral analysis that Catholics should use in thinking through issues of war and peace.

CREDO / March 5, 2024

The Needs of the Vatican Tomorrow

Francis X. Maier

The anonymity of the text, however reasonable its motives, inevitably weakens its effect and opens it to criticism.

Articles

First Things / March 5, 2024