Catholic New York

How bad a year has it been? Let me not count the ways. Good books can hearten us in 2021 and beyond, though. Herewith, then, some suggestions for Christmastide book-giving: “Prison Journal, … more

By GEORGE WEIGEL | 12/17/20

An Open Letter to the People of ‘Courage’

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ: There are many exemplars of the cardinal virtue of courage in the Catholic Church today: Catholics in Hong Kong who risk their lives and livelihoods in defense … more

By GEORGE WEIGEL | 11/18/20

The Toxic Waste of Roe v. Wade

Great Britain’s parliamentary democracy has no constitutional text, but rather a “constitution” composed of centuries of legal traditions and precedents. So when British courts make grave … more

By GEORGE WEIGEL | 10/21/20

Christ at the Center of the Council

Conversations with Father Robert Imbelli have been a great blessing in recent years. I have rarely met a more even-tempered and gracious man: a true churchman who, in retirement after years of … more

By GEORGE WEIGEL | 9/23/20

Extraordinary Evangelization in Extraordinary Times

I’d heard about Father Alexander Sherbrooke long before we met in June 2011; Father Sherbrooke had been a mentor for young friends of mine who had worked at St. Patrick’s Church in London … more

By GEORGE WEIGEL | 7/15/20

On John Paul II’s Centenary

As the world and the Church marked the centenary of the birth of Pope St. John Paul II May 18, a kaleidoscope of memories shaped my prayer and reflection that day. John Paul II at his dinner table, … more

By GEORGE WEIGEL | 5/20/20

After Cardinal Pell’s Rightful Acquittal

The unanimous decision by Australia’s High Court to quash Cardinal George Pell’s convictions on charges of “historic sexual abuse” and acquit him of those crimes was entirely welcome. Truth … more

By GEORGE WEIGEL | 4/22/20

Auschwitz and ‘Intrinsic Evil’

Seventy-five years ago, on Jan. 27, 1945, the infantrymen of the Red Army’s 322nd Rifle Division were bludgeoning their way into the Third Reich when they discovered the Auschwitz-Birkenau … more

By GEORGE WEIGEL | 2/26/20

New Year’s Resolutions for Concerned Catholics: A Few Suggestions

During and after the grim martial law period in the early 1980s, many freedom-minded Poles would greet each other on Jan. 1 with a sardonic wish: “May the new year be better than you know … more

By GEORGE WEIGEL | 1/15/20

A New Cardinal Honors an Entire Nation

ROME. Even the greatest enthusiasts of the present pontificate might not assert that Pope Francis has an inspiring liturgical style. Like the old-school Jesuit he resembles in many ways, the Holy … more

By GEORGE WEIGEL | 11/20/19

Historical Clarity and Today’s Catholic Contentions

One of the curiosities of the 21st-century Catholic debate is that many Catholic traditionalists (especially integralists) and a high percentage of Catholic progressives make the same mistake in … more

By GEORGE WEIGEL | 10/23/19

Ironies in the Fire

The eminent sociologist Peter Rossi was a world-class punster whose scholarly accomplishments fed a sometimes-whimsical view of the human condition—in which, Rossi memorably observed, “there are … more

By GEORGE WEIGEL | 9/25/19

On the New ‘Nationalism’

Thanks to President Trump’s “America First” rhetoric and the rise of populist-nationalist parties in Europe, there’s a lot of debate about “nationalism” these days. On that subject, as on … more

By GEORGE WEIGEL | 8/14/19

The Summer Reading List

Continuing a venerable tradition, I offer the following for your canicular reading pleasure: John Hay spent decades … more

By GEORGE WEIGEL | 7/17/19

Restoring, and Strengthening, Episcopal Credibility

Pope Francis’s recent motu proprio on sexual abuse, Vos estis lux mundi (You Are the Light of the World), was a welcome addition to Church law, as world Catholicism seeks to heal the wounds of … more

By GEORGE WEIGEL | 6/19/19

On the Composting of Thee and Me

In Herman Wouk’s novel, “War and Remembrance,” Warren Henry shocks his Bible-reading father, the novel’s hero, by claiming that human … more

By GEORGE WEIGEL | 5/22/19

The Easter Effect Today

Some two millennia ago, a ragtag bunch of nobodies learned what their tortured and executed friend, the rabbi Jesus from Nazareth, meant by “rising from the dead” (Mark 9:9-10)—because … more

By GEORGE WEIGEL | 4/25/19

A Tale of Two Georges

When a pope is elected, the cardinals who have just chosen him make their way to the Hall of Benedictions atop the narthex of St. Peter’s Basilica. It’s a challenging journey for some: In 2005, … more

By GEORGE WEIGEL | 3/27/19

‘Synodality’ and the Rome Abuse Summit

Despite Pope Francis’ lecture on the subject at Synod 2015, and notwithstanding the passages on it in Synod 2018’s final report, there is little agreement in 21st-century Catholicism on what … more

By GEORGE WEIGEL | 2/27/19

Lay Collaboration and Episcopal Authority

The Vatican is a hotbed of rumor, gossip and speculation at the best of times—and these times are not those times. The Roman atmosphere at the beginning of 2019 is typically fetid and sometimes … more

By GEORGE WEIGEL | 1/30/19