Perspective
Numbers down and ‘nones’ up, where to now?
As if the bishops needed anything more to worry about these days, Gallup released a poll just before Easter documenting a sharp decline in religious membership among Americans over the […]
Perspective Archive
A more human society
Confusions about blessings
“The Catholic Church has dealt a blow to LGBTQ worshippers hoping for a more liberal, progressive church.” So says NBC News about a recent statement by the Vatican’s Congregation for […]
Perspective
‘I have not yet ascended’
What does Jesus mean when he tells Mary Magdalene not to cling to Him because he has not yet ascended? As the Easter Octave unfolds, we have in the Gospel […]
Perspective
The hand-me-down: a love letter that endures
There are echoes of Romeo and Juliet, but the ending is happier. This story of forbidden love took place long ago on a Mediterranean island – 1870s Sicily, to be […]
Perspective
One year later, measuring our gains and losses
One year ago, I left my office for what I thought was a few weeks. Soon, I was wearing gloves to the grocery store and sanitizing the groceries when I […]
Perspective
The filibuster bolsters stability
The United States Senate is a unique institution. Other legislative bodies lack its peculiar rules, which require a supermajority vote to get most things done. In the Senate, a voting […]
Perspective
St. Joseph, migrant spouse and father
Pope Francis has invited Catholics to focus our attention this year on St. Joseph, patron of the universal Church. I commend him for this invitation. I have always been fascinated […]
Perspective
A good job — with Jesus
Right above my desk, hanging on the wall with a crumpled piece of Scotch tape, is a card someone gave me last March. “You are doing a freaking great job,” […]
Perspective
How the School Choice initiative positively affects families, students
Choice expansion language in a number of state bills, most notably HB 1005, has been widely talked about in the media lately. These bills seek to expand educational options for […]
Perspective
We’re all becoming Platonists now – and that’s not good
One of the most fundamental divides in the history of philosophy is that between a more Platonic approach and a more Aristotelian approach. Plato, of course, saw the universal or […]
Perspective
When are you really dead?
In 1968 a consensus opinion paper was published called “A Definition of Irreversible Coma.” The purpose of the paper was to define death by neurological criteria. It came to be […]
Perspective
How badly do we want to return?
What if you were a Catholic who had not seen a priest in 60 years? What if you had not seen a priest in one year? Jesuit Father Anthony Corcoran […]