AT THE CENTER
Matthew Scherer on 9/11, the Financial Crisis, and Climate Change as Conversion Events (Full Screen)
CENTER NEWS
May 23, 2013Faith Leaders Helping Heal US-Pakistan Relations
May 22, 2013
Evidence Does Not Support Fears of Islam in the West
May 21, 2013
Tom Farr Quoted on Religious Freedom and Extremism by FrontPage Magazine
May 21, 2013
Tim Shah Featured in Deseret News Story on State Department Religious Freedom Report
May 21, 2013
Sin, Corruption and What Religions Can Do About It
May 20, 2013
Tom Farr's Presentation at the Common Word Conference on April 24
May 20, 2013
Roger Trigg Explores the Links between Philosophy of Religion and Religious Marginalization
May 20, 2013
Roger Trigg's Address to the Iona Institute Conference on "What We Owe Christianity"
May 16, 2013
Junior Year Abroad Network Annual Report
May 10, 2013
The Faith of the Novelist
May 7, 2013
Providing Relief by Need, not Creed
May 2, 2013
Article by Roger Trigg Claims Religious Freedom is Not Just Special Pleading
April 29, 2013
Timothy Shah Presents Paper on Religious Freedom, Democratization, and Economic Development
April 29, 2013
New Video: Tom Farr Addresses Religious Freedom and Terrorism with EWTN's Raymond Arroyo
April 29, 2013
The Terrorists Next Door?
This Catholic's View
November 20, 2010
Update 9:59 a.m.: The Vatican has clarified that the pope's statement on condoms and AIDS does not just apply to male prostitutes but also to women and anyone infected with HIV/AIDS. The pope said "It's the first step of taking responsibility, of taking into consideration the risk of the life of another with whom you have a relationship," according to the Vatican spokesman. "This is if you're a woman, a man, or a transsexual. We're at the same point."
November 16, 2010
At their meeting this week in Baltimore, the U.S. bishops signaled that they are going to continue their conservative tilt in both the church and American politics.
November 13, 2010
While most Catholic eyes are directed toward Rome where new cardinals will be created on November 20, an important leadership transition is taking place in the United States where a new president will be chosen for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. While people in red hats tend to get noticed, the president of the bishops' conference is the closest thing the American church has to a real national leader.
October 20, 2010
With the appointment of 20 cardinal electors, Pope Benedict XVI continues to put his mark on the College of Cardinals, which will eventually elect his successor. Benedict has now appointed 40% of the college, with the rest chosen by his predecessor. Granted his age, these could easily be the cardinals who will choose the next pope.
June 2, 2010
"This is 911. What is your emergency?"
May 20, 2010
Some people's faith in the marketplace is almost religious. It is so absolute that even the current economic crisis has not convinced them of the importance of sensible government regulation. Such faith is certainly not part of Catholic doctrine.
May 12, 2010
Not only is the use of nuclear weapons immoral, the conditions that allowed the Catholic Church to tolerate nuclear deterrence no longer apply, the Vatican representative to the United Nations said in little noticed speeches in Washington and New York City.
May 3, 2010
Thirteen years after the Hartford Courant ran an expose of sexual abuses by the Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, the Vatican has finally imposed martial law on the order and mandated the rewriting of its constitution and the revamping of its spirituality and culture.
April 15, 2010
The media is being attacked by the defenders of Pope Benedict who feel that its coverage of the sex abuse crisis is unfair. Do some reporters do a sloppy job reporting? Sure. Are some commentators over the top in their rhetoric? Sure. When the argument is between The New York Times and the Catholic Church, it may simply be one infallible institution taking on another.
March 31, 2010
Like most bishops, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict XVI, did not understand the sexual abuse crisis when it first appeared. He underestimated its extent and scope.
March 22, 2010
The passage of the Senate health care bill by the House of Representatives was a major defeat for the U.S. Catholic bishops who insisted that stricter anti-abortion language was needed in the bill.
March 18, 2010
The Catholic bishops of the United States are calling for the defeat of the Senate health care bill because they say it will provide federal funding for abortion. Sister Carol Keehan, the head of the Catholic Health Association, disagrees as does a group of sisters who head religious congregations. Are the sisters being naïve or are the bishops paranoid?
February 12, 2010
In his encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict XVI writes that economics should be guided not simply by profits but by "an ethics which is people-centered." This is why he places such an emphasis on employment. "The dignity of the individual and the demands of justice require," he says, "that we continue to prioritize the goal of access to steady employment for everyone" (italics in original).
February 3, 2010
You are going to hate this column.
January 25, 2010
As I was thinking about this column, there was a part of me that knew I had to write about Haiti and there was another part that simply wanted to ignore it.
January 15, 2010
Almost 300 years ago, the first Catholic sisters arrived in America and began a ministry that would not just shape American Catholicism but the nation itself. "Women and Spirit," an exhibit that just opened at the Smithsonian Institution, tells the story of these Spirit-filled women and how they served the people of the United States in education, health care and social justice.
December 14, 2009
Does thinking about your religion make you happy or sad?
November 13, 2009
If you believed what you read on blogs and in newspapers, you would conclude that the archdiocese of Washington is threatening to withdraw money for food and shelter from the poor in the District of Columbia in order to get its way on gay marriage.
November 4, 2009
Octavio Gonzalez, a graduate of Georgetown University, would be picking corn and raising a few cattle in El Teul de Gonzalez, Mexico, if his father had not illegally trekked across the hills at the U.S.-Mexico border near San Ysidro, California, in 1969.
October 27, 2009
Pope Benedict's latest initiative toward Anglicans who want to rejoin the Catholic Church has caused quite a stir.
October 20, 2009
The new Vatican structures for dealing with Anglicans who want to join the Catholic Church may have significant and unforeseen consequences. They may in fact provide the Catholic Church with a steady supply of married priests.
October 15, 2009
As President Obama ponders U.S. goals, strategy and tactics in Afghanistan, the U.S. Catholic bishops have offered him the perspective of Catholic teaching and experience in an October 7 letter to his national security adviser, General James L. Jones.
October 7, 2009
In the debate over immigration policy, there are 3.1 million defenseless U.S. citizens who are being ignored. They are constantly in danger of government agents sweeping in to take from them most precious thing in their lives. These are the children of undocumented immigrants who have been born in the U.S.A. and are, therefore, citizens. Current immigration policy wants to ship their parents back to their home countries and turn these 3.1 million citizens into orphans.
September 28, 2009
Imagine if the Knight of Columbus decided to give an award to a pedophile priest who had fled the country to avoid prison. The outcry would be universal. Victim groups would demand the award be withdrawn and that the organization apologize. Religion reporters would be on the case with the encouragement of their editors. Editorial writers and columnist would denounce the Knights as another example of the insensitivity of the Catholic Church to sexual abuse.
September 20, 2009
Last week I wrote in "The Green Pope" about Benedict XVI's concerns about environmental issues. His theological vision sees creation as a gift from God to all people, which can be used for the common good but not in a selfish and destructive way.
September 15, 2009
Pope Benedict XVI has been called the "green pope" because of his concern for the environment. Last year, he installed solar panels to generate electricity on roofs in the Vatican, and this year he added them to his home in Germany. Recently, the Vatican installed high-tech solar collectors to help heat and cool its buildings. He has also made the Vatican the first carbon neutral state through forests offsetting the Vatican carbon footprint.
September 8, 2009
In the Gospels, Jesus spends much of his time trying to teach us that God loves us and that the proper response to this love is to love God and our neighbors. He did this trough his preaching but also through his miracles, the most common of which was healing the sick.
September 8, 2009
In the Gospels, Jesus spends much of his time trying to teach us that God loves us and that the proper response to this love is to love God and our neighbors. He did this trough his preaching but also through his miracles, the most common of which was healing the sick.
August 5, 2009
Last Sunday, the Scripture readings in Catholic churches had in common that the people wanted something for themselves but God wanted more for them.
In the first reading from Exodus, the Israelites wanted food. They were hungry. They were even willing to give up their freedom and go back to Egypt to ease their hunger. They were willing to sacrifice their long-term good for a short-term gain. Having been slaves all their lives, they didn't know better. God saves them once again by sending manna from heaven.
In the first reading from Exodus, the Israelites wanted food. They were hungry. They were even willing to give up their freedom and go back to Egypt to ease their hunger. They were willing to sacrifice their long-term good for a short-term gain. Having been slaves all their lives, they didn't know better. God saves them once again by sending manna from heaven.
July 28, 2009
Watching Washington debate health care reform is a depressing experience. President Obama has laid out the principles necessary for reform--covering the uninsured and paying for it through cost reductions--but has not proposed specific legislative language to perform this miracle.
July 10, 2009
President Obama and Pope Benedict had a cordial and serene meeting, according to the pope's spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, who was briefed by the pope after the meeting. The meeting went for about 40 minutes, twice as long as scheduled.
Obama told the pope that the just-completed G-8 meeting in the Italian city of L'Aquila was "very productive" and resulted in "great progress."
Obama told the pope that the just-completed G-8 meeting in the Italian city of L'Aquila was "very productive" and resulted in "great progress."
July 7, 2009
Pope Benedict's long awaited encyclical calls for a radical rethinking of economics so that it is guided not simply by profits but by "an ethics which is people-centered."
"Profit is useful if it serves as a means towards an end," he writes in Caritas in veritate (Charity in Truth), but "once profit becomes the exclusive goal, if it is produced by improper means and without the common good as its ultimate end, it risks destroying wealth and creating poverty."
"Profit is useful if it serves as a means towards an end," he writes in Caritas in veritate (Charity in Truth), but "once profit becomes the exclusive goal, if it is produced by improper means and without the common good as its ultimate end, it risks destroying wealth and creating poverty."
July 2, 2009
"Having a meeting with the Holy Father is a great honor and something that I'm very much looking forward to," President Obama told a small group of religion journalists on July 2. Obama sees the pope as "somebody who combines a great intellect with great compassion." The meeting will take place on July 10.
The president looks on the upcoming meeting as comparable to a meeting with any head of state. "There are going to be areas where we've got deep agreements; there are going to be some areas where we've got some disagreements." He believes the relationship between the administration and the Vatican "is already very strong and we want to build on."
The president looks on the upcoming meeting as comparable to a meeting with any head of state. "There are going to be areas where we've got deep agreements; there are going to be some areas where we've got some disagreements." He believes the relationship between the administration and the Vatican "is already very strong and we want to build on."
June 23, 2009
A new encyclical on Catholic social teaching will soon be released as Pope Benedict's response to the current economic crisis. The encyclical, "Caritas in veritate" (Charity in Truth), has been in preparation for more than two years, but was delayed because the pope wanted it updated to respond to the world financial crisis. It could be published as early as June 29 if the various translations are finished.
June 16, 2009
Meeting in San Antonio June 17-19, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has an agenda that will keep it busy but it will not deal with the real issues facing the church: how to interact with Obama and how to respond to the exodus of one third of Catholics from the church.
Once again the bishops will discuss and vote on new English translations of liturgical prayers. Over the last few years, the bishops have gradually adopted new translations that are worse than the ones in current use because of the Vatican fetish for word-for-word translations of Latin texts. When this project is finally finished, it will be imposed on American parishes.
Once again the bishops will discuss and vote on new English translations of liturgical prayers. Over the last few years, the bishops have gradually adopted new translations that are worse than the ones in current use because of the Vatican fetish for word-for-word translations of Latin texts. When this project is finally finished, it will be imposed on American parishes.
June 9, 2009
It is obvious to everyone that President Obama is trying to make fundamental changes in public policy dealing with the economy, health care, education, energy, the environment and government regulation. What is not so obvious is that he is also trying to change the way Americans look at reality.
Faced with the complexity of life, we make sense of reality using theories and ideologies that simplify the world so that we can respond quickly. Much of this comes from the common sense we learn from our parents, and the cultural myths we pick up from fairy tales and, more commonly today, from movies and TV. This works fine until our common sense, theories or ideologies fail the test of experience. Then we must either rethink our theories or face continued failure.
Faced with the complexity of life, we make sense of reality using theories and ideologies that simplify the world so that we can respond quickly. Much of this comes from the common sense we learn from our parents, and the cultural myths we pick up from fairy tales and, more commonly today, from movies and TV. This works fine until our common sense, theories or ideologies fail the test of experience. Then we must either rethink our theories or face continued failure.
June 2, 2009
Through savvy manipulation of the media and graphic stunts, Randall Terry turned himself into the self-anointed leader of the pro-life movement. His vivid rhetoric and confrontational style is fodder for the cable news networks. He got lots of coverage in the run-up to President Obama's speech at Notre Dame with his vicious attacks on Notre Dame and his airplane circling the campus with a picture of an aborted fetus trailing behind it.
May 27, 2009
It has become a cliché to say that Hispanics are the future of the Catholic Church in America. Their numbers are growing because of immigration and births, while white Catholics are having fewer children and are leaving the church in great numbers. One out of three Catholics has left the church according to a study by the Pew Forum. The only reason Catholics continue to be a stable percentage of the U.S. population is that Hispanics are making up for the white Catholics who are leaving.
May 17, 2009
President Obama's reception at Notre Dame showed once again that a new generation of Americans, including Catholics, is looking for a different kind of leader, not one who speaks down to his audience, demands strict loyalty and demonizes opponents, but one who addresses complexity with honesty, acknowledges disagreements and tries to bring people together for the common good.
President Obama showed himself to be respectful of Catholic views, of Catholic institutions like Notre Dame and of Catholic leaders like Notre Dame's former president, Father Ted Hesburgh, and Chicago's former archbishop, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin.
President Obama showed himself to be respectful of Catholic views, of Catholic institutions like Notre Dame and of Catholic leaders like Notre Dame's former president, Father Ted Hesburgh, and Chicago's former archbishop, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin.
May 12, 2009
Most Americans believe that they should follow their consciences as the ultimate judge of what is right and wrong. Most of the time this works. But problems arise when consciences come into conflict.
For example, my conscience may tell me to do one thing while your conscience tells you to do something else. Or my conscience may tell me to do one thing when the law requires something else.
American society tries to respect freedom of conscience whenever possible. When our country had a draft, the law permitted conscientious objectors to do alternative service rather than serve in the military. Here the law provided protection for conscience even when national security was at stake.
For example, my conscience may tell me to do one thing while your conscience tells you to do something else. Or my conscience may tell me to do one thing when the law requires something else.
American society tries to respect freedom of conscience whenever possible. When our country had a draft, the law permitted conscientious objectors to do alternative service rather than serve in the military. Here the law provided protection for conscience even when national security was at stake.
May 5, 2009
During the 2008 presidential campaign, there was a steady drumbeat of opposition to Barack Obama from some U.S. Catholic bishops, which only increased after his election. But despite the attention these attacks received in the media and on Internet blogs, polls show that the Catholic people are not listening.
April 28, 2009
With all the episcopal criticism of Notre Dame for inviting President Obama to give the commencement address, you would think that the American Catholic bishops have written off the administration and anyone who is pro-choice as unredeemable.
This is certainly the position of some in the pro-life movement who are so critical of pro-choice politicians that they consider any cooperation with "the enemy" would be wrong. They will not even cooperate on programs to reduce abortion because that would infer that you find legalized abortion acceptable, they say.
This is certainly the position of some in the pro-life movement who are so critical of pro-choice politicians that they consider any cooperation with "the enemy" would be wrong. They will not even cooperate on programs to reduce abortion because that would infer that you find legalized abortion acceptable, they say.
April 20, 2009
"Vatican Unhappy with Obama Ambassador Picks," scream the headlines. The only problem is that the stories are totally false.
First the stories were about Douglas Kmiec, a law professor at Pepperdine University, who supported Obama for president even though Kmiec is pro-life. Then the stories moved on to Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President Kennedy, who was said to be rejected because she is pro-choice. Why both a pro-life and a pro-choice candidate would be rejected was never explained.
First the stories were about Douglas Kmiec, a law professor at Pepperdine University, who supported Obama for president even though Kmiec is pro-life. Then the stories moved on to Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President Kennedy, who was said to be rejected because she is pro-choice. Why both a pro-life and a pro-choice candidate would be rejected was never explained.
April 14, 2009
While conservative Catholic pundits were wringing their hands over Notre Dame University's invitation to President Obama to speak at its commencement, their total irrelevance was apparent when the President popped over to Georgetown University to give a major speech on the economy. Protests were minimal and excitement was palpable.
April 8, 2009
Holy Week is a challenging time for Christians because it reminds us that Jesus failed. That's right, I said he failed.
This is especially emphasized in the Gospel of Mark, where Jesus' preaching is not accepted and his mission is a failure. In the Gospel of Mark, no one understands Jesus, not even the disciples. At the passion, Jesus is alone. The disciples fall asleep. He is betrayed by Judas. Peter denies him, and the young man runs away naked. Even the women do not approach the cross but stand at a distance.
This is especially emphasized in the Gospel of Mark, where Jesus' preaching is not accepted and his mission is a failure. In the Gospel of Mark, no one understands Jesus, not even the disciples. At the passion, Jesus is alone. The disciples fall asleep. He is betrayed by Judas. Peter denies him, and the young man runs away naked. Even the women do not approach the cross but stand at a distance.
March 31, 2009
Even before he got off the plane in Africa, Pope Benedict XVI caused controversy by his comments on condoms. "One cannot overcome the problem with the distribution of condoms," he told reporters on the plane. "On the contrary, they increase the problem."
The pope was not caught off guard by this question since the reporters submitted questions in advance and he chose which ones he would answer. By choosing to answer the question about condoms, the pope unintentionally guaranteed that what he said about condoms would overshadow everything else he said about refugees, war, political corruption and poverty in Africa.
The pope was not caught off guard by this question since the reporters submitted questions in advance and he chose which ones he would answer. By choosing to answer the question about condoms, the pope unintentionally guaranteed that what he said about condoms would overshadow everything else he said about refugees, war, political corruption and poverty in Africa.
March 24, 2009
Controversy over commencement speakers at Catholic universities pops up every spring along with the tulips. This year the controversy is over President Obama speaking at Notre Dame University May 17. Some have objected that this is a violation of the bishops' statement Catholics in Political Life. This is absurd.
According to Catholics in Political Life, "The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."
According to Catholics in Political Life, "The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."
March 17, 2009
Some people think that being pope means "never having to say you're sorry," or "never having to say you made a mistake," or even "never having to explain." Pope Benedict XVI has displayed refreshing candor in admitting mistakes, apologizing and explaining.
Most recently, he wrote a letter to all the bishops in the world to explain the lifting of the excommunication of the four bishops of the Society of St. Pius X who were illegitimately ordained by Archbishop Lefebvre in 1988. He acknowledges that his decision "caused, both within and beyond the Catholic Church, a discussion more heated than any we have seen for a long time." Even "many bishops felt perplexed" by the decision, he wrote.
Most recently, he wrote a letter to all the bishops in the world to explain the lifting of the excommunication of the four bishops of the Society of St. Pius X who were illegitimately ordained by Archbishop Lefebvre in 1988. He acknowledges that his decision "caused, both within and beyond the Catholic Church, a discussion more heated than any we have seen for a long time." Even "many bishops felt perplexed" by the decision, he wrote.
March 7, 2009
It is no surprise that the Obama administration is lifting the restrictions put on embryonic stem cell research by President George W. Bush in 2001 when he authorized the use of federal funds for such research. President Obama made clear during the campaign that he would do this. He has been convinced by those doing the research that it will lead to medical breakthroughs for dealing with Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other diseases. The same belief led 59 percent of California voters to pass a $3 billion ballot initiative in 2004 to fund stem cell research over a 10-year period.
February 6, 2009
The lifting of the excommunication of Bishop Richard Williamson by Pope Benedict XVI caused a firestorm of protest from Jews and liberal Catholics. Jewish leaders expressed shock and hurt because Bishop Williamson had denied the reality of the Shoah (Holocaust) that exterminated millions of Jews. Catholic liberals complained that Williamson and the three other bishops of the St. Pius X Society have still not accepted the Second Vatican Council.
The complaints against Bishop Williamson are on target. He is a Shoah denier and does not accept Vatican II. His views on women are also anachronistic. He disapproves of women in pants and says women should not go to universities. This is a man who would be happier living in the 19th century, like many members of the Lefebvre movement who have not recovered from the French revolution. Oh yes, he also believes that the World Trade Center was destroyed by explosions, not by airplanes.
The complaints against Bishop Williamson are on target. He is a Shoah denier and does not accept Vatican II. His views on women are also anachronistic. He disapproves of women in pants and says women should not go to universities. This is a man who would be happier living in the 19th century, like many members of the Lefebvre movement who have not recovered from the French revolution. Oh yes, he also believes that the World Trade Center was destroyed by explosions, not by airplanes.