Dr. Matthew Petrusek

Pope Francis criticizes gender ideology as the “ugliest danger of our times.” The revised Title IX rules released by the Department of Education and now codified into law by the Biden administration now interpret “sex discrimination” to include “gender identity.” By defining “misgendering” as discrimination, students, faculty, and staff are being coerced into complying. This is the new reality for all schools that receive federal funding. Compliance puts any Catholic college or university in direct violation of Catholic moral teaching and at odds with Pope Francis and the Vatican. How should these institutions respond?

Dr. Daniel McInerny 

Once upon a time, culture was understood as society’s “address to sacred order,” and art was at the very heart of that “address.” Then one day, something happened to culture and to art. No longer were they integrated into religious ritual and practice, or even a religious understanding of reality. Art itself changed character. We are so inured to the modern conception of art as expressive authenticity and so blind to the absurdities to which it reduces itself that we require a focused reflection on what art might be on a completely different, more coherent understanding.

Dr. Richard Clements

“May we live long and die out” is the motto of the “Voluntary Human Extinction Movement (VHEMT). The stated goal is bringing about the eventual extinction of the human race, asserting that the “morally correct” and “responsible” choice is for human beings to stop reproducing entirely. On choosing not to have a child, the movement’s foremost advocate says, “That’s an immense amount of suffering that’s avoided, which is all to the good.” But wouldn’t it still be better “to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all”? Wouldn’t it be better to have lived and “lost” than never to have lived at all?

Thomas J. Salerno

In Star Wars, just as in Ignatian spirituality, we must discern between forces of light and dark, good spirits and not-so-good spirits, God and—as St. Ignatius says—the “enemy of our human nature.” The Jedi lifestyle calls for a radical detachment from possessions in order to be free to serve the common good. This parallels the Ignatian principle of “indifference,” which is about channeling out passions and desires toward living out God’s will for our lives. Discerning Christians may find many more surprising and instructive parallels between Jedi philosophy and the rich traditions of Ignatian spirituality.

Dr. Richard DeClue

Without a doubt, miraculous events and private revelations have played an important role in Catholic devotion and liturgy. Even purported apparitions that have not received official approbation by the Church have significant influence—positive or negative. New Vatican norms just went into effect guiding the process for discerning alleged supernatural phenomena, such as Marian apparitions. Why were changes needed, and what are the major changes?

Collin Slowey

Evolutionary biology has contributed to a Catholic understanding of the origin and development of life on Earth. Currently, however, evolutionary biologists may have more to learn from Catholics than vice versa. Fr. Mariusz Tabaczek, with the aid of Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Charles Darwin, has crafted the most accurate and perhaps only adequate definition of “species” to date.

Caroline Foreman

Dr. Charles Camosy writes for both academic and popular audiences, travels to give lectures, teaches future priests and health care providers, and works within the structures of the pro-life movement. At the upcoming Wonder conference, he will make the case for “the body in bioethics,” suggesting that our secularized understanding of medicine and bioethics has lost the body and has thereby lost the foundational feature that grounds fundamental human dignity and equality, along with the basis of making sure vulnerable human beings have special protection.

Fr. Billy Swan

After Jesus’ Resurrection, his Spirit and the values of his kingdom were carried forward by his followers in a way that led to social change wherever Christians went. The subversive power of Christian faith reshaped societies, politics, and culture. So, what then of today? How can we revive this spiritual revolution in a way that leads to social change? Or to put it differently, how can we evangelize the culture in a way that changes it? Here are four suggestions.

Dr. Holly Ordway 

What does goodness look like—and do we find it attractive? All too often, “goodness” is associated with being dull. This can be seen regularly in discussions of fiction-writing, in which a standard recommendation for developing characters is that they should have faults. What we find boring and insufferable about apparent “goodness” is, in fact, not goodness at all, but flaws that put on the pretense of being virtues. Goodness, in our day-to-day life, is not the same as having perfect judgment or never experiencing any temptations, problems, or difficulties.

Dr. Richard DeClue

It is simply not true that the Second Vatican Council sought to minimize St. Thomas Aquinas’ influence on Catholic theological pedagogy. Far from relegating him to the annals of theological history, the Council explicitly recommends—even commands—the study of his thought. Today, when society is suffering tremendous damage from a loss of sound metaphysics and ethics, a renewed appreciation for the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas is indispensable for a return to sanity.

Christopher Shannon

The urban homelands of Catholic America are nearly as unknown and unknowable to most American Catholics as Bruce Springsteen’s New Jersey was to his San Francisco audience. His music is one way to get to know them. Springsteen never left his provincial, parochial roots behind to reinvent himself in the classic American style. Culturally, at least in part, he stayed local. This situates him in the Catholic cultural landscape of his time.