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Outflanking the Bishops Conference on the Right
Last week, we noted a report from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on the importance of religious freedom in America, Our First, Most Cherished Liberty: A Statement on Religious Liberty. Most...
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More on the SSPX, the Vatican, and Religious Freedom
A couple of days ago, I noted the negative response of the Society of Saint Pius X, a traditionalist Catholic body, to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ recent statement on the importance of...
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The Vatican Secret Archives
Yesterday, Mark, our dean Michael Simons, and I went to the Capitoline Museums in Rome. The Capitoline is one of the most famous of Rome’s museums, but we actually spent most of our time at the...
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Religious Freedom: How Others See Us
Before everyone starts emailing, let me quickly say that the state of religious freedom in America is qualitatively better than in many, many other countries. And I am not in any way equating the HHS...
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.religion?
I’ve always been mystified by ICANN (the “Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers”), the US non-profit corporation that manages the internet. Somehow, and without governmental authority,...
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McAleese, “Quo Vadis? Collegiality in the Code of Canon Law”
This January, Columba Press will publish Quo Vadis? Collegiality in the Code of Canon Law by Mary McAleese (former President of Ireland). The publisher’s description follows. In her first book since...
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Papal Resignation: The Canon Law
It just shows you. Even an institution as ancient and traditional as the papacy still retains the ability to shock. Pope Benedict’s announcement today that he will resign for health reasons, effective...
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The Rise of the “Stars and Stripes” Cardinals in Rome
The College of Cardinals began its pre-conclave meetings (the so-called Congregazioni Generali) this week in Rome, with 153 members in attendance. Of them, 115 are under the age of 80, and therefore...
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Mayer, “The Roman Inquisition”
In January, the University of Pennsylvania Press published The Roman Inquisition: A Papal Bureaucracy and Its Laws in the Age of Galileo, by Augustana College history professor Thomas F. Mayer. The...
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Vatican to UN: More Than 100,000 Christians Killed for Their Faith Each Year
For reasons I’ve discussed before, elite opinion in the West is uncomfortable with the idea of Christians as a persecuted minority. At least since the Enlightenment, Western intellectuals, as a class,...
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Conference: The Lateran Pacts and the Jews (Oct. 24-25)
On October 24-25 in New York, the Centro Primo Levi, the NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli Marim, and the Museum of Tolerance will co-sponsor a conference, “The Lateran Pacts, the Rights of Jews and Other...
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Mannaggia!
You know that interview Pope Francis gave to Eugenio Scalfari of the Italian newspaper, La Repubblica? The one in which the pope made some puzzling comments about conscience and proselytism? The one...
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Vatican Removes Controversial Papal “Interview” From Its Website
Here’s what looks to be the final update on that interview Pope Francis gave to Eugenio Scalfari of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica this fall. Readers of this website will recall that the interview...
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“For the Common Convenience of the Learned”
Here’s news of an excellent joint project of the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (founded in 1451 by Pope Nicholas V) and Oxford University’s Bodleian Library (which opened in 1602) to put online a...
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Kertzer, “The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret Life of Pius XI and the Rise of...
Next month, Random House will publish The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret Life of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe, by David I. Kertzer (Brown University). The publisher’s description follows....
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The UN, Children, and the Vatican
Here is the latest evidence of the clash between contemporary human rights norms and traditional religions. Last week, the UN’s Committee on the Rights of the Child reported on the Vatican’s compliance...
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Pope Francis Opens Center’s Conference with Statement on Religious Liberty,...
Pope Francis opened our conference in Rome last week with a statement on religious liberty and the persecution of Christians. He reflected on the place of religious liberty in Catholic thought and...
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The Synod on the Family and the Developing World
Not long after his election, the new Pope explained why he had taken the name “Francis”: “Ah, how I would like a church,” he said, “that is poor and is for the poor.” It was refreshing: the Pope was...
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Ceci, “The Vatican and Mussolini’s Italy”
In October, Brill Publishers will release The Vatican and Mussolini’s Italy by Lucia Ceci (University of Rome). The publisher’s description follows: Lucia Ceci reconstructs the relationship between the...
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Around the Web This Week
Here are some interesting news stories involving law and religion from this past week: Critics have suggested that Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy law is promoting extremism. Subtle changes to Bangladeshi...
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