A forum of Catholic Thought

How to mix religion and politicsRussell Shaw

After Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives, the New York Times pronounced him part of the Christian nationalist movement. Then it hastened to find a sociologist ...

Supreme Court and the new abortion case Russell Shaw

Chances are good the Supreme Court soon will agree -- indeed, may have done so by the time you read this -- to hear a case pitting efforts to clamp down on mail order abortion against government efforts ...

Synod goal: Less hierarchyRussell Shaw

Leveling hierarchical distinctions in the Church without removing them entirely has emerged as a principal objective of Pope Francis' Synod on Synodality. That is perhaps the chief conclusion to ...

A Thomistic look at US politics Russell Shaw

One needn't be a big fan of Kevin McCarthy to see the California Republican's ouster as Speaker of the House of Representatives as a significant low point in recent American politics. Unfortunately, ...

Why Pascal matters todayRussell Shaw

"When I consider the short duration of my life, swallowed up in the eternity before and after, the little space which I fill, and even can see, engulfed in the infinite immensity of spaces of which I ...

Choosing a pope Russell Shaw

In case you didn't notice, the process of choosing the next pope has begun. No, Pope Francis is still going strong, and the cardinals didn't slip back into the Vatican under cover of night and ...

On the road to SynodalityRussell Shaw

With the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops soon to get underway, there's a certain question that needs to be faced: Isn't a Synod on Synodality -- which is what this one is ...

Planned Parenthood v. Prolife Russell Shaw

As the Supreme Court revs up for a new term, the justices are being asked to tackle this question: Should prolife activists have to pay multi-million-dollar fines for publicizing the fact that Planned ...