Commentary by Russell Shaw
The Songbird and the Cellphone - Rediscovering the Sacramental Sense
The best way to begin is to begin. God does the rest.
The Future of the Jesuits?
The beginning of the end, the dawn of a new day, or just more of the same?
The Iraq Debate - The War Was Unjust
A duty to work for the reform and strengthening of the UN, not its undermining.
The Iraq Debate - Russell Shaw's First Response
Is this what rescuing people from an oppressor is all about?
The Iraq Debate - Russell Shaw's Closing Statement
This will remain an unjust, ill-considered war.
Jesuit General - The Road Ahead
Marching orders that he and his confreres can't easily ignore.
Benedict to the UN - In Defense of Natural Law
Benedict has a difficult job on his hands.
Through a Glass, Darkly - Secrecy and the Catholic Church
Is the problem larger than secrecy?
Message Refused - Humanae Vitae, 40 Years Later
The truth expressed in Humanae Vitae does not change…
Human Dignity
Freedom is the handmaid of human dignity.
Why Vatican II?
The extreme left and right of the Church are in basic agreement about Vatican II.
Four Men
...who played crucial roles in the shaping of American Catholicism.
Is Confession in Crisis?
People just don't care to admit it or do much about it anymore.
Americanist Universities
The Notre Dame-Obama flap will in the future be seen as a turning-point...
Vatican II and the Culture of Dissent
Validated the principle of "endless, unchecked change" in Catholic life.
The 'Rhetoric of Rant' and Religious Controversy
Name-calling among Catholics has gotten out of hand.
Roadblocks to Reform
What's the biggest obstacle to positive reform in the Church?
Rethinking the Seamless Garment
A stirring vision for today's confused, fractured community of believers.
Polarization and the Church
For this we largely have Barack Obama to thank.
Listening to the Laity
Bishops and other leaders <em>should</em> take note of other views besides their own.
A Changing Church?
A close-up look at ten trends that will largely shape Catholicism.
Coercive Measures
A powerful force in the media and politics in today's United States.
Resisting Bigness
It's not so easy to give little things the spiritual significance they deserve.
Privatizing Religion
The mentality that exalts lay ministry and ignores lay apostolate.
A Near Near-Death Experience
"I was comfortable with the prospect of dying and going home at last."
Hiring and Firing Bishops
Live with it. For faithful Catholics, there's no other choice.
Under the Ban - Modernism, Then and Now
Did it actually exist? What was it all about? What difference does it make?
Shrinking the Bishop's Conference
The USCCB has come to a historic turning point.
Early Chronicles of a Post-Christian Age
Also shed light on the situation of faith today.
Can the Jesuits Be Saved?
Can the Jesuits recapture the spiritual heroism of men like these?
On Clericalism
We Catholics have suffered from it so long that most of us take it for granted.
The Weathercock and the Mystic
The prophetic friendship of Orestes Brownson and Isaac Hecker.
Why We Write
"Sir, anyone who writes for anything <em>except</em> money is a fool."
How Not to Criticize the Church
Lately we've had to put up with much too much of it.
A Strange Attack from the New York Times
Ample information to show that Benedict XVI should be praised, not blamed.
Marriage and the New Morality
A new version of morality locked in a fierce struggle with the older version.
The Problem of Secrecy
Secrecy is an obstacle even to the discussion of secrecy.
A Christian Ironist
<em>Utopia</em> isn't the only expression of Thomas More's literary irony at work.
The End of an Era
The USCCB has chosen a new path.
He's No de Tocqueville
Reaction to Clifford Longley column on America and Catholic social doctrine.
The Elephant in the Living Room
Contraception and contemporary Catholicism.
Recovering a Catholic Subculture
American secular culture grows steadily more hostile to morality and faith.
Continuity and Change
Complementary principles in the Catholic Church.
Continuity and Change
Complementary principles in the Catholic Church.
