The State of Our Divided Union

“Go to Mass and confession frequently”: Bishop Francis Malone reflects on faith, vocations, family By Jim Graves on Mar 05, 2026 09:00 pm Bishop Francis Malone, 75, has served as Bishop of Shreveport, Louisiana, since 2020. Shreveport is the northernmost of the seven dioceses of Louisiana and serves nearly 40,000 Catholics. Shreveport borders Arkansas to its north, with [...] Read in browser » Catholic theologians urge Trump to follow just war doctrine as Iran conflict continues By EWTN News on Mar 05, 2026 12:37 pm The U.S. and Israel launched joint military strikes on the Islamic Republic of Iran last weekend, prompting the regime to retaliate with drone and missile attacks on Israel, American bases and assets, Gulf state airports [...] Read in browser » SCOTUS decision on “transitioning” policies is a victory for parental rights By Charles J. Russo on Mar 04, 2026 07:03 pm The Supreme Court’s March 2, 2026, decision in Mirabelli v. Bonta is another significant win for parental rights. A divided Court, in its 6-3 unsigned per curiam, “for the court” order—part of its so-called shadow docket, [...] Read in browser » Instrumentality in Sin and Silicon By Christopher M. Reilly on Mar 04, 2026 03:00 pm The use and proliferation of artificial intelligence technology (AI) can generate vice and, ultimately, sin. Not always, for AI is a fascinating product of human creativity that promises many practical benefits as well as harmful [...] Read in browser » Redemptor Hominis: More important than ever By George Weigel on Mar 04, 2026 04:00 am Forty-seven years ago, Pope John Paul II issued his first encyclical, Redemptor Hominis (The Redeemer of Man). The first letter in the centuries-old encyclical tradition devoted to the Christian idea of the human person, Redemptor Hominis was also what [...] Read in browser » Extra, extra! News and views for Wednesday, March 4, 2026 By CWR Staff on Mar 04, 2026 03:00 am How to Write Well – and Why (The Catholic Thing): “Bad writing suggests confused and lazy thinking.  We fix, or at least improve, our reasoning skills by reading – books of substance, lots of them, varied and [...] Read in browser » Championing awareness and possibility for those with Down syndrome By Susan Ciancio on Mar 03, 2026 04:00 pm March 21st is World Down Syndrome Day, which was “created to celebrate the lives of people with Down syndrome and to make sure they have the same freedoms and opportunities as everybody else.” But it [...] Read in browser » J.J. Scarisbrick, Life’s Happy Warrior—Requiescat in pace By Edward Short on Mar 03, 2026 02:00 pm John Joseph Scarisbrick, MBE, died peacefully on Saturday, February 28th, at 5:40 am with his two beloved daughters, Emma and Sarah, by his side. A towering figure in English Catholic life for over sixty years, [...] Read in browser » Vatican synod study group warns of online polarization By EWTN News on Mar 03, 2026 01:01 pm A final report from the Synod on Synodality study group on “mission in the digital environment” proposes the possible creation of a dedicated Vatican body to accompany and oversee the theological, pastoral, and canonical challenges [...] Read in browser » A masterful and educational history of the most famous Christian biologists By Filip Mazurczak on Mar 02, 2026 03:31 pm Niels Arboel’s The Wonder of Creation: The Most Famous Christian Biologists in History is a masterpiece of intellectual history. Of all the natural sciences, perhaps biology is most often seen as at odds with traditional religious faith. [..] Read in browser » Immigration, enforcement, and Catholics By James Kalb on Mar 02, 2026 04:00 am Effectively, open borders are a bad idea. That’s true whether they result from explicit policy or from failure to enforce the law effectively. The population of the world outside the United States is about 8 [...] Read in browser » Pope Leo XIV urges diplomacy amid Iran tensions By EWTN News on Mar 01, 2026 07:39 am Pope Leo XIV voiced concern on Sunday about developments in the Middle East and Iran, urging the parties involved to stop what he called a “spiral of violence” before it becomes an “irreparable abyss.” “Stability [...] Read in browser » The Legatus’ Annual Summit emphasizes faith, fellowship, and witness By Kathy Schiffer on Mar 01, 2026 06:30 am When pizza magnate Tom Monaghan founded Legatus in 1987, its members had as their mission to “study, live and spread the Catholic faith” in their families, businesses, and communities. Today, almost 40 years later, that [...] Read in browser » Pope Leo, the Joshua Tree, and the Paschal Mystery By Matthew J. Ramage, Ph.D. on Feb 28, 2026 08:38 pm I recently returned from delivering a lecture at the annual Los Angeles religious education congress and, as is my custom when possible, turned it into a “bring-a-kid-to-work” adventure. This time, my middle-school daughter and I [...] Read in browser » Students pray for Notre Dame’s Catholic identity after dispute over pro-abortion professor By EWTN News on Feb 28, 2026 03:00 pm Students at the University of Notre Dame gathered on Feb. 27 for a candlelit prayer service to offer thanksgiving for the university’s Catholic identity. The event was originally planned as a protest in response to [...] Read in browser » The Cross is the doorway to communion with God By Carl E. Olson on Feb 28, 2026 02:00 pm Readings: • Gen 12:1-4a • Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 • 2 Tim 1:8b-10 • Mt 17:1-9 “Life is short; death is certain,” wrote St. John Henry Newman, “and the world to come is everlasting.” [...] Read in browser » St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows: The rich young ruler who chose Christ By Donald Jacob Uitvlugt on Feb 27, 2026 08:12 pm February 27th is the feast day of St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows. The Passionist saint was born in Assisi, Italy, on March 1, 1838, and baptized Francesco Possenti on the same day, not [...] Read in browser » The State of Our Divided Union By Marcus Peter on Feb 27, 2026 03:18 pm I was rather disappointed in the recent State of the Union address, but not for the reasons many readers might think. I believe that most Americans watched it the way one watches a meticulously overproduced [...] Read in browser »