"Unless a lot of young Catholics really commit to the faith, the future of the Catholic Church is a very open question." @heidischlumpf.bsky.social interviews @ryanburge.bsky.social about the 'great sort' in American religion:

What drew so many great British writers and artists to Catholicism in the early twentieth century? @tonydomestico.bsky.social reviews Melanie McDonagh's new book on England's mad rush to Rome:

Church leaders have long advocated for a world political authority. Such a power may be the only path to perpetual peace. From Angus Sibley:

From arguably America's leading Catholic publication, @commonwealmagazine.org: Can Women Deliver a Blue Wave? www.commonwealmagazine.org/vassallo-mid...

"World government need not mean highly centralized power." Angus Sibley on Catholic teaching, world government, and the price of peace:

"Democrats’ midterm prospects will hinge, in large part, on the fates of several female candidates in close races." @jhvassallo.bsky.social: Can women deliver a blue wave?

"Not everyone in Buruma’s Berlin is out for their own survival, but there are also vanishingly few saints untainted by compromise or selfishness." @brynstole.bsky.social reviews a new history of Berlin during World War II:

'In 2016, I became a Trappist novice at St. Benedict's Monastery. Now, this place of peace is being purchased by a zealot for war: Palantir CEO Alex Karp.'

"Pope Leo’s emphasis on Vatican II reminds us that American Catholics have long sought a meaningful synthesis between Catholicism and democracy." Stephen McNulty: 'Leo Looks to the Council'

"Today, Kafka’s vision of America as either a land of the sword or a place of uninviting alienation possesses a new relevance." John Rodden on Kafka's 'Amerika' in the age of Trump:

Powerful as the principles of Catholic social teaching may be, they’re effective only when actually practiced. Community organizing shows how to do just that. A NEW EPISODE of the Commonweal podcast (feat. Nicholas Hayes-Mota and @mn-oc.bsky.social):

This year’s Venice Biennale was designed to be the most intimate and reflective in recent memory. Instead, it has turned into the most politically clamorous. The latest from @antoniospadaro.bsky.social:

The United States’ sanctions in Cuba are a kind of violence, depriving Cubans of basic health and safety. Joy Gordon: 'Waiting in Darkness'

"The Venice Biennale has never been merely an art exhibition. It is a diplomatic instrument dressed up as a cultural event." @antoniospadaro.bsky.social writes on the collision of art and geopolitics at this year's Biennale:

In fiction and nonfiction by Black American Catholics, the parochial school looms large as a place of education, formation, and conversion—for good or ill. Aaron Robertson: 'A Proper Education'

These are tough times for Catholic colleges and universities. A commitment to educating the whole person remains the best path forward. The latest from @heidischlumpf.bsky.social:

"The 'Great Black American Catholic Novel' may not exist because the institutional stability it would require has so often been deferred." Aaron Robertson on Black Catholic writers and the parochial school:

A more holistic alternative to the Cardinal Newman Society-style of Catholic identity for colleges and universities. My piece, based on the research of Jason King. @jking66.bsky.social www.commonwealmagazine.org/schlumpf-cat...

Grateful to @heidischlumpf.bsky.social and @commonwealmagazine.org for this piece on the Holistic Impact Report. Too much ROI focus loses what is distinctive about Catholic education, its work fostering meaning, purpose, ethics, and community. www.commonwealmagazine.org/schlumpf-cat...

In Ian Buruma’s telling, Berlin during World War II was a time of contradictions: hedonism, escapism, heroism, and compromise. @brynstole.bsky.social: 'Dancing on a Volcano'

"Her Perpetua feels flimsy, as if she is not imaginatively inhabiting the saint but merely projecting contemporary concerns onto the screen of an ancient text." @evetushnet.bsky.social reviews Sarah Ruden's 'Perpetua: The Woman, the Martyr':

This is good. “As the titans of the tech world have long understood, attention is our most precious resource. We know that our attention is being systematically exploited and vandalized…” And what the author calls deep or attentive reading is a key practice for resisting this.

In losing the capacity for deep reading, we may be placing explosives in the structural foundation of our liberal political order. The postliterate society may also be a postliberal one. @rooseveltmontas.bsky.social: 'Why Read?'

I reviewed Sarah Ruden's new biography of St Perpetua for @commonwealmagazine.org www.commonwealmagazine.org/tushnet-perp...

"Are we disaffected because things are so bad or have they gotten bad because we’re so disaffected?" @alexwstern.bsky.social on the world of Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude:

"Reading is probably the most widespread and effective technology ever devised for extending the human attention span." @rooseveltmontas.bsky.social on deep reading, print culture & liberal democracy:

Many of us have jobs we don’t enjoy. @jamesmartinsj.bsky.social explains how we can make our work meaningful anyway. A new episode of the Commonweal podcast:

"Leo’s critics need to answer this question: What is their alternative vision for world order?" Santiago Ramos on Leo, just-war theory, and world government:

Listen to Commonweal's editor, @dominicpreziosi.bsky.social, and contributing writer @massimofaggioli.bsky.social reflect on theology, journalism, and the Church! Links to two new episodes of the Christian Scholar's Review 'Saturday's at Seven' podcast series below 👇

How did Americans become convinced that social problems are better left to the “free” market than to a democratically accountable government? George Scialabba reviews a landmark history of this dangerous myth:

“On many days I wish I liked Catholics more, and I guess I wish my fellow Catholics had liked me more.” Paul Baumann writes on Catholic cliques:

"Pope Leo has chosen an opportunity to pray with his spiritual mother on this historic day—and invites us to do the same." Vanessa Corcoran explains why Leo is in Pompeii today, the anniversary of his papal election:

“In this holy chaos, my first feeling was joy. I didn’t know what this new pope portended for the life of the Church, and it didn’t matter.” One year later, read Randy Boyagoda's dispatch from Rome on the election of Pope Leo:

Allowing lay preaching in the pulpit during Sunday liturgy would model that the Church is serious about synodality. The latest from @HeidiSchlumpf:

"It’s not just an issue about equal opportunities for women and laymen; it’s about the need for better preaching, which requires diverse voices in the pulpit." @heidischlumpf.bsky.social makes the case for lay preaching:

On the anniversary of his papal election, Pope Leo will eschew a formal commemoration to preside over Mass at a Marian shrine in Pompeii. Vanessa R. Corcoran explains why Leo won't be in Rome during his papal anniversary:

Join us today! us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Thanks to @brianmackey.com for inviting me on NPR's @21st.show to talk about Pope Leo and US politics. Also featuring my former colleague Mary FioRito! (And an interview with Cardinal Cupich, which I will link to in comments) will.illinois.edu/21stshow/sto...

"American Catholics—especially those in public life—would do well to claim the conciliar legacy Leo is working hard to implement." Stephen McNulty on Pope Leo, John Courtney Murray, and American democracy:

Senate candidate James Talarico’s faith-first approach to public service may offer a path out of our toxic politics. But first, he’ll have to win Texas. Analysis from @dominicpreziosi.bsky.social:

In our age of authoritarian certainty, divinity schools have an important role to play in constructing a liberal vision of human flourishing. Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins writes in defense of divinity schools:

This Thursday (5/7): Join us for a virtual panel on Black spiritual community in a digital age! Feat. Osun priestess Juju Bae, Buddhist minister Lama Rod Owens, and moderation from Commonweal's Centennial Fellow, Aaron Robertson. Click here to register: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

You could wait to see what Leo’s letter says about “ai,” or you could check out my attempt for @commonwealmagazine.org to anticipate what it might say:

"But 'reclaiming Christianity for the left' is different from winning in Texas." @dominicpreziosi.bsky.social on the faith-first politics of James Talarico:

My review of @ajaxkidsclub.bsky.social' great new book "The Cultural Marxism Conspiracy" is out with @commonwealmagazine.org www.commonwealmagazine.org/mcmanus-wood...

"What is stolen is not just your labor, not even just your story or book, but your voice." An essay by Rand Richards Cooper on AI and the future of writing:

Why do conservatives blame ‘cultural Marxism’ for nearly everything? A.J.A. Woods's illuminating new book offers a history of the right’s favorite bogeyman. @mattpolprof.bsky.social reviews:

A 19th century "phantom" heresy under Pope Leo XIII becomes a real one in the 21st century under Pope Leo XIV. Me in @commonwealmagazine.org on the new Americanism:

On this episode of the Commonweal podcast, @jamesmartinsj.bsky.social joins associate editor Griffin Oleynick to speak about what that work has meant to him, and how he still draws from its lessons in humility and grace.

"Public support for the death penalty in the United States is at historic lows, with Catholic support declining as part of that overall trend." — @heidischlumpf.bsky.social 'Pope and President, at Odds Again?'