In 1998, the Christian right was at a crossroads. Tragically, it took a path leading into the arms of Donald Trump. John Fea: 'Roads Not Taken' www.commonwealmagazine.org/roads-not-ta...

From @commonweal.bsky.social: Recovering Our Vision of the Poor ‘Dilexi te’ against MAGA’s effort to disappear the vulnerable

"'The Lord,' the psalmist proclaims, 'hears the cry of the poor.' We, by contrast, have lost our hearing." Terence J. Sweeney on MAGA, Pope Leo, and recovering our vision of the poor: www.commonwealmagazine.org/trump-poor-l...

I wrote about the decline of inner life in the latest issue of @commonweal.bsky.social www.commonwealmagazine.org/inner-life-t...

Join us tomorrow! commonwealmagazine.org/rootsdialogue

My conversation with Brandon Taylor for @commonweal.bsky.social

Mollie, Susan, Rita, Heidi? DREAM TEAM of writers (to say nothing of Claudia, part of the dream team of editors). Catholic lay-led journalism that values women's voices and analysis is exactly what the church/world needs.

Some professional news! I have so much respect for their leadership and team and look forward to contributing to their excellent content.

More reasons to read Commonweal every day, folks.

Please join us in welcoming the great @heidischlumpf.bsky.social to Commonweal! We’re delighted to announce that Heidi will be coming on board as Senior Correspondent. Read more about it here! www.commonwealmagazine.org/news/heidi-s...

Very happy to share the news that @heidischlumpf.bsky.social joins @commonweal.bsky.social today as senior correspondent. Welcome Heidi! We're thrilled to have her as a colleague. Read all about it here. www.commonwealmagazine.org/news/heidi-s...

THIS THURSDAY: 'Why Write?' Film critic @alissawilkinson.bsky.social will be in conversation with poet Micheal O’Siadhail at Columbia's Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary. RSVP here! events.columbia.edu/go/Commonwea...

Paul Thomas Anderson’s strength as a director resides in the way he pays lavish attention to the surface of things. That quality makes him as good a candidate as any to adapt Thomas Pynchon. Rand Richards Cooper reviews 'One Battle After Another': www.commonwealmagazine.org/cooper-paul-...

"Most English kings never even saw the pope, and it’s not clear if those who did ever prayed with him." @austeni.bsky.social on the real significance of an English king praying with the pope: www.commonwealmagazine.org/ivereigh-leo...

St. John Henry Newman, Doctor of the Church — as of this morning

"John Henry Newman held the view—radical at the time—that the spread of truth in our world depends on 'personal influence.'" Brett Beasly on how the newest Doctor of the Church would see our post-truth age: www.commonwealmagazine.org/newman-churc...

My October column for @commonweal.bsky.social on Hester Kaplan's "Twice Born" and a new genre: the critic's daughter's memoir. www.commonwealmagazine.org/domestico-cr...

"Horror can startle or scare us into perplexed wonder at the nature of existence." This Halloween, read Steven Knepper on theology, horror, and transcendence: www.commonwealmagazine.org/more-gore

I reviewed Luca Guadagnino's rock-brained, self-satisfied, ever-so-promising After the Hunt for @commonweal.bsky.social www.commonwealmagazine.org/rubsam-after...

A conversation with Brandon Taylor about his new novel, "Minor Black Figures," and lots of Catholic stuff for @commonweal.bsky.social www.commonwealmagazine.org/learning-zola

Great stuff from the writers you love in the Nov issue of @commonweal.bsky.social - @mollieoreilly.bsky.social on the perils of praising a senator's humane approach to immigration, @tonydomestico.bsky.social w/ an interview of Brandon Taylor & @alexwstern.bsky.social on our endangered inner life

The November issue is here! Feat: - Lauren Kane on St. Godric - Alexander Stern on technology and deculturation - An interview with Brandon Taylor - The Editors on Leo & care for the poor And more! www.commonwealmagazine.org/issues/2025-...

"Rather than simply adhere to 'correct' opinions, academics often strive for provisional knowledge that is open to both confirmation and critique." Charles McNamara on Socrates, Charlie Kirk, and genuine education: www.commonwealmagazine.org/gladiator-ga...

something new (and good) by @mollieoreilly.bsky.social for @commonweal.bsky.social

If you know what I mean when I say "The Cupich-Durbin affair," you might like this bit of angry satire I wrote for Commonweal!

"We will keep our eyes fixed on the prize, which used to be overturning Roe v. Wade. Now, it’s a little less concrete." @mollieoreilly.bsky.social delivers a missive from Concerned Catholics for Consistency in Messaging: www.commonwealmagazine.org/oreilly-moll...

"Those who had hoped for signs of a break with Francis immediately resumed their griping." The Editors on Leo, Francis, and the care for the poor: www.commonwealmagazine.org/leo-dilexi-t...

"At the very least, it would demonstrate that the U.S. Church can still bear prophetic witness to the Gospel’s most basic demands." Isabella Simon: The U.S. bishops must condemn the ICE raids in Chicago. www.commonwealmagazine.org/bishops-and-...

Trump's political theater, which threatens the dignity and safety of Chicago migrants, calls for condemnation by the bishops. www.commonwealmagazine.org/bishops-and-...

Amid news of a $300 million WH ballroom, a widening wealth gap, & millions of dollars going to weaponry for ICE, Pope Leo's call to care for the poor provides a dose of moral clarity: the editors of @commonweal.bsky.social on an urgent exhortation www.commonwealmagazine.org/leo-dilexi-t...

Pairs very well with Eileen Markey's equally deft and devastating piece for Commonweal about women supporting each other in life and loss: www.commonwealmagazine.org/appointment?...

This got me right in the feels. Beautiful, devastating, lovely.

"‘Dilexi te’ is a compelling and accessible read that leaves no doubt as to where the focus and energies of the Church—and society—should be." The Editors on Leo's first papal exhortation: www.commonwealmagazine.org/leo-dilexi-t...

On Thursday, November 6, at the Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary: Join us as we host @alissawilkinson.bsky.social, film critic at The New York Times, and poet Micheal O’Siadhail for a conversation on writing, beauty, and the common good. RSVP here! events.columbia.edu/go/Commonwea...

"The malignant threats of horror can help us see anew the threatened goodness in reality." Steven Knepper on a new theology of horror: www.commonwealmagazine.org/more-gore

"Though often overlooked, the Catholic mother is one of the Church’s superpowers." Christine Brunkhorst on mourning the Catholic mothers who made faith manifest: www.commonwealmagazine.org/gently-they-go

"Leo XIV has given the global Church a new hermeneutic of reform inspired by the Latin American theological rereading (or relectura) of Vatican II from a world of poverty." David Lantigua on 'Dilexi Te,' Pope Leo's ode to Latin American theology: www.commonwealmagazine.org/leo-francis-...

Curing loneliness requires more than just socialization. It also requires cultivating spiritually fulfilling solitude. www.commonwealmagazine.org/virtues-soli...

Calling Democrats "too woke" won't save the party. It just buys into a zero-sum Republican framing of the issue. Isabella Simon responds to Kenneth L. Woodward: www.commonwealmagazine.org/whos-really-...

If Democrats hope to return to power, they will have to abandon the conceit that theirs is the party of moral high-mindedness. Kenneth L. Woodward: 'Magnificent Obsessions' www.commonwealmagazine.org/woodward-dem...

Earlier this month, I wrote about the Oslo Accords, Norway’s diplomatic engagement with Israel and Palestine, and the persistence of the two-state framework, asking: what should come next? In @commonweal.bsky.social: www.commonwealmagazine.org/oslo-palesti...

This is a can’t-miss event! We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday at KGB Bar. RSVP here: www.commonwealmagazine.org/crypto-relig...

European history shows how political messianism can destroy the souls of churches. Could that happen in the United States? The latest from @MassimoFaggioli: www.commonwealmagazine.org/charlie-kirk...

Amen for this beautiful Paul Baumann remembrance of a great soul and good friend, Pat Jordan. Deo gratias for your beautiful life, Pat, and every consolation to your family. @commonweal.bsky.social www.commonwealmagazine.org/paul-baumann...

Fellow New Yorkers and honorary NYers alike: please join me @commonweal.bsky.social at KGB Bar for a talk w author @paulelie.bsky.social about the confluence of religion, politics & art in '80s NYC - Tues 10/21! www.commonwealmagazine.org/crypto-relig...

In the canon of American innovation, Joseph Smith stands alongside Edison, Bell, and the Wright brothers—not for technology, but for theology. www.commonwealmagazine.org/leveraging-b...

“I worked with Patrick Jordan at Commonweal for more than twenty years. Pat was one of the most decent people I have ever known.” Paul Baumann remembers a great soul: www.commonwealmagazine.org/paul-baumann...

At @commonweal.bsky.social it's my first dispatch from NYFF, featuring: Sentimental Value, Jay Kelly, two Linklaters of variable quality and perhaps the worst movie I've seen since last year's New York Film Festival. www.commonwealmagazine.org/rubsam-new-y...

Patrick Jordan believed that Christians have a responsibility to shape society. He exercised that responsibility primarily through writing. An obituary by Karen Sue Smith: www.commonwealmagazine.org/jordan-patri...

"In the end, what’s needed in this ever more polarized Church and world is an orientation to what we might call the radical middle." Paul Lakeland on John Gehring's 'Reclaiming American Catholicism': www.commonwealmagazine.org/heavy-lift