Category: Religion

Is Ilhan Omar Wrong?

David Andreas

On Sunday, February 10th, freshman Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota’s 5th Congressional district sparked a major controversy with tweets about AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Kevin McCarthy was fiercely defending U.S. support for Israel, and Rep. Omar tweeted that “It’s all about the Benjamins baby,” suggesting that his vehement support for Israel was a result of campaign donations. Connecting Israeli money and U.S. policy referenced a long-running facet of anti-Semitism, suggesting that Jewish money is the driving force behind the strength of the U.S.-Israel alliance. Democrats and Republicans…

In Support of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò

Olivia Ingrassia

This past August, former papal nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò released a revelatory letter that detailed how Pope Francis was well aware of ex-Cardinal McCarrick’s heinous clerical abuse. This scathing letter divulged that Pope Francis not only lifted sanctions placed on the sexual predator by Pope Benedict XVI, but also covered for him, even making McCarrick his “trusted counsellor.” While many have discredited the 11-page epistle merely as a far-right tactic to oppose the Jesuit Pope, this bombshell report is undoubtedly concerning, especially since the Vatican has remained silent and…

The Francis Effect and the Fight Over Catholic Identity

Declan Murphy

  It’s a familiar scene: a “radical” speaker is invited to a college campus, until the skittish university decides to rescind the offer to avoid controversy. The twist? The radical figure here is a Jesuit priest, Father James Martin, and the university was Catholic University. Father Martin was scheduled to speak at Catholic University’s seminary Theological College, on September 15, when the seminary decided to cancel his appearance.  In an official statement the following day, Catholic University expressed disappointment that Father Martin had been uninvited. Nonetheless, the offer was rescinded,…

Unam Sanctam Catholicam: A Call for a Renewal of Tradition in the Catholic Church

Paul Ingrassia

It has been over a half-century since the closure of the Second Vatican Council, which ran in multiple sessions from 1963 to 1965 under the papacies of Pope Saint John XXIII and Pope Paul VI. Vatican II, as the ecumenical council is colloquially known is considered the defining moment of the Church in the twentieth century.  The Council brought forth historic change to the Roman Catholic Church, thereby fundamentally altering the liturgy and dispensing with centuries of tradition to appease a world society that had freshly emerged from the two…

Pope Francis’ Utopia: A Moral Free Market Society, or a Catholic Socialist State?

JonMichael Connolly

Pope Francis has used the “Chair of Saint Peter” in ways that seem, to many people, “political.” Whether through his actions to promote relations between the U.S. and Cuba, or through democratic socialist Bernie Sanders’ visit to Vatican City, Pope Francis has displayed a message that, from afar, can be seen as encouragement for socialist reform. The question is whether or not this reform is one that uproots the basic bedrock of capitalism, directing nations toward socialism, or if it is strictly a moral outcry, a plea to the starved…

Democrats, Embrace Morality

John Vasiliades

For many Democrats, election night marked the execution of Order 66. And no, Order 66 is not a referendum on California’s ballot. It was a command given to the clone troopers by Chancellor Palpatine to kill the Jedi, effectively sealing the fate of the Republic and beginning the transition into the malevolent Empire in the Star Wars universe. That scene from “Revenge of the Sith” is significant for depicting how virtually half the country felt on Nov. 8th — ambushed. Polls, statistics, and models were wrong — even Nate Silver…

Making America Break Again: Islamophobia and Democracy

Monica Olveira

In his 1933 inauguration address, President Franklin D. Roosevelt set the foundation for American resiliency when he said: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself – nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” Admittedly, the 1930s were an era of heightened racial tensions, racial targeting, and severe violence, and in the time between FDR and Barack Obama’s current terms, our nation has taken great strides in securing internal inclusiveness and justice through the promotion of civil rights and American freedoms. Yet,…

Finding God Even in Politics: An Interview with Fr. James Martin, S.J.

Ben St. Clair

Fr. James Martin is a Jesuit priest, author of more than 10 books, and editor-at-large for America Magazine. His latest books are Jesus: A Pilgrimage, Seven Last Words and a novel called The Abbey. He sat down with FPR’s editor-in-chief, Ben St. Clair, to talk about Jesuit spirituality and its place in politics. As a religious figure, and as a Jesuit, do you feel that you have a role — or a duty, even — to comment on political life? I try to stay as far away from political commentary…