Roman Catholic Church

Religious Liberty in Italy after World War II

In the following article from 75 years ago, Howard V. Yergin warned Americans about the emerging Italian constitution that would effectively privilege Catholics and treat religious minorities less favorably.

Five Impressions on Niebuhr and Co., 1945–47

From 1945 to 1947 as the United States and Soviet Union moved toward the Cold War, Christian realists writing for Reinhold Niebuhr’s journal, Christianity and Crisis, responded to global dilemmas. Here are five impressions of those articles, along with lessons for today.

Niebuhr’s European Impressions: From Truman Doctrine to State Churches
Niebuhr’s European Impressions: From Truman Doctrine to State Churches

After traveling through Europe in 1947—including to Scotland, Amsterdam, and Switzerland—Reinhold Niebuhr wrote some reflections, including on state churches, the Truman Doctrine, Christian political parties, and more.

The Latest Arrests of Pro-Democracy Leaders in Hong Kong Lend Urgency to Extending Refugee Status to Persecuted Hong Kongers

More pro-democracy leaders in Hong Kong have been arrested—including, astoundingly, a 90-year-old renowned Catholic cardinal, Joseph Zen.

G.K. Chesterton’s Lessons for Patriotism and the Olympics
G.K. Chesterton’s Lessons for Patriotism and the Olympics

The world is watching as Beijing hosts the XXIV Winter Olympiad. There is something about the Olympics that elicits national pride. But is sport a form of patriotic action?

Day 3: Born of a What??? - Virgin Mary - Yule Blog
Day 3: Born of a What???

Conventional manger scenes don’t show it, but besides the ox, the ass, the sheep, and the camels, there was another animal in the room at Christmas: an elephant. And the elephant in the room was the idea that Jesus’ mother was a virgin when He was born. A Yuletide blog that didn’t talk about the elephant wouldn’t be doing its job.

Alasdair MacIntyre - Doing Justice to Human Dignity
Doing Justice to Human Dignity

“As one might expect, for some, MacIntyre’s proposition to retire the concept of human dignity rang some alarm bells.”

Patient Foreign Policy and the “Long Pull”
Patient Foreign Policy and the Cold War “Long Pull”

The following two articles appeared in Christianity and Crisis on September 16, 1946. They both reflect on America’s relations with the Soviet Union post-World War II and try to develop a Christian approach to this challenge.

A Report on the World Church from a “Strange Swiss Paradise,” 1946
Report on the World Church from a “Strange Swiss Paradise,” 1946

Reporting from Switzerland in 1946, John C. Bennett offered brief observations about starvation and turmoil in Europe and comments on how America cannot “relax in the midst of its abundance.” But he mostly focuses on the emerging World Council of Churches (WCC).