George Weigel | Rhode Island Catholic

Unlearned Lessons of 9/11, a Quarter-Century Later

Several weeks after Islamist terrorists hijacked four planes, wreaking havoc in lower Manhattan and at the Pentagon in the name of deranged religious convictions, I was at dinner in the papal … more

9/17/26

The Work Ethic Incarnate

In his June 2 Wall Street Journal column, Jason L. Riley noted a disturbing trend in our American moment: “According to the Department of Labor, 1 in 3 men were neither working nor looking for a … more

8/20/26

In Praise of the Supremes

Article III of the Constitution, which establishes the Supreme Court, is the shortest of the three articles that define the institutions and powers of the three branches of the United States … more

8/6/26

How Vatican II Brought the Catholic Laity Out of the Pews and into Ministry

For many decades the former St. Charles Borromeo parish in Woonsocket offered a Novena to Our Lady of Fatima every Tuesday evening at 7pm. The service offered exposition and Benediction of the … more

6/4/26

‘Centesimus Annus’ at 35

Thirty-five years ago, Pope John Paul II issued his most developed social encyclical, “Centesimus Annus”; its title signaled the author’s intention to honor the centenary of Leo XIII’s 1891 … more

6/4/26

In Thanksgiving for the Gift of Baptism

Three-quarters of a century ago, on April 29, 1951, I was baptized by Father Thomas Love, SJ, in Baltimore’s Church of Saints Philip and James. Old Scratch must have thoroughly sunken his claws … more

5/28/26

‘Ecclesiacide,’ Then and Now

Pardon the Latin-rooted neologism, but if “patricide” works for murdering your father and “regicide” for taking out a king, why not “ecclesiacide” for trying to kill an entire Church? … more

4/30/26

What the Wall Street Journal Didn’t Print

On March 21, the Wall Street Journal published a lengthy profile of the Pope as its “Saturday Essay.” The subtitle—“Pope Leo XIV pushes back against President Trump. Can the pontiff from … more

4/23/26

The Donatist Comeback

My Lenten reading has included an interesting, if somewhat odd, book about the greatest of the Latin Fathers of the Church: “Augustine the African” by Catherine Conybeare, a philologist currently … more

4/2/26

Redemptor Hominis: More Important Than Ever

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 … more

3/19/26

Might Does Not Always Make Right, or Even Sense

The “Melian Dialogue,” from Thucydides’s classic “History of the Peloponnesian War,” is the foundational text of the realist school of international relations theory. It’s 416 b.c., and … more

3/12/26

Remembering Angelo Gugel

Those who remember the epic pontificate of St. John Paul II may recall a tall, handsome layman with well-combed, iron-gray hair, dressed in a black business suit, white shirt, and black tie, … more

2/26/26

P.D. James and Designer Parkas for Chihuahuas

P.D. James’ detective novels, featuring Inspector Adam Dalgliesh of New Scotland Yard, are every bit as gripping as those penned by Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Edith Pargeter (who wrote as … more

2/19/26

Fact-checking the New Yorker

Back in the day, when the New Yorker set the standard for literary elegance among serious American journals, writers were driven to distraction by the fanatical fact-checking characteristic of the … more

2/5/26

Semiquincentennial Prep with HBO

Having recently lamented in this space that book reading is on life support in these United States, I find myself in the awkward position of recommending a made-for-television series as good … more

1/29/26

The German Bishops’ Conference, Over the Cliff

When it was first published in 1993, Pope St. John Paul II’s encyclical on the reform of Catholic moral theology, Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth), dealt a severe blow to the pride of … more

1/8/26

Ukraine’s Religious Leaders and Munich 2.0

Prior to the “Revolution of Dignity” that began on the Maidan, Kyiv’s Independence Square, in late 2013 and eventually gave birth to the country that has amazed the world with its … more

12/4/25

Newman and the New Ultramontanism

The All Saints Day proclamation of St. John Henry Newman as a Doctor of the Church was entirely welcome, if not without a certain irony. First, the good news. Newman was one of the most creative … more

11/13/25

Russian Reset Required in Rome

When Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’ was head of the Russian Orthodox Church’s external relations department, he would occasionally come to Washington, where the Librarian of … more

10/30/25

An Important Civics Lesson, Well Taught

The permanent exhibit in the rotunda of the National Archives in Washington, D.C. includes original copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Constitution’s first ten … more

10/9/25