On Jan. 1, 1802, President Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to representatives of the Danbury, Connecticut Baptist Association, expressing his agreement with them about a certain understanding of religious liberty. Among other things, Jefferson said that he considered the religion clauses of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution had

A pending bill in the Ohio General Assembly, S.B. 103 (the “Bill”), if passed and signed by Governor DeWine, will abolish the death penalty in Ohio. Cincinnati Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr, on behalf of himself and all the Catholic bishops of Ohio, has submitted written testimony endorsing the Bill and

Arguably the most important official document to proceed from the Second Vatican Council was the “Dogmatic Constitution on the Church,” written “to unfold more fully” the “inner nature and universal mission” of the Church. (LG 1.) The document is better known by its Latin title, “Lumen Gentium,” taken from its

The Gospel of St. Matthew ends with the charge of Jesus to “make disciples of all nations, . . . teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt. 28:19-20). And in the very last words of Christ before His ascension, He tells His disciples, “you will be

by Dr. Kenneth Craycraft While the Archdiocese of Cincinnati celebrates its bicentennial in 2021, Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology, founded in 1829, will have to wait a few more years. Nonetheless, the milestone anniversary of the archdiocese is an appropriate time to consider the past legacy, present

In his collection of connected short stories, The Things They Carried, author Tim O’Brien drives the narrative arcs of his characters – American soldiers in the Vietnam War – by listing inventories of the things they carried in their backpacks, pockets, helmets and utility belts. The soldiers don’t talk about

On Apr. 9, 1945, German Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed by hanging at the Flossenbürg, Germany concentration camp two weeks before American troops liberated the prison. A mere 39-years-old, Bonhoeffer was arrested because he associated with parties who conspired to assassinate Hitler in July 1944. While he was active

On Dec. 8, 2020, Pope Francis promulgated his Apostolic Letter, Patris Corde (“With a Father’s Heart”), to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the declaration of St. Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church and to proclaim a Year of St. Joseph. Patris Corde is a meditation on the life of

As most Catholics are well aware, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the liturgical season of Lent. And, of course, almost everyone associates Lent with giving something up, even if they do not understand the penitential importance of the season. “I gave that up for Lent” is a common refrain,

When I taught theology to undergraduates, I would ask for a show of hands of those students who agreed with the statement, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” In most cases, every hand went up, even from the most devout students. And my reply would be, “I didn’t