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112 Catholicism Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

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Catholicism Essay Topic Ideas & Examples: Exploring the Richness of the Faith

Catholicism is one of the oldest and most influential branches of Christianity, boasting a rich history, deep theological traditions, and a vast array of practices and beliefs. When tasked with writing an essay on Catholicism, it can be overwhelming to choose a topic that truly captures the essence of this faith.

To help you in your quest for an engaging and thought-provoking essay, we have compiled a list of 112 Catholicism essay topics and examples. Whether you are interested in exploring the historical development of Catholicism, its impact on art and culture, or its contemporary relevance, this list will provide you with a wide range of ideas to spark your imagination.

Historical Development of Catholicism:

• The origins of Catholicism: tracing its roots to the early Christian community.
• The role of St. Peter in the establishment of the Catholic Church.
• The schism between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.
• The Crusades: exploring the motivations and impact on Catholicism.
• The Protestant Reformation: its effect on Catholicism and the Counter-Reformation.
• The role of the papacy throughout history.
• The Council of Trent: its significance in shaping Catholic doctrine.
• The Inquisition: examining its purpose, methods, and consequences.
• The role of Catholic missionaries in the colonization of the Americas.

Catholic Theology: 10. The nature of God in Catholicism: exploring the Trinity. 11. The significance of the Eucharist in Catholic theology. 12. Mary, the Mother of Jesus: her role and veneration in Catholicism. 13. The sacraments in Catholicism: their meaning and importance. 14. The concept of sin and forgiveness in Catholic theology. 15. The role of prayer and devotions in Catholic spirituality. 16. The Catholic understanding of salvation and the afterlife. 17. The relationship between faith and reason in Catholic thought. 18. The role of the Magisterium in interpreting Catholic doctrine. 19. Catholic social teaching: principles and their application in society.

Catholic Art and Culture: 20. The influence of Catholicism on Renaissance art. 21. The use of religious symbolism in Catholic art. 22. The architecture of Catholic churches: from Gothic cathedrals to modern designs. 23. The portrayal of saints in Catholic art and iconography. 24. Catholic music: exploring Gregorian chant and sacred hymns. 25. The significance of religious processions and pilgrimages in Catholic culture. 26. Catholic feast days and their celebrations around the world. 27. Catholic literature: examining the works of Catholic writers throughout history. 28. The impact of Catholicism on film and popular culture. 29. The role of Catholic education and schools in shaping cultural values.

Contemporary Issues in Catholicism: 30. The role of women in the Catholic Church. 31. Catholicism and social justice: addressing poverty and inequality. 32. The Catholic Church's stance on homosexuality and LGBTQ+ rights. 33. The challenges of modernizing Catholic practices in a changing world. 34. The role of Catholics in promoting environmental stewardship. 35. Interfaith dialogue: Catholicism in a multi-religious society. 36. The impact of scandals and controversies on the Catholic Church. 37. The role of Catholic media and communication in the digital age. 38. The Catholic Church's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 39. Catholicism and politics: examining the influence of the Church on public policy.

Examples of Famous Catholics: 40. St. Augustine of Hippo: his life, writings, and contributions to Catholic theology. 41. St. Thomas Aquinas: his philosophical and theological works. 42. St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa): her life and humanitarian work. 43. Pope Francis: his papacy and reformist agenda. 44. St. John Paul II: his impact on the Catholic Church and global politics. 45. Flannery O'Connor: exploring the Catholic themes in her literature. 46. Dorothy Day: her advocacy for social justice and founding of the Catholic Worker Movement. 47. St. Ignatius of Loyola: the founding of the Jesuit order and his spiritual exercises. 48. Thomas Merton: his writings on contemplation and spirituality. 49. St. Therese of Lisieux: her "Little Way" and spirituality of everyday life.

These 112 Catholicism essay topics and examples are just a starting point for your exploration of this vast and complex faith. Whether you choose a historical, theological, cultural, or contemporary perspective, remember to approach your essay with an open mind and a willingness to delve into the depths of Catholicism's beliefs, practices, and impact on the world. Happy writing!

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59 Catholic Church Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best catholic church topic ideas & essay examples, ✅ most interesting catholic church topics to write about, 💡 good research topics about catholic church.

• The Catholic Church and the Black Death in the 14th Century Therefore, the essence of this research paper is to investigate the role of Catholic Church during the Black Death, specifically paying attention to the steps the church used to prevent the disease, the Flagellants and […]
• Catholic Church View on Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery Therefore, the authors had a negative stance on cosmetic surgery performed on women, stating that it was a betrayal of the “truth of the feminine self” and a contribution to the exploitation of the female […] We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
• Baptist, Roman Catholic Church, and Episcopal Church: Comparison It evolved immediately after the American Revolution after a forced break from the Church of England due to the penalty of disloyalty as the clergy of the Church of England were obliged to swear their […]
• The Corruption of the Catholic Church in Chaucer’s Works Using the central theme of religious hypocrisy, Chaucer successfully used the Pardoner, the Friar, and the Summoner characters to expose the church representatives’ corruption and evil practices.
• History of Catholic Church Catholic religion dominated the lives of the medieval people between the 5th and the 15th century. It was not easy to dislodge Christianity from the lives and minds of the medieval men and women, as […]
• Indulgences in the Catholic Church The Pope is the highest level of clergy in the Catholic Church, with explicit respect and authority granted by the Christian ecclesiological doctrine.
• The Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Reformation The most fundamental change to the power of the Roman Catholic Church came during the era of the Protestant Reformation. Therefore, the latter part of the Middle Ages was marked by a substantial change in […]
• The Catholic Church in the Roman Empire In its ethical concepts, the Roman Catholic Church developed from Stoicism, which was in great harmony with the public mood of the Roman Empire.
• The Separation of the Catholic Church This paper highlights the premises of the schism between the Roman Church and the Protestants. That was a basic reason for split and separation of the Catholic Church.
• Controversial Topic Within Modern Catholic Church These and the abundance of the other places from the Holy Scriptures establish God’s position as the Giver of life, and the only person having a right to operate the gift of life which stem […]
• Roman Catholic Church: Congregational Worship Experiences The largest of the Christian churches which entails the Roman Catholic church, although present in all parts of the world, is identified as Roman because of its historical roots in Rome and because of the […]
• Sex Abuse Allegations Against the Catholic Church For one to understand, the reactions of the church towards the allegations we need to examine the human behavioral response to the crisis.it is human to see people react towards the crisis in form of […]
• Roman Catholic Church and Protestant Reformers’ Confrontation The debate was crucial to the development of the Reformation thought, as it was during this debate that Luther for the first time argued that the Pope had no official power since the Bible alone […]
• Galileo’s Defence and Roman Catholic Church I will persuade religious leaders of the positive effects of separating science from religion, and illustrate that the design of the solar system was a part of God’s plan to protect planet Earth.
• Pope Francis and His Effect on the Roman Catholic Church Whilst Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he also held membership in a number of bodies associated with the Catholic Church in Argentina. There are a number of ways, in which Pope Francis has influenced the Roman […]
• Miracle of the Sun in the Catholic Church The major things I doubt, are that the children had seen anything miraculous at all; that what the children had actually seen was the image of the Lady, Jesus and other saints; that all the […]
• Lent History and Meaning in the Catholic Church The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that the aim of Lent is to make people ready for the celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ.
• The Politics of the Catholic Church in Latin America Both the church and the state eagerly waited for the arrival of the Pope the reform minded Catholics believed the Pope would support their efforts.
• Latin America and the Catholic Church The church was anticipating that the Pope will come with a massage to give moral legitimacy in their quest and efforts to fight for the rights of the poor who were politically oppressed.
• Role of Catholic Church During Ns Regime One religious organization that strongly opposed the extension of the Gleichschaltung into the realm of religion was the Roman Catholic Church. One of the institutions that the government failed to disband was the church.
• Important People and Events in the Formation of the Catholic Church
• Catholic Church: Colonial Times to Present Day
• African Catholic Church and the Church of South Africa
• Relationship Between the Catholic Church and Chivalry
• Preparation for Baptism and Confirmation in the Roman Catholic
• The Catholic Church and Its Views on Homosexuality
• Catholic Church People Papacy Dissatisfaction
• Australian Governments’ and Catholic Church’s Attitudes on the Practice of Euthanasia
• Catholic Church Abuse Priests Clergy
• Middle Ages and Roman Catholic Church Corruption
• American Politics and the Catholic Church
• Crisis Analysing: Young People Leaving the Catholic Church
• Catholic Church’s Official Position on Abortion and Contraceptives
• Challenges Facing the Australian Catholic Church of the 21st Century
• Catholic Church During the Protestant Reformation
• Galileo’s Discovery Put the Catholic Church Into Unrest
• How the Catholic Church Built Westen Civilization
• Dante and Chaucer: Towards the Renovation of the Catholic Church
• Birth Control and the Catholic Church
• Catholic Church and Byzantine Empire
• Explaining Why the Catholic Church Was Weakened My Renaissance Popes
• Analyse the Role and the Influence of the Catholic Church in the Irish Education System to Date
• Catholic Church Architecture Analysis
• Catholic Church From Apostolic Times Until the Present+
• Erasmus Against Catholic Church
• Abortion and Birth Control Rights in the Catholic Church
• Holocaust and the Response of the American Catholic Church
• Decision About Life and Death and the Catholic Church’s Position on Euthanasia
• Fundamental Problems with the Catholic Church in 15th Century and How Martin Luther Faced Them
• Relationship Between Baptism and the Catholic Church
• Discussing the View That the Reformation Was an Unsuccessful Rebellion Within the Catholic Church
• Features of Art and the Roman Catholic Church
• Comparing and Contrasting the Roman Catholic Church With the Baptist Church
• Catholic Church Corruption and the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
• Indulgences and the Role They Played on the Reformation of the Catholic Church
• Jesus and the Role of Sin in the Catholic Church
• How the Catholic Church Survived Two Thousand
• Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church
• Latin America and Marriage Ceremonial Changes Before and After the Catholic Church Introduction
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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Student Essays on Impact of Catholic Education

Essay Guidelines

The topic for this year’s Contest is:

This year, The Cardinal Newman Society expanded The Newman Guide to recommend faithful Catholic K-12 schools and graduate programs, as well as colleges. Explain the importance of attending a Newman Guide college as the capstone to a lifelong Catholic formation. How does it build upon a student’s prior years, and what comes next?

Essays will be judged by how well they demonstrate appreciation for faithful Catholic education, as well as the quality of the writing. The Cardinal Newman Society reserves the right to publish submitted essays.

Essay Specifications and Format:

• Written in the English language
• 400-600 words saved in a PDF file
• Article title and author’s name at top of first page
• Author’s last name and page number on each subsequent page
• Typed, Times New Roman font, size 12 point
• Double-spaced paragraphs
• Word count included at end of essay
• Works cited page, if necessary (not included in essay word count)

Essays must be uploaded and submitted electronically using online contest application form no later than 11:59 p.m. (E.D.T.) on February 20, 2024. No essays or applications will be accepted by email, postal mail, fax, or any other form of communication.

Only one entry is allowed per applicant. If a person enters multiple times, all of their entries will be disqualified.

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STUDENT ESSAY: Why I love attending Catholic school

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Editor’s note: Each year St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School in Anchorage holds a student essay contest for the annual Catholic Schools Week celebration. The following essay by 6th grader Nicholas Febbo took first place this year’s contest and included a $500 scholarship.

Most people overlook Catholic schools but they are a great source for religious formation and a good source of knowledge and service. Catholic schooling has changed me for the better, and you might just be inspired to take another look at Catholic schools.

Faith and religion are both important. Catholic schools have helped me come back to them. Before I went to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, I looked at church like a chore. Now I view church like school (which I think is fun) — a time to learn. Also, now that I’m in a Catholic school, I learn more about God and my faith. A year and a half ago, if someone asked me to whom God gave the Ten Commandments I would have probably said “some guy” or “Jesus,” but now I know it was Moses. Before attending St. Elizabeth Ann Seton I didn’t really know who I was or what I could be. Now I know about vocations and what God calls us to be. I know who I am and what I want to be. In a nutshell, I can clearly say that Catholic schools are a great source of faith formation.

Catholic schools are also a great source of knowledge thanks to teachers who encourage and help me progress onward. Back in my old school, I wasn’t a straight-A student, but now that I’m in a Catholic school and in such an encouraging environment, my grades have skyrocketed. Before I went to Catholic school, if you said something complicated or hard to understand, it would have probably gone right over my head. Now I try to decipher and understand the more complex things in life. Catholic schools are great way to learn about Catholicism and just about anything else.

I haven’t told you about how Catholic schools emphasize service to others. Before attending St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, I wasn’t the best kid — now I get in trouble much less, and I’m much nicer. Another thing is helping others. At this school, we grow potatoes to give to the homeless and we make sandwiches for them too. I didn’t used to care much about those things but now I ask people if they need help.

As you can see, Catholic schools focus on teaching religion as well as helping students learn about ourselves, others and the world around us. I hope this inspires you to think about Catholic schools.

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Fascinating Catholic Church Topics to Write about

• Significant Events and People in the History of the Catholic Church
• The Catholic Church from Colonial Times to the Present
• African Catholic Church and South African Church
• Chivalry and the Catholic Church Relationship
• Baptism and Confirmation Preparation in the Roman Catholic Church
• The Catholic Church’s Position on Homosexuality
• People in the Catholic Church Dissatisfaction with the Papacy
• Attitudes of the Australian Government and the Catholic Church Towards Euthanasia
• The Catholic Church Abuses Priests and Clergy
• The Medieval Period and the Roman Catholic Church Corruption
• American Politics and the Catholic Church
• Crisis Analysis: Young People Leaving the Catholic Church
• Catholic Church’s Official View on Contraceptives and Abortion
• Problems Facing the Australian Catholic Church in the 21st Century
• The Catholic Church During the Protestant Reformation
• Galileo’s Discovery Put the Catholic Church Into Turmoil
• How the Catholic Church Aided in the Development of Western Civilization
• Dante and Chaucer: Towards Catholic Church Renovation
• The Catholic Church and Birth Control

Research Topics about Catholic Church

• Byzantine Empire and the Catholic Church
• Explain Why Renaissance Popes Weakened the Catholic Church
• Analyze the Influence and Role of the Catholic Church in the Irish Education System to Date
• Analysis of Catholic Church Architecture
• Catholic Church from the Apostolic Age to the Present Day
• Erasmus Against The Catholic Church
• Birth Control and Abortion Rights in the Catholic Church
• Holocaust and the Response of the Catholic Church in America
• The Catholic Church’s Position on Euthanasia and the Decision About Life and Death
• The Fundamental Problems the Catholic Church Had in the 15th Century and How Martin Luther Faced Them
• Relationship Between the Catholic Church and Baptism
• Discuss the View of Reformation and Unsuccessful Rebellion Within the Catholic Church
• The Roman Catholic Church and Features of Art
• Comparing and Contrasting the Baptist Church With the Roman Catholic Church
• The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer and the Catholic Church
• Indulgences and the Role it Played in the Reformation of the Catholic Church
• Jesus Christ and the Position of Sin in the Catholic Church
• How the Catholic Church Survived Two Thousand
• The Catholic Church: Confronting Sex and Power
• Latin America and Marriage Ceremonial Changes Before and After the Introduction of the  Catholic Church

Comparison Catholic Essay Topics

• Comparison Between Catholicism and Calvinism in the Movie, The Truman Show by Peter Weir
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• Comparison Between Two Denominations of Christianity: Protestantism and Catholicism
• Comparison of the Human Suffering Concept in Catholicism and Buddhism
• Comparison of the Religions of the Indians of Native America and Catholicism
• Comparison of Two Religions: Islam and Catholicism
• Difference Between Catholicism and Christianity As Shown By Una And Duessa
• Comparing Islamic and Roman Catholicism Teachings on Sexual Ethics

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Read high schoolers' contest-winning essays

Maia J. Kennedy

by NCR Staff

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National Catholic Reporter asked high school juniors and seniors to reflect on their experiences of change and growth in the church and to describe their hopes for the church in the years ahead. After receiving and reviewing over 100 fantastic entries, we are proud to present the five winning entries -- first, second and third, as well as two honorable mentions.

FIRST PLACE

Make the message succinct and direct, yet enticing and colorful

By Maia J. Kennedy

The poet T. S. Eliot once wrote, "For last year's words belong to last year's language/And next year's words await another voice." The Catholic church represents a long, profound history and it is my aim to act as "another voice" coming to bear witness of the good news to the modern world. 

As a junior in public high school who has attended Catholic schools all years prior, I have come to learn most recently that I am Catholic to the core. Jesus Christ is alive in me! My plans for bringing new faces, new voices, and new ways of being church are to follow the example of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, who is changing the Catholic state of mind and inspiring others to lead more prayerful and simple lives.

Poll after poll confirms that Francis is the most popular person in the world. His philosophical views have struck a nerve with the impoverished and young people of the world. As a new face and a new voice, Francis is leading the way toward a new Catholic character. He has a Twitter account and has been known to pose for "selfies"! His voice has reached me and my friends. 

His advice of living simply is a change in the church that deserves our attention. I have witnessed the concept firsthand through my family in Mexico who have few material possessions but who live a joyful and devout life. I admire their courage in the face of modern distractions. 

Today, I am exposed to greater diversity than ever before and I have begun to take community service to a different level. Where my community service before was organized through Catholic institutions, now I personally take the initiative and my efforts are encouraging others to do the same. 

In a world inundated by social media, a fresh voice of the Catholic church should be brief but effective. Long-winded dissertations on any topic will not gain traction with my generation. The message of the Trinity, forgiveness, and the holy Eucharist should be succinct and direct, yet enticing and colorful. 

Ideas provoking faith, hope and love cannot be concealed or drowned by rhetoric. Art, sports and music play significant roles in our human happiness and our sense of individuality — then why not in prayer that cleanses and strengthens our spirit? Might we address God through sportsmanship, song and visual expression? 

The church has undergone substantial change in my lifetime and I am grateful to be a small part of it. The church is a public body, a team of sorts, constantly in need of coaches who lead it to victory. 

I hope to be a new face, a new voice, proceeding by the grace of God in ways that appeal to and inspire the modern world to see Catholics as genuine stewards of Christ. Pope Francis' example of simple and personal stewardship will inspire us to achieve this victory and together, we can accomplish new ways of Christian life. 

[Maia J. Kennedy is a senior at Huntsville High School and active member of Holy Spirit Parish in Huntsville, Ala. She is a founding member of the Alabama Junior Arts Council and a Distinguished Young Woman award winner. Proud of her Mexican-American heritage, she holds a strong command of the Spanish language.]

SECOND PLACE

By Mary Chudy

Being church is more than sitting in the same pew week after week next to the same family you’ve sat with for years. Being church is promoting and projecting your brotherly love for humanity to everyone you meet. It’s being hopeful in the face of despair. It’s ushering welcome to the marginalized. 

My experience of church has been one of growth and change. As a child, I came to church each week with a pretty dress and a toothy smile to match. I never really thought about why I was actually there till I began to receive the sacraments. Receiving my First Communion began my new understanding of the church: one of unbounded unity and love. 

Just as my faith life continues to change, I am hopeful in the church’s change. With such a short pontificate, Pope Francis has challenged the church’s views on touchy topics such as divorced and remarried Catholics and homosexuality. Change is rough, and it is natural for people to veer away. However, Catholics must not be afraid to turn the other cheek for the sake of justice, and must be open to welcome this change. 

I hope that Catholics everywhere will open their minds and hearts to welcome to those who may not be “born and bred” Catholic, or those who find themselves in difficult situations, so that we may truly be the universal church that God calls us to be. It is only then that we can welcome new faces and strong voices to create a more vibrant, diverse church, ultimately allowing us to be loving ambassadors of Christ’s mission.

During his papacy, Francis has also continually promoted and exemplified the value of living simply, in solidarity with the poor and marginalized. Americans today are geared towards materialism. We are always waiting for the next best thing. We line up like sardines on Black Friday, willing to fight each other to get the best sales. This materialistic mentality hinders the church from truly living its mission in the world: to love thy neighbor as thyself. 

I hope that the church will realize the importance of serving others through Francis’s example. Taking concrete action in our communities will work to draw new faces to the church. Through these actions, the church will become a more welcoming institution, catalyzing its growth.

Being Catholic to me means knowing that somewhere, there is someone who looks nothing like me and doesn’t speak my language celebrating and believing the same thing I do. This thought is beyond powerful. It unites Catholics all over the world. It automatically connects us to millions of people we will likely never meet. With this in mind therefore, I have hope that the church will recognize this union and open its arms to include those formerly forgotten and misjudged — including homosexuals and divorced and remarried Catholics — so that we may create a stronger, more vibrant church and together, live in the truth of our all-loving, all-just, universal God.

THIRD PLACE

By André Sicard 

Since the election of Pope Francis to the papacy, I have seen an immense growth of renewed interest in the church and increasing pastoral change within the worldwide church. What the media once viewed as a dying institution is now seen for what it truly is: a living, breathing organism that is ever ancient, ever new. While it is true Francis has revitalized the universal church, in my own experience, at the local level, I have seen a church that has continued its mission of evangelization since day one and grows daily. 

In my diocese of Salt Lake City, we have founded new church communities, ordained large classes of permanent deacons, commissioned 85 lay ecclesial ministers, continued to ordain men to the priesthood, and have even started seeking input from the faithful for a new pastoral planning process for our future, all in the past five years. 

In my own parish, being a music minister has given me a first-hand view of the growth of my community and given me the chance to view liturgy as something more relevant to my life and to our mission. It is my hope we approach the future in a more pastoral way, looking to evangelize people more with our actions than with our words. 

By taking my responsibility as a member of the priesthood of the people of God seriously, I must go out “into the streets” and help everyone come closer to Christ. Within the church today, we often close the door on too many of our own brothers and sisters who may not fit the mold of what a Catholic should be like. If I am to reach out to new faces, I need to have an open heart and open mind. 

I have many friends who do not agree with my beliefs, yet I am learning to leave my personal ego behind and ask what they can offer me and the church. I cannot simply argue with or judge my friends when we do not agree; instead I must offer them a glimpse of the joy I receive weekly through the Sacraments and the Gospel. By leaving behind this pride, I dare to become a disciple to a church that does not force an ideology on someone, but instead, accompanies them on their journey and is willing to receive and love them for who they are. Before I can do this, I must be certain that the church is willing to keep its, “doors always wide open,” as Francis wrote in The Joy of the Gospel . 

For a person will only find their place within the Body of Christ if we, as church, offer them a loving, welcoming home. I take the responsibility to keep the door of that home open and unlocked, because, as Pope Benedict XVI wrote, “to enter through that door is to set out on a journey that lasts a lifetime.” 

HONORABLE MENTION

By Rogelio Becerra 

When I was younger, I was in a Catholic school, and I remember being in class, learning about religion. I would take everything in and accept it as a fact, but I don’t believe that this was the best way to learn about God. Once I entered De La Salle, I had religion teachers who encouraged me to question our religion and say that it is science and religion, not science or religion. 

I believe that since every person has their own moments of doubt, we should be encouraged to ask questions about religion and poke holes in the Bible because some things might be mystery, but other questions might have simple explanation. For example, I asked why does Jesus say to love your enemy but then goes off and breaks everything when he sees what is going on in the temple, in the house of God? My teacher answered me that he was also human, 100 percent divine and 100 percent human, and humans get mad and act upon their emotions. No matter what I wanted to ask, my teacher would answer comfortably. 

I personally hope that the church as a unit, should try to focus on things that need tending to right away and not argue with others about some detail that our society is making a big deal about. I believe that the church should focus on diversity, poverty, people, and what the people want and expect from the church. 

Other topics that people are focusing on, like gay marriage, will still be here if we put them aside and focus on real problems that are endangering lives. After having my junior retreat, I’ve realized how important our priorities are and I believe that our new pope, Pope Francis I, has his priorities straight because I believe he knows what we need to worry about right now and what we can worry about later. 

Ways we could also help the church reach new faces and hear new voices is reach out to the teenagers, high schools, and other places with young adults. I believe that the church should try to connect with teenagers because it is around this age that many lose their faith. Most Catholic high schools have religious figures like priests, brothers, and nuns, but what I think we need is religious figures that are higher ranked and more known because that’s what we react to. 

For example Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich attend a De La Salle basketball game on Jan. 16. This brought a lot of attention from the students because they got to meet him at a basketball game and not during a Mass, so it was something out of the ordinary that caught the attention of many students because this wouldn’t be the place to expect someone of his standards. 

By Omar Gomez

Growing up in a Latin household on the east side of Chicago, I would go to church every Sunday at 1 p.m. The Masses were always given in Spanish, and as a little boy I would never understand what they would ever say. Eventually I grew to understand what the message was in Mass and how I would take it definitely made an impact on how I grew up to perceive things as a young adult know. I feel like though that many people don’t get to experience what I do because not many people are able to connect with what happens in church. 

A way to attract new faces into church is if the church did more work in the communities themselves. Of course we see churches do outreach programs, but not many are able to reach the communities that they are present in. If we are able to reach these neighborhoods and they are able to give a face to the people who are scared to approach the church, they might be more inclined to approach the church. Many of these people who are too scared to come to the church, don’t because they feel like the church wouldn’t be to accepting. A way to combat this is to be able to give the church a “face” so more people feel welcomed to join the church. 

A vibrant church is also very important and a way to make it more vibrant is to be able to connect to the parishioners. If the priest is able to connect to his parishioners then perhaps more of them would understand where the message is coming from and how to be able to interpret the message itself. Not only does understanding the message important but also questioning it and perhaps this questioning could spark a great debate. Perhaps with these debates that could become more and more people would be more informed, and in turn become more intelligent, along with being able to freely think of issues pertaining to the church and many life issues. 

There is much that the church could do to make a huge impact, but it ultimately trickles all the way down to each individual church. That is where the change can begin to happen, at the level of the local churches that are making a huge impact in their own communities, because ultimately this leads to the change that it is wanted in each community. 

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Catholic Schools are Communities and Families: A Freshman Essay

Think about your freshmen year of high school. Do you remember how it felt those first few weeks? What is it like for a freshmen in high school nowadays?

To answer, consider the essay below, written by Tyler Evans (far left), pictured with fellow freshmen Tim Fehrman and Jaksen Wonderlich, just started high school last month. Tyler says,

“Catholic schools are community and families. Gross Catholic reminds me of St. Gerald because of the family aspect and the faith life. Just like St. Gerald, Gross Catholic has a small, tightly-knit community filled with faith and kindness.”

Communities work together, learn together and bond together. I want to continue to learn in a community based in Christ and attend a school that has a sense of family. I chose to attend Gross Catholic because it is not only a community, but a family that excels under the presence of God. I also want to attend Gross Catholic because of its challenging academics and many activities.

One of the core values at Gross Catholic is to be authentically faithful. God and the Holy Trinity are present throughout the school day and are an important part of the school culture. My faith is very important to me because it has always helped me through tough times, like last year when I was diagnosed with cancer. My elementary school classmates at St. Gerald School helped me face my diagnosis with courage and hope.

I love to learn more about my faith and will have opportunities to discuss my faith at Gross Catholic. I will also participate in service projects that incorporate the Corporal Works of Mercy. Gross Catholic will prepare me for a life full of faith, and a life in community with God.

Another core value of Gross Catholic is to be academically driven. Their challenging academics will prepare me for the real world and will help me achieve my goal of getting into the Air Force Academy. I believe that the education that I will receive at Gross Catholic will give me opportunities that I wouldn’t get anywhere else. There are also many extracurriculars that interest me such as mock trial, trapshooting and academic decathlon. I will also have the opportunity to participate in sports I enjoy such as swimming, track and cross-country.

My peers, teachers and staff at St. Gerald Catholic School prepared me for life and I want to bring that knowledge with me to my next level of education at Gross Catholic. I will forever cherish my St. Gerald memories and look forward to making new memories at my Catholic high school.

We are so happy to hear Tyler is healthy, well and thriving and that he cherishes his experience in the Archdiocese of Omaha. Praise be to God! Tyler recently shared more of his story as advocate for school choice here .

Tyler’s mother Nicole is currently employed at Gross Catholic High School, and she shared the story of her faith encounter in our Catholic schools as well:  https://www.federationforchildren.org/voices-for-choice/nicole-evans/

Read more stories of Every Day Impact from Catholic schools

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Three Catholic essay collections, useful in different ways

By Dr. Jeff Mirus ( bio - articles - email ) | Apr 28, 2017 | In Reviews

Recently three different collections of essays crossed my desk, from three different publishers. In some ways, these collections remind me of the various ebook volumes of our own collected essays which CatholicCulture.org makes available as free downloads . But such collections are as different as the writers they represent, and each of these three new ones will serve a particular audience well.

The publishers are Sophia Institute Press , EWTN Publishing (these two form a joint publishing group with production in Sophia Institute’s hands), and Ignatius Press . All three are extraordinarily reliable Catholic sources.

Fr. Michael Kerper: A Priest Answers 27 Questions You Never Thought to Ask

Fr. Michael Kerper studied politics and economics at LaSalle University, labor relations at the University of Massachusetts, and moral theology at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Maryland. He brings broad knowledge to his ministry as a priest throughout New Hampshire. His answers to common Catholic questions originally appeared in the magazine of the Diocese of Manchester, Parable . As you might expect, the questions answered are those that occur to many Catholics who have not yet been well-instructed in the Faith. Each answer is clear and concise—usually about two pages long.

Can the divorced receive Communion? What’s the difference between mortal and venial sin? How do we fast? Must we give to everyone who asks? Why can’t women be priests? What happened to Limbo? Is cremation allowed? What is a plenary indulgence? Are guardian angels real? And my personal favorite: Why doesn’t Pope Francis like pets? As the title suggests, there are 27 of these questions, most of which will be of interest to just about everybody.

The proper “market” for this book consists, as I said, of Catholics who have not yet made a significant study of the Faith—but also potential converts, who usually wonder about a good many of these things. Obviously, more questions could be asked and answered, but it is not necessary to be comprehensive. Rather, the value of a book of this type is that if the author gives clear answers which make sense, then the reader will become ever more convinced that equally good answers exist for every one of his or her questions about the life of the Catholic Church.

Fr. Mitch Pacwa, SJ: The Proverbs Explained: A Blueprint for Christian Living

Born in Chicago in 1949, Fr. Mitch Pacwa entered the Society of Jesus in 1968, and has taught Old and New Testament at a number of colleges as well as on EWTN. After making a number of EWTN programs, Fr. Pacwa went full time with the network in 2002, hosing EWTN Live and Threshold of Hope , among other programs. He has authored more than twenty books, most of which deal with Scripture. This one takes up the Book of Proverbs.

Now if you’ve ever read Proverbs, you know that it contains some peculiar sayings, oscillating at times between a deep spiritual wisdom and an almost humorously pragmatic grasp of what works in the world. As Our Lord said, “The master commended the dishonest steward for his shrewdness; for the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light” (Luke 16:8). There is a good deal of old-fashioned practical wisdom in Proverbs! But Fr. Pacwa groups the various proverbs to treat such topics as Husbands and Wives, Parents and Children, God and Government, Wealth and Poverty, Pride and Humility, Work and Holiness.

In fact, what Fr. Pacwa has done here is to use the proverbs to shed light on the way we are to live as children of God. Selecting twelve topics under the headings of Family, Justice and Virtue, he uses several proverbs in treating each topic, to explain the faithful and sensible manner in which Christian should conduct themselves. The advantage of this approach is that the reader begins to see the book of Proverbs thematically, in a way that communicates the wisdom of God, rather than as a scattered collection of constantly shifting aphorisms.

Fr. Paul D. Scalia: That Nothing May Be Lost: Reflections on Catholic Doctrine and Devotion

Fr. Paul Scalia studied theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome. Ordained in 1996, he currently serves as Episcopal Vicar for the Clergy in the Diocese of Arlington. A frequent contributor to the Arlington Catholic Herald and the diocesan blog, Encourage and Teach , Scalia’s short essays (typically about a thousand words each) are characterized by considerable spiritual insight and charm.

That Nothing May Be Lost has an unusual structure. Collecting his essays into nine sections, the author decided to have each section introduced by other well-known Catholic thinkers—such as Fr. Paul Check, Scott Hahn, Helen Alvaré and Mary Ellen Bork. These sections include such topics as:

• The Lord: Knowing and Loving Jesus of Nazareth
• Paradoxes of Faith: The Tension and Balance of Catholic Teaching
• The Saints: The Mortal Masterpieces of God’s Grace
• The Life of Grace: Christ within Us

Each of the nine sections includes between six and nine essays, and each essay takes up a Catholic theme as exemplified in Scripture, the life of the Church and, of course, our own lives. Of the three books examined here, That Nothing May Be Lost is the largest collection and the one most suited to personal spiritual reading. In fact, this is exactly the way I am using it myself.

Jeffrey Mirus holds a Ph.D. in intellectual history from Princeton University. A co-founder of Christendom College, he also pioneered Catholic Internet services. He is the founder of Trinity Communications and CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.

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Students Inspire in Catholic Schools’ Week Essays

February 04, 2021

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For Catholic Schools week, all students in religion classes composed a short essay on the topic: “What Catholic School Has Meant to Me”. Religion teachers collectively have selected these top 5 essays!  

Please click here to read Paige’s essay.

Please click here to read Nina’s essay. 

Please click here to read Ella’s essay.

Seventh grader, Evan Cope, was selected as the winner of an essay contest in honor of Catholic Schools Week 2016 at Assumption Catholic School in Jacksonville. The students were asked to write on the topic, “What does going to a Catholic school mean to you?” The purpose of the essay was to highlight the benefits of a Catholic education and how it can help prepare children for future success.

Here is a copy of Evan’s winning essay:

“What Does Going to a Catholic School Mean to You?” by Evan Cope – 7th Grade

Several wonderful things come to my mind when I hear the words “Catholic school.” I think of happiness and freedom from the everyday hustle and bustle of life that Catholic school offers. I have been going to a Catholic school for about two years now. I had no clue as to what was in store for me as I began the journey, but what a fun and exhilarating ride it has been. Catholic school means so much to me, from a safe environment, to freedom of religion, and uniforms that encourage togetherness and a family environment.

Catholic school is the second safest environment I know, next to the comfort of my own home, of course. Catholic school is a place where I can touch base with my friends without having to avoid courtyard skirmishes. At my previous school, playground squabbles would break out, and in the hallways, someone’s meaty fist was often waiting to play you like a game of “Bop-It.”  In Catholic school, not only do the students respect other students, but the teachers respect the students as well.  They are always willing to take the time to discuss anything that may be on a student’s mind.  In public school, teachers will often shrug you off like last spring’s fashions.

At my old public school, I had show and tell and brought in a necklace with a cross on it to explain my faith.  Though I was excited to share my faith with other students, I was discouraged from doing so. There I was, in the second grade, and unable to be a messenger of God.  Here at Catholic school, we are encouraged to spread our knowledge in our faith. We have opportunities for religion class, mass, and adoration that can’t be provided anywhere else. With all these resources that allow me to learn more about my faith, I grow in my spiritual walk daily, and even my parents learn something that they weren’t taught in their old days of Sunday school. Adoration is great after a long, tough day at school.  It frees your mind from all distractions and with Mass, we are given the chance to receive the Eucharist every Tuesday.

Have you ever been picked on because of the appearance of your clothes or because some people felt that your attire wasn’t fashionable?  This happens to children on a daily basis in public school.  Here at Catholic school however, this simply isn’t the case.  This is because everyone is wearing the exact same thing and looks just like the next person.  You might think this would make for a boring experience.  On the contrary, everyone looks presentable, professional, and is ready to learn.

Catholic school means all these things and so much more.  I am thriving academically in a safe environment and am encouraged to grow in my faith and share it with others.  A neat, clean, uniform appearance ensures that all students are focused on learning and are preparing for success.  I am very grateful for the opportunities in Catholic school and I hope to pass the tradition on to my children one day.

Evan’s essay was selected among the middle school students at Assumption Catholic School in Jacksonville.

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Essay on Why Is Catholic Education Important

Students are often asked to write an essay on Why Is Catholic Education Important in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Why Is Catholic Education Important

A foundation of faith and knowledge.

Catholic schools provide a unique and important role in the education of children. They offer students the opportunity to develop intellectually, spiritually, and morally. Catholic schools foster a love of learning and a desire to serve others. Students are taught to think critically and to solve problems, and they are given the opportunity to apply their knowledge to real-world situations.

Anchored in Values

Catholic schools teach students the importance of truth, justice, compassion, and forgiveness. They help students to develop a strong moral compass and to make good choices. Students are encouraged to be honest, respectful, and responsible. They are also taught to care for the environment and to be good stewards of the earth.

Preparing for the Future

Catholic schools prepare students for success in college and beyond. They provide a rigorous academic curriculum that is aligned with state and national standards. Students are given the opportunity to take challenging courses and to develop their skills in math, science, reading, writing, and history. They are also taught critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills.

A Supportive Community

Catholic schools create a supportive community where students feel safe and loved. They are encouraged to reach their full potential and to make a difference in the world. Catholic schools provide a network of support for students, families, and staff. They offer a variety of extracurricular activities and clubs, and they provide counseling and guidance services.

250 Words Essay on Why Is Catholic Education Important

The significance of catholic education.

Catholic education is a distinctive form of education that emphasizes the moral and spiritual growth of students. It aims to create well-rounded individuals who are not only academically proficient but also have a strong sense of faith, ethics, and a commitment to serving the community.

1. Nurturing Spiritual and Moral Development

Catholic schools prioritize the spiritual and moral development of students. They offer a comprehensive education that incorporates religious teachings, ethics, and values into the curriculum. This helps students develop a strong foundation of faith, understand their purpose in life, and make morally sound decisions.

2. Academic Excellence

Catholic schools have a long-standing reputation for academic excellence. They provide a rigorous and comprehensive curriculum that prepares students for higher education and future careers. Teachers in Catholic schools are dedicated to delivering quality instruction and creating a positive learning environment.

3. Holistic Education

Catholic education emphasizes the importance of educating the whole person. It aims to develop students’ intellectual, physical, and spiritual faculties. In addition to academics, Catholic schools offer a wide range of extracurricular activities and programs, such as sports, clubs, and community service opportunities.

4. Community and Service

Catholic schools cultivate a strong sense of community among students, staff, and families. They encourage students to participate in service projects and initiatives that benefit the local and global community. This helps students develop a sense of social responsibility and compassion for those in need.

In conclusion, the value of Catholic education is undeniable. It offers a comprehensive and well-rounded education that nurtures students’ spiritual, moral, intellectual, and social development. Catholic schools provide a supportive and inclusive environment that empowers students to become responsible and compassionate individuals, making significant contributions to society.

500 Words Essay on Why Is Catholic Education Important

Why is catholic education important.

Parents who are looking for a school for their children must take into account the values, ethics, and learning environment that the school provides. Catholic schools have a unique mission to provide a high-quality education that is rooted in the Catholic faith.

Strong Academic Foundation

Catholic schools are known for their strong academic programs. They provide students with a solid foundation in the core subjects, such as math, science, English, and history. Additionally, Catholic schools often offer a variety of extracurricular activities, such as music, art, and sports, which help students develop their talents and interests.

Moral and Ethical Development

Catholic schools place a strong emphasis on moral and ethical development. Students are taught the importance of honesty, compassion, forgiveness, and respect for others. They are also encouraged to develop a strong sense of social justice and to work to make the world a better place.

Faith Formation

Catholic schools provide students with a strong foundation in the Catholic faith. They are taught about the teachings of the Church, the lives of the saints, and the importance of prayer. Students are also encouraged to participate in the sacraments, such as Baptism, Reconciliation, and Eucharist.

Sense of Community

Catholic schools have a strong sense of community. Students, parents, and teachers work together to create a supportive and nurturing environment. This sense of community helps students feel connected to their school and to each other. It also helps them develop a sense of belonging and purpose.

Preparation for Life

Catholic schools prepare students for life beyond high school. They teach students the skills they need to be successful in college, in the workforce, and in life. They also help students develop the moral and ethical values that will guide them in their personal and professional lives.

In conclusion, Catholic schools provide students with a strong academic foundation, moral and ethical development, faith formation, a sense of community, and preparation for life. These schools are a valuable resource for parents who are looking for a high-quality education for their children.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

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WHY CHOOSE CATHOLIC TEXTBOOKS?

Catholic schools deserve the best textbooks. With Catholic Textbook Project, you can bring balance, perspective, and hope back into the hearts and minds of your students—these are the only history textbooks written with the freedom for truth that Catholic schools enjoy. Our textbooks meet and exceed standards while educating and inspiring students with the great drama of our history.

Essay Contest Results

Annual history essay contest.

Our next annual history essay contest begins in January 2024.

Thank you to all of those who participated in our annual history essay contest in 2023! This year’s topics were as follows:  

Fourth graders  were asked to write about one of the following topics: 1.) Their state’s history, including the history of the Catholic Church in their state. 2.) An important person to the history of their state, or 3.) An important historical site in their state.

Fifth graders  were asked to write about a historical character born before 1950 from North America who made an impact on the Church and country.

Sixth graders  were asked to choose a country they would like to visit, research the country’s history, and write about two places of historical interest that they would like to visit and why .

Seventh and eighth graders  were asked to choose a non-North American historical character who made their most important historical contribution between 300 A.D.–1900 A.D. and relate how that person influenced the time and place in which they lived.

High schoolers  were asked to desc ribe an important historical event, the key players, its outcome, and how it changed history.

HOW WE CHOSE THE WINNERS

In a competitive field of well-written essays, the best ones stood out for their exceptional qualities. To see what our judges thought of the winning entries, click below.

2023 WINNERS

Homeschool divisions:, anna hargett, tennessee.

Topic:  Getting it Dunn for Tennessee

Julian Crace, Tennessee

Topic:  The Legendary Story of

Fr. Patrick Ryan

Natalia Braga,  Texas

Topic:   Australia, the Land of My Dreams

7-8th Grade:

Thomas lanthier, illinois.

Topic:  Words for the World

High School:

Gianna pasquale, north carolina.

Topic:  How the Sinking of the Lusitania Affected the First World War

Catholic School Divisions:

Javier molina, california.

School:   Stella Maris Academy 

Topic:   The Prophet of Nature

Alex Thompson, Illinois

School:  Jordan Catholic School

Topic:   The Life of St. John Neumann

Miranda Ponkow, South Carolina

School:  Christ Our King Stella-Maris School

Topic:   Australian Adventures

Bridget Kauffman, Washington

School:  St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School

Topic:   A Humble Bride of Christ:

St. B irgitta of Sweden

Antonia Fitzpatrick, Pennsylvania

School:  Maria Kaupas Academy

Topic:   Two Revolutions: Liber ty

and Liberalism  

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Writing Prompts: Catholic Schools Week

Catholic Schools Week is a chance to show the pride and love we have in our Catholic education and the values it instills in our students. Use these writing prompts to help your students connect to the theme and the importance of Catholic Schools Week in our church, schools, and communities. You can extend these…

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Like Americans overall, Catholics vary in their abortion views, with regular Mass attenders most opposed

The Catholic Church in the United States has long been one of the foremost opponents of legal abortion, teaching that human life is sacred “ from conception to natural death ” and that unborn children have a “right to life.” But for U.S. Catholics, the abortion issue isn’t so clear-cut. Like the American public as a whole, most Catholics think abortion should be illegal in some cases but legal in others, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey .

And just as U.S. adults overall are divided along religious and political lines in their attitudes about abortion, so are Catholic adults. Catholics who attend Mass regularly are among the country’s strongest opponents of legal abortion, and they are also more likely than those who attend less frequently to believe that life begins at conception and that a fetus has rights. Meanwhile, Catholic Republicans are far more conservative on a range of abortion questions than are Catholic Democrats.

Pew Research Center conducted this study to examine attitudes among Catholics about abortion in the United States. For this analysis, we surveyed 10,441 U.S. adults, including 2,224 Catholics, from March 7-13, 2022. Everyone who took part in the survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses, which gives nearly all U.S. adults a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology . Here are the questions used for this analysis , along with responses, its methodology , and detailed tables on U.S. Catholics’ views of abortion (including sample sizes/margins of error).

Overall, about three-quarters of U.S. Catholics (76%) say abortion should be illegal in some cases but legal in others. Just one-in-ten say abortion should be illegal in all cases, with no exceptions, while a similar share (13%) take the position that abortion should be legal in all cases, without exceptions.

About seven-in-ten Catholics say abortion should be legal if the pregnant woman’s life or health is threatened (69%), and two-thirds say it should be legal if the pregnancy is the result of rape (66%). At the same time, roughly two-thirds of Catholics say how long a woman has been pregnant should be a factor in determining abortion’s legality (63%), with larger shares opposing abortions in the late stages of a pregnancy than in the early stages.

Among Catholics who attend Mass at least once a week, about two-thirds (68%) say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, and about half or fewer support exceptions that would make abortion legal in the case of rape (43%) or threats to the life or health of the mother (49%).

Most Mass attenders also believe life begins at conception. Seven-in-ten Catholics who go to church at least once a week say the statement “Human life begins at conception, so a fetus is a person with rights” describes their own views very or extremely well.

On these core questions about abortion’s legality and the start of human life, Mass-attending Catholics are about as conservative as White evangelical Protestants , who stand out among U.S. religious groups for their strong opposition to abortion.

In stark contrast, most Catholics who do not attend Mass weekly (65%) say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, including three-quarters who say it should be legal in cases of rape or threats to the well-being of the pregnant woman. Only around a third of Catholics who attend Mass less than once a week (35%) say they believe life begins at conception.

The survey also asked respondents whether abortion should be legal at particular stages of a pregnancy, including at 24 weeks, which is about when a healthy fetus could survive on its own with medical attention; 14 weeks, which is roughly the end of the first trimester; and six weeks, about when cardiac activity (sometimes called a fetal heartbeat) is detectable and before many women know they are pregnant.

Among Catholics who attend Mass at least once a week, two-thirds say abortion should be illegal at 24 weeks of pregnancy, while just 5% say it should be legal. Roughly one-in-ten regular Mass attenders (12%) say “it depends” when asked whether abortion should be illegal or legal at 24 weeks, while the remainder say the length of a pregnancy shouldn’t be a factor.

About half of Catholics who attend Mass at least weekly say abortion should be illegal at 14 weeks of pregnancy, while 14% say it should be legal at that stage and 17% say “it depends.”

Catholics who attend Mass less than once a week are far less likely to say abortion should be illegal at each stage of pregnancy asked about in the survey. For instance, 26% of these Catholics say abortion should be illegal at 14 weeks, while 33% say it should be legal at this stage and 28% say “it depends.”

Political affiliation, too, is tied to large differences in opinion on these questions. A majority of Catholic Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say abortion should be illegal in most or all cases (60%) and that the statement “life begins at conception” describes their view extremely well or very well (59%). By contrast, most Catholic Democrats and Democratic leaners say abortion should be legal in most or all cases (73%), and only three-in-ten believe that life begins at conception. However, majorities of Catholics on both sides of the political divide say abortion should be legal in the cases of rape or danger to the pregnant woman’s life or health.

On many of the questions about abortion’s legality, the views of Catholic Republicans closely resemble the views of other Republicans. For instance, 62% of Catholic Republicans say abortion should be against the law at 24 weeks into a pregnancy, while 7% say it should be legal and 16% say “it depends.” Among non-Catholic Republicans, 60% say abortion should be illegal at 24 weeks, 8% say it should be legal, and 14% say “it depends.” 

Catholic Democrats, by contrast, tend to be somewhat more opposed to abortion than other Democrats. For example, the share of Catholic Democrats who say abortion should be against the law at 24 weeks of pregnancy is 11 percentage points higher than the share of non-Catholic Democrats who say this (38% vs. 27%). And the share of Catholic Democrats who say abortion should be legal at 24 weeks is 13 points lower than the share of non-Catholic Democrats who say this (24% vs. 37%). Still, in their opinions about abortion, Catholic Democrats tend to more closely resemble other Democrats than they do Catholic Republicans.

Catholic women are a bit more likely than Catholic men to say abortion should be legal in all or most cases (60% vs. 53%), and they are also more likely to say the decision about whether to have an abortion should belong solely to the pregnant woman. More than half of Catholic women (56%) say this view describes them extremely well or very well, compared with 41% of Catholic men. In general, however, the differences between Catholic men and women are relatively modest. The survey also finds only minimal differences in the abortion views of White Catholics and Hispanic Catholics.

Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis , along with responses, its methodology , and detailed tables on U.S. Catholics’ views of abortion (including sample sizes/margins of error).

• Catholicism
• Religion & Abortion
• Religion & Politics

Gregory A. Smith is an associate director of research at Pew Research Center .

What the data says about abortion in the U.S.

Support for legal abortion is widespread in many countries, especially in europe, nearly a year after roe’s demise, americans’ views of abortion access increasingly vary by where they live, by more than two-to-one, americans say medication abortion should be legal in their state, most latinos say democrats care about them and work hard for their vote, far fewer say so of gop, most popular.

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Counseling Theories and Use in School Setting

This essay about exploring counseling theories and their applications in school settings offers a nuanced understanding of various methodologies without resorting to clichés or overused language. It presents an insightful overview of person-centered therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, solution-focused brief therapy, and ecological systems theory, highlighting their relevance in nurturing students’ socio-emotional development. Through vivid imagery and engaging prose, it paints a picture of educators as architects of supportive environments where every student can thrive academically and emotionally.

How it works

In the kaleidoscope of education, counseling emerges as the secret ingredient for nurturing not just academic prowess but also emotional resilience in students. Delving into the intricate realm of counseling theories and their application in school settings unveils a tapestry of methodologies that educators can weave into their practices. Let’s embark on a journey through these theories, each a beacon guiding us toward a more empathetic and supportive educational landscape.

First, let’s unravel the threads of person-centered therapy, a cornerstone laid by Carl Rogers.

This approach, akin to a warm embrace, emphasizes empathy, unconditional positive regard, and authenticity in the counselor-student relationship. In the bustling corridors of schools, person-centered counseling serves as a sanctuary where students can lay bare their thoughts and emotions. By nurturing an environment where every voice is heard and valued, educators cultivate a fertile ground for students to explore their inner landscapes and chart their paths with confidence.

Venturing further, we encounter the sturdy pillars of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), a fortress against the onslaught of negative thoughts and behaviors. Rooted in the belief that our thoughts shape our reality, CBT equips students with the tools to dismantle self-limiting beliefs and forge resilient mindsets. In the crucible of academia, where stress and self-doubt often loom large, CBT techniques become shields, empowering students to conquer academic challenges with unwavering resolve.

Amidst the hustle and bustle, solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) emerges as a guiding compass, pointing toward the path of possibilities. Unlike a detective unraveling mysteries, SFBT counselors don the cloak of optimism, focusing not on the problem but on the solution. In the labyrinth of academic hurdles, SFBT illuminates the way forward, igniting students’ imagination and resourcefulness to overcome obstacles and unlock their full potential.

Furthermore, let’s gaze upon the landscape through the lens of ecological systems theory, a panoramic view that encompasses the intricate web of relationships shaping students’ lives. From the cozy confines of the family hearth to the sprawling expanse of societal institutions, every thread in this tapestry plays a crucial role in students’ development. In the symphony of school life, counselors wielding the ecological perspective become maestros, orchestrating harmonious collaborations between students, teachers, parents, and communities to foster environments where every student can flourish.

In this ever-evolving saga of education, counseling theories serve as guiding stars, illuminating the path toward a brighter, more inclusive future. By embracing the principles of person-centered therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, solution-focused brief therapy, and ecological systems theory, educators embark on a transformative journey, sculpting not just scholars but resilient, empathetic human beings poised to navigate the complexities of the world with grace and grit

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Insights from commissioner andrea lucas of navigating diversity and equity in corporate america.

In our last HR Speaker Series event, we had the privilege of hosting Commissioner Andrea Lucas from the EEOC for a fireside chat focused on crucial aspects of diversity and equity in today's corporate landscape.

Some of the key topics covered were: 

• Legal Obligations and DEI Programs: Commissioner Lucas discussed employer obligations under Title VII and how they intersect with corporate DEI initiatives, highlighting common blind spots.
• Equality vs. Equity: The conversation explored the moral case for civil rights policies, emphasizing the differences between equality and equity in shaping inclusive workplaces.

Commissioner Lucas's experience in labor and employment law at Gibson Dunn and her role at the EEOC provided valuable perspectives on navigating employment law challenges and implementing effective DEI strategies.

The event concluded with an interactive Q&A session, allowing attendees to delve deeper into legal considerations and practical approaches to fostering diversity and inclusion.

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OUR MINISTER

Dr. Joseph Lozovyy was born into a Christian family in Elektrostal, Moscow Region, and was raised in a pastor’s home. From the age of fifteen, he began actively participating in the music ministry of the Baptist Church in Mytishchi, where his father served as a pastor, and also played in the orchestra of the Central Moscow Baptist Church. From 1989, he participated in various evangelistic events in different cities of Moscow Region and beyond. From 1989 to 1992, as a member of the choir and orchestra “LOGOS,” he participated in evangelistic and charitable concerts, repeatedly performing on the stages of the Moscow State Conservatory, the Bolshoi Theatre, and other concert halls in Russia and abroad. In 1992, his family moved to the United States. In 2007, after completing a full course of spiritual and academic preparation, Joseph moved to Dallas, Texas, to engage in church ministry. In 2008, he founded the Russian Bible Church to preach to the Russian-speaking population living in Dallas, Texas.

– Bachelor of Arts in Music (viola) from the Third Moscow Music School named after Scriabin, Russia (1987-1991)

– Master of Theology (Th.M); Dallas Theological Seminary, Texas (1999-2003);

– Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) Hebrew Bible (Books of Samuel): University of Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom (2007).

– Doctoral research (2004-2005) Tübingen, Germany.

– Author of a theological work published in English: Saul, Doeg, Nabal and the “Son of Jesse: Readings in 1 Samuel 16-25, LHBOTS 497 [T&T Clark/Continuum: Bloomsbury Publishing]).

https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/saul-doeg-nabal-and-the-son-of-jesse-9780567027535/

Joseph and his wife Violetta and their son Nathanael live in the northern part of Dallas.

Saul, Doeg, Nabal, and the “Son of Jesse”: Readings in 1 Samuel 16-25: The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies Joseph Lozovyy T&T Clark (bloomsbury.com)

Joseph, his wife Violetta and their son Nathaniel live in North Dallas, Texas where he continues ministering to Russian-speaking Christians and his independent accademic research.

Published Work

1. bloomsbury:, 2. buy at christian book distributors:, 3. buy on amazon:.

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VLADIMIR SOLOVIEV prophet of Russia’s conversion

T HE conversion of Russia will not be the work of man, no matter how gifted he may be, but that of the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary, the Mediatrix of all graces, because this is God’s wish, which he revealed to the world in 1917. The life and works of Vladimir Soloviev are a perfect illustration of this truth of Fatima. He whom our Father regards as « the greatest Russian genius of the 19th century », was in his own way a prophet of the “ conversion ” of his beloved Country, announcing the necessity of her returning to the bosom of the Roman Church. «  Rome or chaos  », such was his catchphrase, Rome whose anagram is not a matter of chance, but a providential sign, a definition: ROMA , AMOR . Led by this incomparable guide, we would like « to anticipate in our thoughts, our hearts and our prayers this consecration, this long-awaited conversion, which must mark the beginning of a time of sacred peace throughout the world, the beginning of the universal reign of the Most Blessed and Immaculate Heart of Mary, and through Her, of God’s Kingdom » (English CRC, December 1982, p. 23).

A PERSONAL CONVERSION

Through the example of his life, Soloviev recalls the indispensable means of this immense work: self-renunciation, personal and collective sacrifice, in Russian the podwig , the only way in which the Church, nations, saints and heroes can become the instruments of God’s designs. If he managed to surpass his master Dostoyevsky by his « truly universal Catholicism and far superior mystical vision », this was not without without a conversion of mind and heart on his part.

Our Father summarises the principal stages of his life as follows: « Born of an honourable Muscovite family, of part Kievian ancestry, Vladimir Soloviev began, in a world where only Germany counted, by being a victim of all the poisons of the West. He himself relates how he was a zealous materialist at the age of thirteen, had read Renan’s Life of Jesus at fifteen, and had become an evolutionist and therefore (!) an atheist and a nihilist at eighteen, in « It was Spinoza and then Schopenhauer who pulled him out of this bottomless void. Whereupon in 1872 a mysterious encounter with “  Wisdom  ” suddenly shook him out of the scientific naturalism in which he had been vegetating and made him aware, as he says, of invisible Beauty, the “  Sophia tou théou  ”, the daughter of God. He thus became the fervent witness of Wisdom’s indwelling in the world and of Her desire for total incarnation and universal queenship. His quest for wisdom, scientific, aesthetic and mystical, had commenced. He was nineteen years old. The quest would never end for this new style Russian pilgrim ; it would be of an unparalleled fruitfulness despite its touching brevity. He died of exhaustion in 1900, at the age ! » (English CRC, December 1982, p. 35)

We will limit ourselves in this article to his prophetic insights on the Union of the Churches. In his Lessons on Theandry (1878) – he was then twenty-five ! – our philosopher applies himself to contemplating the Wisdom of God at work in history, perfectly incarnated in Jesus and His virginal Mother, as well as in the Church as she awaits her eschatological transfiguration. The most serious sin, throughout this history, has been that of schism. Who is responsible for this vast Vladimir Soloviev began by throwing all responsibility for it on the Catholic Church, so much so that he provided the inspiration for Dostoyevsky’s famous “ myth of the Grand Inquisitor ” in The Brothers Karamazov . But, at the beginning of the 1880’s, through studying the question more closely, he understood that the sin of schism was in fact that of the East. This was a stroke of genius on his part for which our Father commends him greatly:

« I must beg pardon of my master Msgr. Jean Rupp, of Solzhenitsyn, Volkoff and so many others, but it seems obvious to to me, as it did to Soloviev in the end, that the schism of Moscow in setting itself up as the third Rome was the beginning of all the ills suffered by these admirable Christian peoples of European Russia . And I must say so because this rupture still weighs heavily on the world of today and because it is precisely of this rupture that Our Lady of Fatima speaks when She foretells “  the conversion of Russia  ”. (English CRC, December 1982, p. 24)

Let us follow Soloviev in his commendable mystical conversion which has opened up a path of light for his people, allowing a spring of grace and mercy to gush forth.

AN EVANGELICAL DISCOURSE

In 1881, Soloviev published a long article, still very antipapist, entitled Spiritual power in Russia . There the pope was presented as Antichrist institutionalised ! Our theorist placed all his hope in the regenerative mission of Holy Russia and in the Tsar who was to be her « divine figure, religious guide and animating wisdom ». But were the Russian people still capable of accomplishing such One particular event was to shake Soloviev’s patriotic faith. On March 1, 1881, Alexander II was assassinated by revolutionaries. A few days later, Soloviev gave a Discourse in which he recommended that his successor, Alexander III, show mercy to the regicides. Certainly not as a matter of weakness or abdication before the Revolution, even less out of the spirit of non-violence that a certain Tolstoy was already preaching, but « as an example of Russian piety », that famous podwig « which lies at the heart of the Russian people’s evangelical soul, of which the tsar is the living icon ». Alas, Soloviev was not understood... This was a painful stage in his life, the first step he had taken beyond his master Dostoyevsky.

The following year, he published another article entitled “  Schism in the Russian people and society  ”. Delving deep into the past, he accused Metropolitan Nikon of having broken, at the time of Peter the Great, the communion, the Sobornost , so beloved of the Russian people, by excommunicating Raskol, the fierce guardian of traditional popular religion... Ever since then, the Orthodox hierarchy, enslaved to the imperial power, had proved powerless to govern and sanctify Orthodoxy. It was nothing now but a shrunken, secularized “ local Church ” which, if it were to be restored and revived, would need to open itself up to “ the universal Church ”.

In the spring of 1882, Soloviev was powerfully affected by an unusual dream. In his dream he met a high-ranking Catholic ecclesiastic and entreated him to give him his blessing. The priest refused, so Soloviev insisted, declaring, « The separation of the Churches is the most disastrous thing possible. » Finally, the ecclesiastic agreed to give him his blessing.

This premonitory dream was to awaken in Vladimir Soloviev a burning desire for reconciliation with Catholicism, and to stimulate him to write a series of articles to be published every month in his friend Aksakov’s slavophile newspaper Rouss and then to be collected together in a work with the resonant title: The Great Controversy and Christian Politics . One particular maxim constantly reappeared under the Russian writer’s pen:

«  FIRST AND FOREMOST WE MUST WORK TO RESTORE THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH, AND TO MAKE THE FIRE OF LOVE BURN IN THE HEART OF CHRIST’S SPOUSE . »

By an irony of fate, the term “ Controversy ”, which for Soloviev referred to the conflict between Rome and the East, was going to give place to a bitter controversy between himself and his Orthodox and slavophile friends.

A MARVELLOUS AND ADORABLE WISDOM

T HE world’s beauty appeared to Soloviev as a living figure, a real existence, changing and yet immortal. He saw her and held her as the queen of his spiritual universe under her venerable name of Sancta Sophia . At the end of his life, in 1898, he celebrated the Three Encounters he had had with this Beauty which for him was Wisdom.

“ Three times in his life he had been overwhelmed by the radiant visit of Wisdom who appeared to him in the form of an absolutely heavenly female being, dazzling him and enlightening him profoundly. Not without reason certain authors think that all his religious and even philosophical works derive from this illumination. ”

And let us immediately point out, in order to acclimatize the Western reader who is highly likely to be disconcerted by these accounts, that trustworthy interpreters of Soloviev have attributed a marian character to these visions. For them, the whole of the Philosopher’s work derives from the AVE MARIA GRATIA PLENA . “ It is a marvellous perspective ”, adds Msgr. Rupp. “ Wisdom is closely allied to the Immaculate who is its seat. ” ( Le message ecclésial de Soloviev , p. 340)...

What I am going to say next will perhaps surprise my reader. Nothing is more biblical than this vision, and I am astonished at the astonishment of theologians and their impatient criticisms. This Sophia was already well known, hymned and even boldly adored by the scribes of the Old Testament under this very name of Wisdom. Far from being “ pantheist ”, this idea, this vision touches the essence of created beings, and is clearly poles apart from the Platonic idea and far more profound than Aristotle’s substance; it lies at the very heart of being, there where nothing exists except relationship to God, the term of a will and a wisdom that are infinite, there where exists a pure reflection, a fragment of the image of God’s beauty.

George de Nantes , A mysticism for our time , French CRC no. 133, p. 7.

THE GREAT CONTROVERSY

In January 1883, he fired the opening shots with an open letter to Aksakov: « As I reflected on the means of curing this interior disease (of Christianity), I became convinced that the origin of all these evils lies in the general weakening of the earthly organisation of the visible Church, following her division into two disunited parts. » He demonstrated that, in order to establish herself on earth and to endure throughout history, the Christian religion had need of a higher authority, and he explained that it was therefore essential to restore « the union of all Christian and ecclesiastical forces under the standard and under the power of one central ecclesiastical authority ».

On February 19, Soloviev gave a talk in homage to his master Dostoyevsky. It was almost a panegyric of the Roman Church ! He declared his ardent hope for the reconciliation of the two Churches, for the two parts of the universal Church which should never have been separated and whose centre lay in... Rome . As a result of this speech, he saw himself banned from speaking in public. The newspapers made no mention of his speech. For the first time, and it would not be the last, Soloviev was the victim of the censure of Constantin Petrowitch Pobiedonostev, Russia’s Grand Inquisitor and the Tsar’s adviser on religious matters. Pobiedonostev championed a sacral conception of political power, akin to that of the French legitimists of the time, but he was fiercely Orthodox, and any opening towards the Catholic religion was pitilessly censured.

Soloviev responded to this censure with a smile. So his speech had been described as « infantile chattering » ? « If we are not converted », he said to his friends, « and become like little children again, we will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. » He went on: « When I was a pretentious little boy [teaching German philosophy: Kant, Hegel, Fichte, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche], people listened with great respect to my “ truly infantile ” prattling. And now it is fitting that the only way I can attain the perfection of humility is by everyone ! »

At the same time, he wrote to Aksakov: « It is necessary to defend Catholicism against the false accusations being brought against it... Consequently, in advocating a reconciliation with Catholicism, I assume that Catholicism is not in principle erroneous, for one cannot be reconciled with error . » Now there we have a true ecumenism ! The life of Soloviev, writes our Father, « was ».

To the charge of “ papism ” levelled against him, Soloviev responded in March 1883 with an admirable profession of faith, already Catholic:

« It seems to to me that you concentrate only on “ papism ” whereas I focus first and foremost on the great, holy and eternal Rome, a fundamental and integral part of the universal Church. I believe in this Rome, I bow before it, I love it with all my heart, and with all the strength of my soul I desire its rehabilitation for the unity and integrality of the universal Church. And may I be accursed as a parricide should I ever utter one word of condemnation against the Holy Church of Rome . »

THE REALISATION OF THE DREAM

In May 1883, on the occasion of the coronation of the Emperor Alexander III, the Moscow press complained that too many concessions were being made to restore diplomatic relations with the Vatican broken in 1866, but Soloviev protested: such an agreement was necessary, were it only to improve relations with the Catholics of Poland. The Pope was represented at the ceremony by his special envoy Msgr. Vincenzo Vanutelli. Had not Alexander III written to Leo XIII shortly beforehand: « Never has unity between all Churches and all States been so necessary, in order to realise the wish expressed by Your Holiness of seeing the peoples abandoning the disastrous errors responsible for the social malaise and returning to the holy laws of the Gospel... »

A few days after the ceremony, Soloviev was crossing Moscow in a hired car. Suddenly, he recognized the route he had followed in his dream the previous year. Soon he came to a stop in front of a house from which a Catholic prelate was just leaving: it was Msgr. Vanutelli in person... There was the same hesitation of this latter to give his blessing to a schismatic, and the same entreaties of Soloviev, who finally !

In the summer of 1883, our author wrote two articles on The Catholic Question . According to Soloviev, it was for Russia to take the first step towards the Catholic Church. Imagine !

His articles were not of the sort to leave his readers indifferent. On the Orthodox side, there was an increasing irritation, while on the Catholic side, surprise soon gave way to enthusiasm. The news crossed the borders, spreading to Poland and even to Croatia, where Msgr. Strossmayer was finally seeing his desires realised. The jurisdiction of his diocese of Djakovo extended into Bosnia and Serbia, that is into Orthodox territory. Endowed with a superior intelligence and animated by great apostolic zeal, this Croatian bishop keenly felt the need for a true, intelligent and benevolent ecumenism. He wrote in 1883 to one of his friends, Father Martynov:

« In my opinion, the principal task of the Catholic Church and of the Holy See this century is to draw as closely as possible to the Slav nation, principally the Russian nation . By winning it over to the divine unity of the Catholic Church, we would at the same time win over everyone in the world who still possess a positive faith. »

IN THE RADIANCE OF THE IMMACULATE

In the summer of 1883, Soloviev wrote five long letters to a Russian Uniate priest on the subject of The Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary . At the same time he translated Petrarch’s “ Praise and prayer to the Most Blessed Virgin ”, wherein he contemplated Her “ clothed in the Sun, crowned with stars... Her glance radiating infinity ! ” It is highly significant that Soloviev was simultaneously attracted by the mystery of the Catholic Church and the mystery of the Immaculate Virgin. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception was the first Catholic dogma which he embraced, and his favourite painting was the Immaculate Conception by Murillo.

In The Foundations of the Spiritual Life (1884), he exalted the « All Holy and Immaculate » Virgin Mary. In Russia and the Church Universal (1889), he would praise Pope Pius IX for having quoted, in support of his dogmatic definition, the Old Testament texts referring to Wisdom, the “  Sophia  ” of his personal intuitions:

« If, by the substantial Wisdom of God, we were exclusively meant to understand the Person of Jesus Christ, how could we apply to the Blessed Virgin all those texts in the Wisdom books which speak of this Wisdom ? However, this application, which has existed from the very earliest times in the offices of both the Latin and Greek Churches, has today received doctrinal confirmation in the bull of Pius IX on the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin. » (quoted by Msgr. Rupp, Le message ecclésial de Soloviev, p. 338)

In September 1883, when the sixth chapter of The Great Controversy was published, a rumour spread through Moscow that Soloviev had “ passed over ” to Catholicism, but there was no truth in it. Moreover, curious though this may seem to us, he was not looking “ to pass over to Catholicism ”, but only to open Orthodoxy up to the universality of the Roman Church.

His seventh and final chapter aroused a lively debate, one that is ever topical. The question turned on the attitude of the Byzantine Greeks in conflict with the Crusaders of the West. Soloviev wrote: « On the day that Constantinople fell, seeing the Turkish armies poised to attack, the final spontaneously expressed cry of the Greeks was, “ Better Islamic slavery than any agreement with the Latins. ” I do not mention this as a reproach to the unfortunate Greeks. If, in this cry of implacable hatred, there was nothing Christian, then neither has there been anything especially Christian in all the formal and artificial attempts to reunite the Churches… »

Aksakov, his Orthodox pride deeply irritated by this remark, retorted: « What does he mean, nothing Christian ? May the Greeks be blessed a hundred times over for having preferred a foreign yoke and bodily torture to the abandonment of the purity of their faith in Christ and for having thus preserved us from the distortions of papism at the precise moment [ the beginning of the 13th century ! ] when it had reached the height of its deformity. May they win eternal glory for this ! »

Nonetheless, Soloviev continued his search for truth, surmounting every obstacle. His article “  Nine Questions to Father Ivantsov-Platonov  ” published in December 1883, created a deep stir even in the West. Here he put nine questions to his former master in Orthodoxy on those points of controversy which set the Church of the East against the Church of Rome. Here is the setting:

« How is it that the countries of the East are separated from the Roman Church ? Did the latter proclaim an heretical proposition ? One would be hard pushed to maintain this, for the addition of the Filioque to the Creed, which is put forward to justify the separation, does not have the character of a heresy. Furthermore, it is absurd to say that the Roman Church is in a state of schism with regard to the Eastern Churches. Thus, the latter’s separation from the former has no basis. Let us acknowledge this and, putting aside all human viewpoints, let us work towards Unity or rather let us work so that Unity, which already has a virtual existence, may become a reality. »

THE THREAD OF AN ANCIENT TRADITION

During 1884, the Russian philosopher studied Catholic dogmatics. He read the works of Perrone, the theologian of Gregory XVI and Pius IX, as well as the texts of the Councils. He was particularly interested in Popes Gregory VII and Innocent III, whom he read in the original text.

At the same time he had a great enthusiasm for the Croatian priest George Krijanich who « had come from Zagreb to Moscow in the 17th century to spread the ideal of the Holy Kingdom of God, Roman Catholic and panslavic, gathering together under the sceptre of the tsars and the crook of the Pope all the Slav peoples who would thereby be freed and protected from the twofold burden pressing them on both sides like a vice, the Germanic powers and the Turks. Thus the Croats would work to free themselves from Austrian control and at the same time they would assist the Serbs, their Orthodox brothers, to shake off Moslem domination.

« To realise this grand design, capable at one blow of powerfully advancing the Kingdom of God on earth, Krijanich came to Moscow and preached on the subject of Russia’s reconciliation with Rome . This should not be difficult, he said, because the Russians had only fallen into schism through ignorance and not through heresy or malice. He himself was already preaching that everyone should recognise their own individual faults, be they unconscious or involuntary, and the need for expiation. God’s blessings would follow as a result, immense and eternal blessings. Sergius Mikhailovich Soloviev, our great man’s father, a historian and the author of a monumental history of Russia, admired Krijanich as “ the first of the Slavophiles ” and also, in his eyes, “ the most paradoxical ”, so alien did Catholicism then appear to the Russian consciousness. » (English CRC, December 1982, p. 32)

Soloviev intended to prove the contrary. And it was just at this time that he entered into friendly relations with the Croatian Bishop Strossmayer, thereby resuming the thread of an ancient tradition, one which was apparently marginal but which in reality was pregnant with a splendid future. Early in December 1885, Soloviev for the first time received a letter from the Croatian bishop. He replied to him on December 8, “  the blessed Day of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin  ”:

« On the reunion of the Churches », he wrote, « depends the fate of Russia, the Slavs and the whole world. We Russian Orthodox, and indeed the whole of the East, are incapable of achieving anything before we have expiated the ecclesiastical sin of schism and rendered papal authority its due . » And he ended with these words: « My heart burns with joy at the thought that I have a guide like you. May God long preserve your precious leadership for the good of the Church and the Slav people. » In his pastoral letter of January 1886, the bishop of Djakovo quoted large extracts from this letter.

Encouraged by such support, in 1886 Soloviev undertook a study on Dogmatic development and the question of the reunion of the Churches , which provoked the fury of Orthodoxy. However, at a conference given at the ecclesiastical Academy of Saint Petersburg, Soloviev attempted to justify himself: « I can assure you that I will never pass over to Latinism. » He thereby sought to register his attachment to the Eastern rite. No question for him of adopting the Latin rite ! After that, he set out on a journey to Europe.

FIRST STAY IN ZAGREB (1886)

At the beginning of July, he was the guest of the honourable Canon Racki, President of the Yugoslav Academy of Zagreb, founded by Msgr. Strossmayer, and a personal friend of the latter. Every morning the Orthodox Soloviev assisted at the Catholic Mass with great enthusiasm. He made the sign of the cross in the Catholic manner, but prayed in the Greek manner, crossing his arms on his chest. He willingly admitted to his host – and this was not due to any desire to please on his part – that Croatian Catholics, like the Ukrainians, were more religious than his Orthodox compatriots !

Following an article published in the Croatian journal Katolicki List , Soloviev for the first time encountered opposition from a Catholic priest.

During his stay in Zagreb, he also published a letter in the Russian newspaper Novoie Vremia , wherein he refuted the widespread opinion in Russia that the Croats were the instruments of the Austro-Hungarian government’s attempt to Latinize the Eastern Slavs.

In August, he joined Msgr. Strossmayer in the Styrian Alps, and spent ten marvellous days with him. These two minds were truly made to get along. The mutual admiration they felt for one another reinforced their spiritual friendship. But Soloviev continued to receive Holy Communion at the hands of the Orthodox priest of the Serb parish of Zagreb... Rising above the inevitable criticisms, he then wrote a letter to Msgr. Strossmayer, summarising their initial conversations:

«  The reunion of the Churches would be advantageous to both sides . Rome would gain a devout people enthusiastic for the religious idea, she would gain a faithful and powerful defender. Russia for her part, she who through the will of God holds in her hands the destinies of the East, would not only rid herself of the involuntary sin of schism but, what is more, she would thereby become free to fulfil her great universal mission of uniting around herself all the Slav nations and of founding a new and truly Christian civilisation, a civilisation uniting the characteristics of the one truth and of religious liberty in the supreme principle of charity, encompassing everything in its unity and distributing to everyone the plenitude of the one unique good. »

Such was his transcription of the well known Catholic principle: «  In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas : unity in essentials, liberty in matters of doubt, and in all things charity . Such must be the Charter of Catholic ecumenism under the crook of the one Shepherd. From the start of this crisis, such has been the invitation we have made to our bishops and to our brothers. Today, it is also the will of the Holy Father », wrote our Father in his editorial for September 1978, dedicated to John Paul I, another Saint Pius X without knowing it (English CRC no. 102, p. 6).

When he informed his friends of Soloviev’s letter, Msgr. Strossmayer presented its author as « a candid and truly holy soul ».

Msgr. Strossmayer and Soloviev had agreed to meet again in Rome for the jubilee pilgrimage of 1888. The Croatian bishop decided to pave the way in Rome by writing to Leo XIII’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Rampolla. He presented his Russian friend as «  toto corde et animo catholicus  ». The Pope at first took a personal interest in the affair: « Here is a sheep », he said, « who will soon be clearing the gate of the sheepfold. » But curiously, there was to be no follow-up. It seems that Leo XIII failed to appreciate Soloviev’s genius... However, things were different in France, where an unassuming and ardent rural parish priest latched on to everything that his apostolic zeal could extract from the lightning advances made by the Russian thinker ( see inset , p. 19).

Soloviev returned to Russia at the beginning of October 1886, rather discouraged by the criticisms directed against him on all sides: there were the Orthodox, some of whom had accused him of bringing Orthodoxy into disrepute abroad... and certain Catholics, like Fr. Guettée in France, a modernist priest with little to commend him, whom he had met in Paris in 1876 and who had recently published an article of rare violence against him !

THE “ RETURN OF THE DISSIDENTS ”

June 18, 1887: a young Capuchin, Leopold Mandic, from Herzeg Novi in Bosnia, under the jurisdiction of Msgr. Strossmayer, and studying at the friary in Padua, heard the voice of God inviting him to pray for and promote the return of the Orthodox to the bosom of the one Church of Christ. «  The goal of my life , he would later say, must be the return of the Eastern dissidents to Catholic unity; I must therefore employ all my energies, as far as my littleness allows, to co-operate in such a task through the sacrifice of my life . » Fifty years later, he would still remember this grace: «  June 18, for the record: 1887-1937. Today, I offered the Holy Sacrifice for the Eastern dissidents, for their return to Catholic unity . » Thus the Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate united, in this one same “ ecumenical ” work, the ardent heart of a young Capuchin destined for the altars, the apostolic wisdom of a bishop and the brilliant intuitions of a great thinker.

In January 1887, from the Monastery of Saint Sergius where he had celebrated Christmas, Soloviev wrote an article in which he provided philosophic justification for the three Catholic dogmas which the Orthodox reject, namely the Filioque, the Immaculate Conception and papal infallibility . Here is a « basis for working towards the reunion of the Churches », he explained. A few months later, he published in Zagreb (on account of the censure directed against him in Russia) his book The History and Future of Theocracy .

There he retraced the vast movement of history towards the establishment of the Kingdom of God. Universal Theocracy, the successor of Jewish Theocracy, cannot be conceived, he explained, without an integrally Christian politics, and he concluded with a splendid anthem to Christ Pantocrator receiving from His Father all power on earth and in Heaven and acting through His emissaries, the Apostles and their successors. Soloviev always believed in the privileged vocation of Russia within the Catholic community of Christian nations, even if he stigmatized what he called “ the sin of Russia ”, which was to oppress and hate all those it dominated, in particular Polish Catholics, Greek Uniates, Ruthenians and Jews !

Like a true prophet, he was vigorous in preaching repentance to his people . In order that they might be faithful to their vocation within the great Slav family, Soloviev asked them to give up their inordinate ambitions, to return to a truer and more Christian conception of their destiny, and to accomplish this within the only international organization which could direct its course, Catholicism, that is to say Roman universalism.

«  One of my theses is that the cause of the Reunion of the Churches in Russia demands a podwig (sacrifice) even heavier to bear than that which, already demanding great self-denial, was needed to ensure Russia’s receptivity to Western culture, an event truly disagreeable to the national sentiment of our ancestors .

«  Well ! this sacrifice consists in drawing closer to Rome and it must be attained at all costs. In this lies the remedy for the Russian sin . »

It goes without saying that Soloviev earned himself new enemies with his book. It cost him great personal suffering, but he could not fail the Truth, which he contemplated with ever greater clarity... What greatness of soul this universal genius possessed !

SAINT VLADIMIR AND THE CHRISTIAN STATE

1888 marked the ninth centenary of the baptism of Saint Vladimir, the first prince of Kiev, whose kingdom after his conversion became « the model of Christian States, with evangelical morals », writes our Father (English CRC, December 1982, p. 23). Soloviev used the occasion to give a conference in Moscow, where he reaffirmed that Russia’s destiny was to turn towards Rome, as King Vladimir had ! However, having hardened itself in its schism, the Muscovite hierarchy was no longer animated by the spirit of St. Vladimir. Hence the fury of the Orthodox hierarchs !

At the same time, Msgr. Strossmayer had gone to Rome for the Jubilee. In vain did he wait for Soloviev there. The latter, fearing perhaps that he had made a definitive break with the Orthodox world which he dreamed on the contrary of winning for the Union, had given up the idea of making this journey. It must also be said that Vatican diplomacy hardly inspired more confidence in him. Leo XIII was revealing himself less and less slavophile, reserving his favours for the Germany of old Bismarck and the young William II ! Msgr. Strossmayer lamented this in a letter to Fr. Martynov: «  The Pope is acting against the Slavs. The Roman prelates are like people insane and think only of temporal power !  »

What a difference between Leo XIII and his successor, St. Pius X, who was, in the words of Msgr. Rupp and our Father, the greatest slavophile pope of our times !

Early in May 1888, Soloviev was on a visit to Paris. To explain his thinking to the French public, he gave a conference on the Russian Idea , « the true national idea eternally fixed in the design of God », who longs to spread His light over the whole world. However, Soloviev remained lucid about his own Church: « If the unity of the universal Church founded by Christ only exists among us in a latent state, it is because the official institution represented by our ecclesiastical government and our theological school is not a living part of the universal Church. »

In passing, he described the destruction of the Greek-Uniate Church by the Orthodox as a «  veritable national sin weighing on Russia and paralysing her moral strength  ». That is still the case today...

In July, Kiev celebrated the feast of the baptism of St. Vladimir. From Zagreb Msgr. Strossmayer sent a telegram in which he exalted Russia’s future role in the manner of his friend Soloviev. Scandal ! His remarks were universally reported by the press. Cardinal Rampolla informed the Croatian bishop that Leo XIII was seriously displeased ! The bishop of Djakovo also earned himself the bitter reproaches of Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria, which is more understandable given the rivalry existing between the two Empires.

In the summer of 1887, Soloviev published in the Universe , the newspaper of Louis Veuillot, three articles on St. Vladimir and the Christian State which caused a great stir. Then he journeyed to Croatia where he remained for one whole month with Msgr. Strossmayer. This meeting was rather sad, for the two friends were increasingly aware that their attempt to reunite the Churches would not succeed, at least in their lifetime.

It was in Djakovo that Soloviev finished the immense prologue to his magisterial book, Russia and the Church Universal , in which one can already glimpse signs of the discouragement that would overwhelm the thinker in the latter part of his life. We know from Fatima that the work of the conversion of Russia, something humanly impossible, has been entrusted to the Immaculate Heart of Mary who has a particular love for this Nation such as to inspire jealousy in others. But this only makes it all the more extraordinary that our prophet should have traced out the course of this conversion, like a true Precursor !

« RUSSIA AND THE CHURCH UNIVERSAL »

Soloviev does not hesitate to delve deep, extremely deep, into the past. To realise its designs in the world, divine Wisdom wished to become incarnate, and the Verb to take flesh like our own. As that was not enough, He also wished to unite to Himself a social and historical body, one that could reach the universality of mankind and communicate to all men His own divine Life. In this magnificent perspective, Soloviev compares the formation of that Body through which God wishes to be united with humanity to that effected in the womb of the Virgin Mary at the time of the Incarnation, and to that which operates every day in the Eucharistic mystery... What was needed for this work was a solid foundation, a Rock:

« This bedrock has been found », he writes, « it is Rome. It is only on the Rock [of Peter and his successors] that the Church is founded. This is not an opinion, it is an imposing historical reality . »

It is also an evangelical truth: «  You are Peter, and on this Rock I will build my Church . » Here Soloviev addresses the Protestants who seek to outbid each other in their attacks against the Primacy of Peter by quoting Jesus’ own words to His Apostle when he was obstructing the Master’s path: «  Get behind me, Satan !  » Soloviev’s response once again shows the clarity of his intelligence and his perfect knowledge of Catholic dogma:

«  There is only one way of harmonising these texts which the inspired Evangelist did not juxtapose without reason. Simon Peter, as supreme pastor and doctor of the universal Church , assisted by God and speaking for all, is, in this capacity, the unshakeable foundation of the House of God and the holder of the keys of the heavenly Kingdom. The same Simon Peter, as a private person, speaking and acting through his own natural forces and an understanding that is purely human , can say and do things that are unworthy, scandalous and even satanic. But personal defects and sins are passing, whereas the social function of the ecclesiastical monarch is permanent. “ Satan ” and the scandal have disappeared, but Peter has remained.  »

Soloviev’s doctrine agrees with that of Vatican Council I and with that of our Father who, at the same time as he makes us venerate Peter’s magisterium, magnificently illustrated by Blessed Pius IX, St. Pius X and John Paul I, accuses John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II of being instruments of “ Satan ” for the ruin of the Church.

However, Christ wished that it should be around Peter that the unity of faith and charity should be formed: «  Since the unity of the faith does not presently exist in the totality of believers, seeing that not all of them are unanimous in matters of religion, it must lie in the legal authority of a single head, an authority assured by divine assistance and the trust of all the faithful . This is the ROCK on which Christ founded His Church and against which the gates of hell will never prevail.  »

Why did this ROCK settle in Rome, and not in Jerusalem, Constantinople or Moscow ? Here we have a further brilliant response from Soloviev: historically Rome represented the order, civilization and terrestrial Empire that would best allow the Church to become the universal spiritual Empire desired by Christ. In a mystical view of the history of Salvation – we would say divine “ orthodromy ” – Soloviev shows how God, wishing to extend salvation to the whole world,  decided one day that His Kingdom should leave Israel for Rome, so that the capital of the pagan Empire should become “ the conjoint instrument ” of His designs:

« The universal monarchy was to stay put; the centre of unity was not to move. But central power itself, its character, its source and its sanction were to be renewed... Instead of an Empire of Might, there was to be a Church of Love. » One thinks of Constantine’s conversion and his imposition throughout the Roman Empire of laws favouring Christianity, and of Theodosius declaring the Christian religion the religion of State. What decisive support for the Gospel ! The remarkable Roman civilization, already the heir of Greece, was put at the service of the Cross of Christ !

Soloviev had some wonderful expressions to describe this, as for example the following: «  Jesus unthroned Caesar... By unthroning the false and impious absolutism of the pagan Caesars, Jesus confirmed and immortalised the universal monarchy of Rome and gave it its true theocratic foundation . »

« Let us not think », comments our Father, « that our theosophist loses his way in a contemplation of evangelical love and freedom. Fully aware of the frailty and shortcomings of humanity, he declares that it is essential, for its effective salvation, that supreme divine power be joined to the firmest social structure, to the virile principle , and not as formerly to the female principle of a virginal flesh for the Incarnation. This firm principle is the imperial monarchical institution which is Rome and Caesar. Converted, elevated and unabolished, the Power of Rome continues in the Pope for the service of the universal community.

« It is only this divino-human pontifical paternity that is capable of forming the basis of the universal fraternity of the peoples, not only through its spiritual influence but also through its authority and its supranational organization. In this monarchy, sacred but popular, the Pope, the Universal Emperor, clearly remains the servant of the servants of God and is, for that very reason, the sovereign Head of the Nations. Opposed to any kind of papolatry, antagonistic to all the encroachments of papism, and quite capable of denouncing such a Pope as Satan, Soloviev raised an imperishable monument to the glory of Rome and pointed out – him, a member of the Orthodox Church – the path of the world’s salvation, which lay in one place only, in the universal Christian order of a restored Roman Catholic Church ... » (French CRC no. 131, July 1978, p. 6)

In his lifetime, Soloviev ran up against a wall of hostility and incomprehension: « I am not so naive », he said, « to seek to convince minds whose private interests are greater than their desire for religious truth. In presenting the general evidence for the permanent primacy of Peter as the basis of the universal Church, I have simply wanted to assist those who are opposed to this truth, not because of their interests and passions, but merely because of their unwitting errors and hereditary prejudices. »

The final period of his life might seem to some like a decline and a renunciation of his prophetic insights, but our Father writes: « Soloviev was too great a mind to be discouraged or to modify his ideas in accordance with the fluctuations of his worldly success. What is certainly true is that his bitter experiences gave him a better knowledge of the Evil that was at work in the world, throwing up formidable obstacles to God’s designs and going so far as to erect a kind of caricature of them. This he denounced as the power of the Antichrist, the Prince of this world, announced in the Scriptures. » (French CRC no. 132, August 1978, p. 12)

At the beginning of the 1890’s, relations between Soloviev and the Orthodox Church deteriorated. «  Given the papaphobia reigning among us , he wrote to a friend, sometimes revealing its underhand character and at other times its stupidity, and always in any event unchristian, I considered and I continue to consider that it is necessary to draw people’s attention to the Rock of the Church laid by Christ Himself and to its positive significance . »

As he persisted in his criticisms, even going so far as to compare the Greco-Russian Church with « the Synagogue », the Orthodox hierarchy, in the person of Pobiedonostev, the Holy Synod’s prosecutor, employed the ultimate weapon at its disposal: it deprived him of the sacraments. One day in 1894, being seriously ill, Soloviev asked to receive the sacraments. His Orthodox confessor refused to give him absolution unless he renounced his Catholic views. Soloviev refused to yield, preferring to forego confession and Holy Communion.

AN AUTHENTIC CONVERSION

The moment had come. On February 18, 1896, he went to see Fr. Nicholas Alexeyevich Tolstoy, a Catholic priest of the Eastern rite exercising his ministry in Moscow. This priest, a former officer, owed him his vocation, his formation (Soloviev having been his teacher) and his conversion to Catholicism. That February 18 was the feast day of Pope St. Leo so dear to Soloviev. Before Mass, he read on his knees the Tridentine symbol of the faith containing the Filioque and a formula declaring that the Church of Rome must be regarded as the head of all the particular Churches. Then he received the Body of Christ at the hands of the Catholic priest.

On the following day, Fr. Tolstoy was denounced and arrested. He managed to escape and to reach Rome first, then France. It was only in 1910 that he would give an account in the Universe of the authentic conversion of Soloviev, and in 1917 that the two witnesses present at the scene would confirm the celebrated Russian’s profession of the Catholic faith. Nevertheless, this conversion was disputed not only by the Orthodox but also by Catholics imbued with a false ecumenism like Msgr. d’Herbigny of sinister memory. But in this matter the facts are indubitable. His entry into the Catholic Church did not, however, in Soloviev’s mind, exclude him from what he called « the true and authentic Eastern or Greco-Russian Church ». Never did he embrace the Latin rite. After the exile of Fr. Tolstoy, as there were no longer any Catholic priests in Moscow apart from those belonging to the Latin rite, Soloviev decided to refrain from receiving the sacraments...

In 1897, a census of the whole of Russia was carried out in which a question was asked about religion. «  I am both Catholic and Orthodox; let the police work that out !  » Soloviev answered.

« Self-important people from Rome and Moscow declared themselves scandalized », writes our Father. « The hour had not yet come for the podwig , for self-renunciation and reconciliation in truth and justice ( pravda ), and for the restoration of the wholly divine unity of communion in love ( sobornost ). Msgr. Rupp thinks that we achieved it with Vatican II. Alas, no ! I hope for and expect it to come with Vatican III... but only after the trial, after conversion and expiation... and after Our Lady’s humble requests have been met. » (English CRC, December 1982, p. 36)

UNDER THE SIGN OF MARY

«  This glow from Heaven emanates from Mary, And vain remains the attraction of the serpent’s venom.  »

On July 17, 1900, sensing death approaching, Soloviev sent for a priest. He was most insistent about this: « Will it be morning soon ? When will the priest come ? » The next day, he made his confession and received Holy Communion at the hands of an Orthodox priest. He died peacefully a few days later, on July 31, «  in the communion of Russian Orthodoxy to which he had ever been faithful, without however disowning the Catholicism of his heart, assured by the example of the Fathers of Russian Christianity, Saints Cyril and Methodius, Saint Vladimir, and so many strastoterptsi , innocents who had suffered the passion , and startsi , slavophiles and romanophiles at the same time, without schism or constraint, in the love of Holy Church and Holy Russia, the Kingdom of God to come !  »

But all this is too beautiful for us not to revisit it, so our Father has decided that we will study in more depth the work of this great Russian thinker, in three parts to appear in subsequent editions of Resurrection , Deo volente:

The vocation of Russia in the designs of God and the concert of the Christian nations: up to and including Putin ?

The Immaculate Virgin Mary , throne of Wisdom, essential beauty of the created world, our ultimate recourse !

The Antichrist unmasked by Soloviev . This was the last service the “ inspired prophet ” rendered to his beloved Russia: that of putting her on her guard against the seductions of the Antichrist. In Rome, at the same time, St. Pius X was also announcing his advent in his encyclical E supremi Apostolatus of October 4, 1903: « The Antichrist is present among us. The Evil shaking the world should not affright us, it will only last a short while. What must fall will fall, and the Church will be reborn from the trial, assisted by her Saviour and ready for extraordinary developments. »

Brother Thomas of Our Lady of Perpetual Help He is risen ! n° 8, August 2001, pp. 13-22

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As a constitutional scholar and the dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, I strongly defend the right to speak one’s mind in public forums. But the rancorous debate over the Israel-Hamas war seems to be blurring some people’s sense of which settings are public and which are not. Until recently, neither my wife—Catherine Fisk, a UC Berkeley law professor—nor I ever imagined a moment when our right to limit a protest at a dinner held at our own home would become the subject of any controversy.

Ever since I became a law-school dean, in 2008, the two of us have established a custom of inviting each class of first-year students over for a meal. These dinners help create and reinforce a warm community, and, to accommodate all students, they take place on many evenings during the year. The only exceptions were in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID. So last year and this year, at the request of the presidents of the third-year classes, we organized make-up dinners on three successive nights and invited each of the 400 graduating students to attend one.

The week before the dinners on April 9, 10, and 11, though, a group at Berkeley called Law Students for Justice in Palestine put a profoundly disturbing poster on social media and on bulletin boards in the law-school building. No dinner with Zionist Chem while Gaza starves , the poster declared in large letters. (Students sometimes refer to me as “Chem.”) It also included a caricature of me holding a bloody knife and fork and with what appeared to be blood around my lips—an image that evokes the horrible anti-Semitic blood libel, in which Jews are accused of killing and cannibalizing gentile children. The poster attacks me for no apparent reason other than that I am Jewish. The posters did not specify anything I personally had said or done wrong. The only stated request was that the University of California divest from Israel—a matter for the regents of the University of California, not the law school or even the Berkeley campus.

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Several Jewish students and staff members told me that the posters offended them and asked me to have them removed. Even though their presence upset me too, I felt that I could not take them off bulletin boards at a public law school. Though appalling, they were speech protected by the First Amendment.

The group responsible for the posters was not content to have its say on paper. Student-government leaders told me that Law Students for Justice in Palestine demanded that my wife and I cancel the dinners; if not, the group would protest at them. I was sad to hear this, but the prospect of a demonstration in the street in front of our home did not change our plans. I made clear that we would still host dinners for students who wanted to attend.

On April 9, about 60 students came to our home for dinner. Our guests were seated at tables in our backyard. Just as they began eating, I was stunned to see the leader of Law Students for Justice in Palestine—who was among the registered guests—stand up with a microphone that she had brought, go up the steps in the yard, and begin reading a speech about the plight of the Palestinians. My wife and I immediately approached her and asked her to stop speaking and leave the premises. The protester continued. At one point, my wife attempted to take away her microphone. Repeatedly, we said to her: You are a guest in our home. Please leave.

The student insisted that she had free-speech rights. But our home is not a forum for free speech; it is our own property, and the First Amendment—which constrains the government’s power to encroach on speech on public property—does not apply at all to guests in private backyards. The dinner, which was meant to celebrate graduating students, was obviously disrupted. Even if we had held the dinner in the law-school building, no one would have had a constitutional right to disrupt the event. I have taught First Amendment law for 44 years, and as many other experts have confirmed, this is not a close question.

Some attendees sympathetic to the student-group leader recorded a video. An excerpt of it appeared on social media and quickly went viral. Soon newspapers and magazines published stories about it. Some commentators have criticized my wife for trying to get hold of the microphone. Some have said that I just should have let the student speak for as long as she wanted. But in all of the dinners we have held over more than 15 years, not once has anyone attempted to give a speech. We had no reason to change the terms of the dinner to accommodate someone from an organization that put up anti-Semitic images of me.

After struggling over the microphone, the student said if we let go of it, she would leave. We relented, and she departed, along with about 10 other students—all of whom had removed their jackets to show matching T-shirts conveying a pro-Palestinian message.

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The dinners went forward on Wednesday and Thursday. On Thursday night, about 15 people came to our home and stood on the street in front of it, and then on the path directly next to our backyard. They chanted loudly and at times offensively. They yelled and banged drums to make as much noise as possible to disturb the dinner. The event continued.

Being at the center of a social-media firestorm was strange and unsettling. We received thousands of messages, many very hateful and some threatening. For days, we got death threats. An organized email campaign demanded that the regents and campus officials fire my wife and me, and another organized email campaign supported us. Amid an intensely painful sequence of events, we experienced one upside: After receiving countless supportive messages from people we have met over the course of decades, we felt like Jimmy Stewart at the end of It’s a Wonderful Life .

Overall, though, this experience has been enormously sad. It made me realize how anti-Semitism is not taken as seriously as other kinds of prejudice. If a student group had put up posters that included a racist caricature of a Black dean or played on hateful tropes about Asian American or LGBTQ people, the school would have erupted—and understandably so. But a plainly anti-Semitic poster received just a handful of complaints from Jewish staff and students.

Many people’s reaction to the incident in our yard reflected their views of what is happening in the Middle East. But it should not be that way. The dinners at our house were entirely nonpolitical; there was no program of any kind. And our university communities, along with society as a whole, will be worse off if every social interaction—including ones at people’s private homes—becomes a forum for uninvited political monologues.

I have spent my career staunchly defending freedom of speech. As a dean, I have tried hard to create a warm, inclusive community. As I continue as dean of Berkeley Law, I will endeavor to heal the divisions in our community. We are not going to solve the problems of the Middle East in our law school, but we must be a place where we treat one another with respect and kindness.