Meeting Mozart
The Bloomsbury critic, Lytton Strachey, was the father of the modern practice of biography-as-assassination. Writing amidst the cynicism caused by the First World War, Strachey’s Eminent Victorians set the model
The Queen
On a golden alpine summer evening in 1992, I unexpectedly found myself in conversation with Prince Nikolaus von und zu Liechtenstein, younger brother of that micro-principality’s ruler, Prince Hans Adam
Hyde and Scalia, Catholics with Consequences
Two of the most influential Catholics in American public life mark important milestones in their lives and careers this month. The nation owes both men a large debt of gratitude.
Zinedine Zidane vs. Jackie Robinson
Having a decided preference for sports which recognize that God gave us opposable thumbs for a reason, I tried to ignore the first phase of this past summer’s World Cup.
Two Anniversaries of Note
Robert Seton, grandson of Elizabeth Ann Seton, had an expansive sense of his proper position in the scheme of things. In 1861, after two years at Rome’s North American College,
Robust Interreligious Dialogue
London’s Trafalgar Square includes a bronze statue of Sir Charles Napier (1782-1853), an architect of the British Raj in India. Few Britons or tourists, pondering Napier’s role as a military
Meeting Pope Benedict XVI
When the most diverse college of cardinals in the history of papal elections chose Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI in one of the three shortest conclaves in modern papal
A Golden Dome Opportunity Missed
A pall will hang over commencement at the University of Notre Dame this year — the pall of a great opportunity missed. Temporarily, one must hope. Notre Dame’s new president,
Remembering John Paul the Great
A year ago, the world stopped, quite literally, to honor a Polish priest and bishop who had touched hearts, minds, and souls unlike any anyone else of his era. Millions
The Alito Apologies
With Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., safely and, I trust, happily, seated on the United States Supreme Court, apologies are in order — as they frequently are after these judicial
A New Pope Must Face Old Problems
Pope Benedict XVI has celebrated his first Christmas as bishop of Rome, giving his blessing “to the city and the world.” His retired brother, a priest and distinguished choir director,
Fighting the New Slavery
I first noticed the new slavery on the outskirts of Rome. There, along the back roads of the periferia, you could see today’s slaves: African women, mostly, with a scattering
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