Catholic Information Center

Learn how you can create a deeper sense of the divine as Theology of Home co-authors, Carrie Gress and Noelle Mering, share their vision for home.

One of the great advantages of Catholic social teaching is that it is normally stated in general terms of values, principles and goals, not specific programs. It is the reason that Catholic social teaching doesn’t fit into either political party’s platform and why Catholics of good standing in the Church can exercise prudential judgement and come to different conclusions. As Catholics we are called to honor the human dignity of each person we encounter and encouraged to approach conversations with civility, clarity, and compassion. In this spirit, Dr. Ward and Dr. Pakaluk debate whether a universal basic income (UBI) aligns with Catholic social teaching’s call for a just wage. Dr. Ward defends the resolution and Dr. Pakaluk opposes the resolution. IHE Executive Director Joseph Capizzi moderates this Oxford-style debate.

Carter Snead, a leading expert on public bioethics, advocates for a new conception of human identity in American law and policy. Carter addresses three complex issues in bioethics: abortion, assisted reproductive technology, and end-of-life decisions. Avoiding typical dichotomies of conservative-versus-liberal and secular-versus-religious, Snead recasts debates over these issues and situates them within his framework of embodiment and dependence. He concludes that, if the law is built on premises that reflect the fully lived reality of life, it will provide support for the vulnerable, including the unborn, mothers, families, and those nearing the end of their lives. In this way, he argues, policy can ensure that people have the care they need in order to thrive. Purchase your copy of this book at the Catholic Information Center. Our bookstore is open M-F from 10AM to 2PM EDT. You can also give us a call and we will get you set up.

Professor Charles Camosy, Sr. Constance Veit, LSP, and Kathryn Jean Lopez discuss how we can build a culture of encounter, solidarity, and hospitality despite the restraints of the current pandemic.

Professor Mark Regnerus discusses his new book, “The Future of Christian Marriage” and details how marriage has become less of a foundation for a couple to build upon and more of a capstone. ABOUT THE BOOK Marriage has come a long way since biblical times: Women are no longer thought of as property, and practices like polygamy have long been rejected. The world is wealthier and healthier, and people are more able to find and form relationships than ever. So why are Christian congregations doing more burying than marrying today? Explanations for the wide recession in marriage range from the mathematical—more women in church than men—to the economic, and from cheap sex to progressive politics. But perhaps marriage hasn’t really changed at all; instead, there is simply less interest in marriage in an era marked by technology, gender equality, and secularization. This is a book about how today’s Christians find a mate within a faith that esteems marriage but a world that increasingly yawns at it, and it draws on

Dr. Robert Royal, Catholic author and the President of the Faith & Reason Institute, carefully examines the mind and motives of Christopher Columbus and his legacy. ABOUT THE BOOK After decades of politically charged controversy, the reputation and standing of Christopher Columbus lies battered beneath mountains of misjudgments and distortions. The surge of historical revisionism now ravaging the legendary explorer insists that his daring adventures brought only tragic consequences: disease, death, subjugation of native peoples, incitement of the African slave trade, destruction of the environment, and other horrors. But is this a legitimate assessment of Europe’s inevitable western expansion? In Columbus and the Crisis of the West, Dr. Robert Royal carefully examines the mind and motives of Christopher Columbus, distinguishing him as the greatest explorer of his age, whose courage and vision extended Christian Europe and inspired the American spirit. Yet you won’t find here a full-throated defense of Christ

After the Human Genome Project, the field of genetics had laid dormant until recently. The surprising advance of CRISPR technology allows scientists and amateurs to edit the DNA of plants, animals and humans. There is a heated debate about whether we should use this technology not only to correct genetic illnesses, but also to enhance humanity. With the news of the birth of babies in China through CRISPR gene editing of embryos, we have crossed the boundary of genetically modified humans. Would this technology create superior offspring who would be healthier, smarter, and live longer? Could such technology change human nature in a radical and possibly disastrous way?

In this installment of the CIC’s Fr. James V. Schall Lecture Series, Jay W. Richards, PhD, delves into the topic of his latest book, Eat, Fast, Feast: Heal Your Body While Feeding Your Soul—A Christian Guide to Fasting. Dr. Richards blends old Christian eating habits with current research on the benefits of fasting in this spirited outing.

Fr. Miscamble discusses how understanding Hesburgh’s life and work illuminates the journey that the Catholic Church traversed over the second half of the twentieth century. Exploring and evaluating Hesburgh’s importance, then, contributes not only to the colorful history of Notre Dame but also to comprehending the American Catholic experience.

How can faith be relevant in today’s culture to anyone; young or old, Christian or otherwise? By examining this question across a wide spectrum of the aspects of life: the arts, education, parish life, and politics, Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete served as a witness for how Christians can engage with the world fully without losing sight of what is Christian in Christianity. On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Monsignor’s passing, the Albacete Forum and the Catholic Information Center invited the public for a discussion with Kathryn Lopez, Fr. Lee Fangmeyer, and Helen Whitney on what his writings and perspectives offer to our engagement with the current cultural, social, and religious dialogues we face daily.

The Thomistic Institute and Catholic Information Center present a lecture by Prof. Frederick Bauerschmidt of Loyola University Maryland titled “Authentic Freedom in the Novels of Graham Greene.” This lecture will explore how the genre of narrative is uniquely useful in showing the nature of true freedom. Three of Graham Green’s “Catholic novels,” The Power and the Glory (1940), The Heart of the Matter (1948), and The End of the Affair (1951) will be discussed as examples of the narrative depiction of the interplay of human freedom and divine grace.

Dr. Samuel Goldman, Assistant Professor of Political Science at The George Washington University, and Ramesh Ponnuru, journalist and visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, engage in a spirited debate on the virtues and vices seen in the recent rise of nationalist sentiment in the West. Can loyalty to one’s nation promote human flourishing? How should Catholics understand nationalism in the context of solidarity, subsidiarity, human dignity, and the common good?

Listen as Sohrab Ahmari recounts this unlikely passage, from the strident Marxism and atheism of a youth misspent on both sides of the Atlantic to a moral and spiritual awakening prompted by the Mass. At once a young intellectual’s finely crafted self-portrait and a life story at the intersection of the great ideas and events of our time, Sohrab marks the debut of a compelling new Catholic voice.

The CIC was excited to welcome Robert Royal to discuss his book, “The God That Did Not Fail: How Religion Built and Sustains the West.” This book is the first CIC book group pick of 2019! The CIC book group is managed by Linda Formella and Milton Grenfell. The group meets weekly at the CIC on Thursday from 12:45pm-1:30pm. Be sure to pick up your copy of “The God That Did Not Fail: How Religion Built and Sustains the West” at the CIC.

A Wall Street Journal writer’s conversation-changing look at how reading aloud makes adults and children smarter, happier, healthier, more successful and more closely attached, even as technology pulls in the other direction.

In a series of fascinating interviews, a cradle Catholic (Robert P. George) and an adult convert (R. J. Snell), offer the stories of sixteen converts, each a public intellectual or leading voice in their respective fields, and each making a significant contribution to the life of the Church. Mind, Heart, and Soul is a Surprised by Truth for a new generation. It will reinvigorate the faith of Catholics and answer questions or address hurdles those discerning entering the Church may have…by people have had the same questions and the same road.

The purpose of A Catechism for Family Life: Insights from Church Teaching on Love, Marriage, Sex, and Parenting is to present the teachings of the Catholic Church as they relate to specific questions in marriage and family life. Many Catholics are under-catechized and have trouble both understanding and articulating Church teaching on sexuality and marriage to an increasingly challenging culture. Pope Francis, along with the fathers of the two recent Synods on the Family, have called for better formation for those who work in the area of marriage and family life (see Amoris Laetitia, 202). To address this need, we gathered pertinent questions facing men, women, and pastoral workers in marriage and family life. We then found passages relevant to these questions by researching Church documents on marriage and family from the past one hundred years. These include papal encyclicals, apostolic exhortations, and addresses, Vatican II documents, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Mainstream media coverage o

Most Rev. Kurtz addresses both the important value of religious freedom in the United States and highlights some current challenges on the landscape with the response that the Conference of Bishops is making.

Bestselling author and economist Jay W. Richards makes the definitive case for how the free market and individual responsibility can save the American Dream in an age of automation and mass disruption.

Building the Benedict Option: A Guide to Gathering Two or Three Together in His Name is a combination spiritual memoir and practical handbook for Christians who want to build communities of prayer, socialization, and evangelization in the places where they live and work. Beginning when the author was a new convert, she desired more communal prayer and fellowship than weekly Mass could provide. She surveyed her friends–busy, young, urban professionals like herself–and created enriching or supportive experiences that matched their desires and schedules. The result was a less lonely and more boisterous spiritual and social life. No Catholic Martha Stewart, Libresco is frank about how she plans events that allow her to feed thirty people on a Friday night without feeling exhausted. She is honest about the obstacles to prayer and the challenge to make it inviting and unobtrusive. Above all, she communicates the joy she has experienced since discovering ways to open her home (even when it was only a small studio