Catholic Information Center

A panel discussion on the Supreme Court's ruling on Obergefell v Hodges with Helen Alvaré, John Garvey, and Dr. Susan Timoney

A panel discussion on Laudato Si’, an encyclical by Pope Francis.

In 2012, media outlets from CNN to EWTN announced that Leah Libresco, a gifted young intellectual, columnist, and prolific blogger on the Atheist channel on Patheos, was converting to Catholicism. In Arriving at Amen, Libresco uses the rigorous rationality that defined her Atheism to tell the story behind that very personal journey and to describe the seven forms of Catholic prayer that guided her to embrace a joyful life of faith. As a Yale graduate, Libresco launched her writing career by blogging about science, literature, mathematics, and morality from a distinctively secular perspective. Over time, encounters with friends and associates caused her to concede the reasonableness of belief in God in theory, though not yet in practice. In Arriving at Amen, Libresco uniquely describes the second part of her spiritual journey, in which she encountered God through seven classic Catholic forms of prayer—Liturgy of the Hours, lectio divina, examen, intercessory prayer, the Rosary, confession, and the Mass. Exam

Highlighting legends such as Mary Astor, John Wayne, Alfred Hitchcock, Spencer Tracy, Lana Turner, Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal, Betty Hutton, and Bob Hope, Oasis: Conversion Stories of Hollywood Legends uncovers stories of recovery and conversion—intimate portraits that often contrast with the more common profiles of these all-too-human stars. Many were touched by infidelity, alcoholism, unbridled ambition, or other moral failings that often seem to characterize life in Hollywood. Some had deathbed conversions, others underwent a gradual process of conversion; each found solace in embracing the Catholic faith. While taking nothing from their fame, Oasis: Conversion Stories of Hollywood Legends shows that even those who seem to have it all need the hope, strength, and fortitude provided by faith.

Ryan Anderson and Ed Whelan discuss the recent Indiana law and examine what the future holds for religious freedom in the United States.

Randy Boyagoda discusses his recently published biography of Richard John Neuhaus. Richard John Neuhaus (1936-2009) was one of the most influential figures in American public life from the Civil Rights era to the War on Terror. His writing, activism, and connections to people of power in religion, politics, and culture secured a place for himself and his ideas at the center of recent American history. William F. Buckley, Jr. and John Kenneth Galbraith are comparable — willing controversialists and prodigious writers adept at cultivating or castigating the powerful, while advancing lively arguments for the virtues and vices of the ongoing American experiment. But unlike Buckley and Galbraith, who have always been identified with singular political positions on the right and left, respectively, Neuhaus’ life and ideas placed him at the vanguard of events and debates across the political and cultural spectrum. For instance, alongside Abraham Heschel and Daniel Berrigan, Neuhaus co-founded Clergy Concerned Abou

Anyone who has read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings can gather that their author hated tyranny, but few know that the novelist who once described himself as a hobbit “in all but size” was—even by hobbit standards—a zealous proponent of economic freedom and small government. There is a growing concern among many that the West is sliding into political, economic, and moral bankruptcy. In his beloved novels of Middle-Earth, J.R.R. Tolkien has drawn us a map to freedom. Scholar Joseph Pearce, who himself has written articles and chapters on the political significance of Tolkien’s work, testified in his book Literary Giants, Literary Catholics, “If much has been written on the religious significance of The Lord of the Rings, less has been written on its political significance—and the little that has been written is often erroneous in its conclusions and ignorant of Tolkien’s intentions…. Much more work is needed in this area, not least because Tolkien stated, implicitly at least, that the political significa

Clarke Forsythe's book offers a critical review of the behind-the-scenes deliberations that went into the Supreme Court’s abortion decisions and how the Abuse-of-Discretion-mistakes made by the Justices back in 1971-1973 have led to the turmoil we see today in law, politics, and public health. The first half of the book looks at the mistakes made by the Justices, based on the case files, the oral arguments, and the Justices’ papers. The second half of the book critically reviews the unintended consequences of the abortion decisions in medicine, public health, and public policy.

As the saying goes, money doesn’t buy happiness, and similarly, most people agree that “development” is more than just aggregate economic growth. Instead, many people use the concept of well-being which is convenient as a multi-faceted target, integrating health, education, security, etc. Yet many organizations go further and articulate their mission with an appeal to human dignity. The banner of human dignity can be seen as a slogan, obscuring the variations of meaning and implications in practice. The deep reflections on human dignity and broad experience in the practice of human development from the Catholic tradition are an invaluable resource for this dialogue across sectors, public and private, secular and faith-based. The Kellogg Institute at Notre Dame University, under the leadership of Paolo Carozza, has recently embarked on a multi-year, inter-disciplinary initiative to explore these topics and to seek out examples of genuine experience of human dignity and human development. Through short present

Kazcor's recent book explores some of the most interesting and vexing problems in contemporary life. Appealing to reason rather than religious authority, the book tackles the most controversial and talked about positions of the Catholic Church – on contraception, on marriage, on reproductive technologies, on cohabitation, and on divorce – arguing for the reasonableness of the Church’s views on these issues. The book’s interdisciplinary approach, following the precedent of Thomas Aquinas, looks to human happiness and fulfillment, properly understood, in seeking the answers to questions about how to live. It aims to show to skeptical readers that what the Catholic Church teaches about controversial issues is rationally justified by considering evidence from psychology, sociology, and philosophy.

Rev. Wilson Miscamble, author and professor at the University of Notre Dame, discusses Catholic higher education.

Jennifer Fulwiler told herself she was happy. Why wouldn’t she be? She made good money as a programmer at a hot tech start-up, had just married a guy with a stack of Ivy League degrees, and lived in a twenty-first-floor condo where she could sip sauvignon blanc while watching the sun set behind the hills of Austin. Raised in a happy, atheist home, Jennifer had the freedom to think for herself and play by her own rules. Yet a creeping darkness followed her all of her life. Finally, one winter night, it drove her to the edge of her balcony, making her ask once and for all why anything mattered. At that moment everything she knew and believed was shattered. Asking the unflinching questions about life and death, good and evil, led Jennifer to Christianity, the religion she had reviled since she was an awkward, skeptical child growing up in the Bible Belt. Mortified by this turn of events, she hid her quest from everyone except her husband, concealing religious books in opaque bags as if they were porn and locki

Former U.S. Ambassadors to the Holy See, R. James Nicholson and Francis Rooney, discuss the position of the Holy See in the current international order. *** The Holy See’s relationship with the international community has been the focus of debate this year. Recently, the United States announced that it would relocate the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See. In February, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child released a report chastising the Holy See, alleging that the Holy See has not complied with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In light of these developments, the CIC hosted a panel of two former U.S. Ambassadors to the Holy See to discuss the role of the Holy See as a diplomatic institution and its position in the current international order.

Today, the very existence of Christians in some parts of the Middle East is threatened. During this panel discussion, Georgetown University Professor Tom Farr examined U.S. policy with respect to religious freedom in general and Christian minorities in the Middle East in particular. Andrew Doran, Executive Director of In Defense of Christians, and filmmaker Jordan Allott described their experiences on the ground in Syria and Iraq earlier this year. This event was held at the Catholic Information Center on September 3, 2014.

Dawn Eden speaks about healing the memory, looking towards the Jesuit spirituality of St. Ignatius Loyola and Pope Francis. This lecture is especially recommended for family and friends of survivors of trauma and abuse. About Dawn Eden: Dawn Eden is the author of My Peace I Give You: Healing Sexual Wounds with the Help of the Saints (Ave Maria Press, 2012) and The Thrill of the Chaste: Finding Fulfillment While Keeping Your Clothes On (Thomas Nelson, 2006). Born into a Jewish family in New York City, Dawn lost her faith as a teenager and became agnostic. During her twenties, in the 1990s, she was a rock journalist in New York City, interviewing performers such as Elton John and Brian Wilson. She went on to work on the editorial staff of the New York Post and the Daily News. When Dawn was thirty-one, she experienced a dramatic conversion to Christianity that ultimately led her to enter the Catholic Church. Her first book, The Thrill of the Chaste, became a surprise hit, published in four languages. In

After the success of his initial book Roads to Rome, the English author John Beaumont has completed a new much longer volume of American conversion stories, to be published by Fidelity Press. The book, which contains a foreword and afterword by Fr. C. John McCloskey III examines the careers and writings of almost five hundred notable converts, containing touching stories of all shapes and sizes. There have been and are many eminent and well known American converts to the Catholic faith who inspire and stimulate the faithful and all are covered here: Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Orestes Brownson, Dorothy Day, Walker Percy, Thomas Merton, Mortimer Adler, Avery Dulles, Russell Kirk, and Clare Booth Luce; media celebrities, such as Buffalo Bill, Gary Cooper, Bob Hope, Jane Wyman, and John Wayne; and from sport, the great Bobby Jones, George Gipp, and Knute Rockne.

Meet three DC professional women who are deepening their faith through the varied circumstances of their lives: dating, marriage, single life, motherhood, and career. Today’s modern culture often assesses a woman’s success in relation to the achievement of certain goals: degrees, marriage, children, career advancement, a beautiful home. Are these achievements an adequate measure of a woman’s happiness? Can women really have it all? What is the importance of friendship for married and single women? How can we live a life of Christian service in single and married life? In the midst of a city which is often dominated by power seeking and an image conscious mentality, how can we pursue God’s will?

Judge Leslie Southwick speaks about his book "The Nominee: A Spiritual and Political Journey". President George W. Bush nominated Leslie H. Southwick in 2007 to the federal appeals court, Fifth Circuit, based in New Orleans. Initially, Southwick seemed a consensus nominee. Just days before his hearing, though, a progressive advocacy group distributed the results of research it had conducted on opinions of the state court on which he had served for twelve years. Two opinions Southwick had signed off on but not written became the center of the debate over the next five months. One dealt with a racial slur by a state worker, the other with a child custody battle between a father and a bisexual mother. Apparent bipartisan agreement for a quick confirmation turned into a long set of battles in the Judiciary Committee, on the floor of the Senate, and in the media. In early August, Senator Dianne Feinstein completely surprised her committee colleagues by supporting Southwick. Hers was the one Democratic vote needed

Scripture tells us only God knows the desires of our hearts. It was, after all, God who placed them there because they are designed to lead us to His will for our lives. Why, then, is it so challenging at times to figure out if we are on the right track when it comes to what we believe we want or need? In God's Bucket List, Teresa Tomeo examines what God wants for each of us: mercy, fruitfulness, fellowship, and peace, just to name a few, and will explain what the Christian faith teaches about these gifts and how we can begin to achieve and cross out, one by one, the items on that heavenly list.

The teaching of Thomas Aquinas is based in common-sense, accessible to all, and yet open to the highest truths about God and creation. It is also a teaching uniquely able to resolve modern conundrums regarding faith and reason, science and religion, morality and the public square. This presentation seeks to make Aquinas’ insight accessible to new comers and to suggest its timeliness to the initiated. Fr. Thomas Joseph White is a Dominican priest, who lives and teaches at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC. Originally a native of southeastern Georgia, Fr. White studied at Brown University. He converted to Catholicism his senior year, influenced by reading Flannery O’Connor, Aristotle, Newman, Balthasar and John Paul II. He did his doctoral studies at Oxford University where his research focused on Aquinas’ metaphysics and arguments for the existence of God. Fr. White is the author of various books and articles including Wisdom in the Face of Modernity, A Thomistic Study in Natural Theology (Sap