Spiritual writer, theologian, and philosopher Jesuit Fr. Robert Spitzer tackles the topic of recognizing and overcoming spiritual evil. His focus is the human heart. His goal: our moral and spiritual transformation, which leads to true peace and genuine happiness.

Christ Versus Satan In Our Daily Lives - The Cosmic Struggle Between Good And Evil

The Equality Act, which has now passed through the U.S. House of Representatives and awaits a vote in the U.S. Senate, threatens to fundamentally transform American anti-discrimination laws while providing little by way of religious exemption. As “trans-rights” language continues to sweep through corporations, media, and schools, Catholics have been left scrambling for resources on how to respond with truth and love. We are delighted to host John McCormack, Washington correspondent and fellow at National Review Institute, and Mary Hasson, Kate O’Beirne Fellow in Catholic Studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, for a virtual discussion on the political implications of the Equality Act and to highlight the Person & Identity Project, a new web resource to help parents, clergy, and parochial school teachers and administrators present the truth of the human person with courage and compassion.

Gender Ideology And The Equality Act - How To Respond With Courage, Truth, And Love

The Gospel according to John has always been recognized as different from the “synoptic” accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But what explains the difference? Michael Pakaluk, professor of ethics and social philosophy in the Busch School of Business, discusses his new book, Mary’s Voice in the Gospel according to John, and reveals the subtle but powerful influence of the Mother of Jesus on the fourth Gospel.

Mary's Voice In The Gospel According To John

Austin Ruse carefully examines how the anti-Christian forces gained power over every elite institution in America. He exposes their plans for the future and issues an authoritative call to arms, brilliantly arguing that there is no finer time to be a faithful Catholic. God Himself called each of us to live in this time and place, to contribute to the renewal society and the Church, and to vanquish the enemies of civilization. This event is moderated by our Panula Chair in Christian Culture, Mary Eberstadt.

Under Siege - No Finer Time To Be A Faithful Catholic

We’ve pursued and achieved the modern dream of defining ourselves—but at what cost? Sohrab Ahmari, New York Post op-ed editor, makes a compelling case for seeking the inherited traditions and ideals that give our lives meaning.

The Unbroken Thread - Discovering The Wisdom Of Tradition In An Age Of Chaos

With raw and intimate stories from both her personal life and public activism, Lila Rose, the founder of Live Action and the face of the millennial pro-life movement, presents a guidebook for becoming a force for good in a broken world.

Fighting For Life - Becoming A Force For Change In A Wounded World

Nicole Caruso, Catholic beauty and fashion consultant, guides you through the steps involved in cultivating your personal style that celebrates your unique genius, mission, and vocation. Learn how to perceive and appreciate your self-worth by owning your own story and celebrating your unique inherent dignity. Then learn how to integrate that identity with your faith life and personal style. When all three are combined, you’ll be able to harness contagious confidence, which becomes the means through which you can connect with others and evangelize in a compelling way.

Worthy Of Wearing - How Personal Style Expresses Our Feminine Genius

Dr. Michael Breidenbach, Associate Professor and Chair of History at Ave Maria University, discusses how early American Catholics justified secularism and overcame suspicions of disloyalty, transforming ideas of religious liberty in the process. The event is moderated by Dr. Chad Pecknold, Professor of Historical & Systematic Theology at The Catholic University of America.

Our Dear - Bought Liberty - Catholics And Religious Toleration In Early America

Have the gains achieved by modern feminists in the political and economic spheres relied on a too-narrow idea of liberty and equality at the expense of a richer understanding of the natural duties that we owe to one another? If so, what are the costs of this, and can the proper foundation of equal rights be reclaimed?

EPPC Fellow Erika Bachiochi gave remarks reflecting on the themes of her new book, The Rights of Women: Reclaiming a Lost Vision, which offers an original look at the development of feminism in the United States and proposes a philosophical and legal framework for rights grounded in our responsibilities.

The event was moderated by EPPC President Ryan T. Anderson and included responses from Mary Eberstadt and Ashley McGuire.

This event was hosted by the Catholic Information Center and co-sponsored by EPPC and the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture. The book was published in the de Nicola Center’s book series with University of Notre Dame Press.

The Rights Of Women - Reclaiming A Lost Vision

Theologian, philosopher, teacher. There are few religious figures more Catholic than Saint Thomas Aquinas, a man credited with helping to shape Catholicism of the second millennium. In Never Doubt Thomas, Francis J. Beckwith employs his own spiritual journey from Catholicism to Evangelicalism and then back to Catholicism to reveal the signal importance of Aquinas not only for Catholics but also for Protestants.

The Fr. James V. Schall Lecture Series is a monthly feature of the Catholic Information’s Center’s program with speakers addressing recurring themes in Fr. Schall’s writings, such as liberal learning, the relationship between faith and reason, and great writers in the Catholic tradition.

Never Doubt Thomas - The Catholic Aquinas As Evangelical And Protestant

As the Church prepares to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Dominic, Fr. Patrick Mary Briscoe, OP and Fr. Jacob Bertrand Janczyk, OP join the CIC to launch and discuss their new book, “Saint Dominic’s Way of Life: A Path to Knowing and Loving God.”

Few Catholics today know much about Saint Dominic, who died August 6, 1221. Unlike Teresa of Ávila or Ignatius of Loyola, Dominic did not leave a deposit of writings to be examined and built upon. Yet this medieval Spaniard still has much to teach us today, and we see this in the way of life he left to the Church. Dominic offers a rich approach to Christian living, not just for members of the Order of Preachers, the religious order he founded, but for all Catholics. His dedication to prayer, penance, and the Word of God, and his love of neighbor, form the deep foundation of his project of being conformed to God. By following in Dominic’s footsteps, we too can discover how to live with a heart that is undivided, seeking God first in all things.

Saint Dominic’s Way Of Life - A Path To Knowing And Loving God

Fr. Jacques Philippe discusses interior freedom. With over 400,000 copies sold in 18 languages, Jacques Philippe’s writings on themes such as prayer, interior freedom, and peace of heart have become classics of modern Catholic spirituality.
 
Jacques Philippe was born in 1947 in Lorraine, France. After studying mathematics in college, he spent several years teaching and doing scientific research. In 1976, he met the then recently-founded Community of the Beatitudes and answered the Lord’s call to follow Him through this vocation (see below for more information on the Community of the Beatitudes). He then spent several years in Jerusalem and Nazareth immersing himself in the study of Hebrew and the Jewish roots of Christianity. In 1981, he traveled to Rome to study theology and canon law and also began his work as a spiritual director, working in the formation of priests and seminarians of the Community. In 1994, he returned to France, where he assumed various responsibilities including spiritual direction, the development of training in the Community, and participation in its General Council. He has also preached retreats regularly in France and abroad and has consolidated his principal retreat themes into five books on spirituality. In recent years, he has devoted himself primarily to spiritual direction, preaching retreats, and working for the development of the Community in Asia and Oceania, where he travels frequently.
 
Communauté des Béatitudes is an international association of the faithful of Pontifical Right founded in France in 1973. The Community of the Beatitudes gathers faithful from all states of life (married or unmarried lay people, seminarians, priests, permanent deacons, men and women consecrated in celibacy) who wish to conform as closely as possible to the model of the early Christian community through the common life, the sharing of goods, voluntary poverty and an intense sacramental and liturgical life. The members of the Community, which has a contemplative vocation based on Carmelite spirituality, are actively engaged in the service of the poor and the proclamation of the Gospel.
 

Interior Freedom | Fr. Jacques Philppe

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 (Sapientia, 2009), and The Incarnate Lord, A Thomistic Study in Christology (CUA Press, forthcoming).

Fr. Thomas Joseph White

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?



Women and the Pursuit of Happiness

In the coming months, the District of Columbia City Council will consider legislation to legalize doctor prescribed suicide. You are invited to discover more about what it means to accompany the dying and how to be involved in opposing doctor prescribed suicide legislation in Washington.


Opposing Doctor Prescribed Suicide

The Church's work of evangelization and her contribution to the good of society are inseparable. As Catholics and as American citizens, we are called to do more than just vote, and called to do more than just follow a party.

America needs Catholics who are in love with our nation, and who act from the deepest convictions of their faith to make America the best version of herself. If we love God and our neighbor, we dedicate ourselves to the vitality of our society. We respond to the needs of our neighbors. We confront both physical poverty and spiritual poverty. Most importantly, we follow Christ.

As Stephen P. White says, we need Catholic citizens who are Red, White, Blue and Catholic. Think of this book as a Catholic guide to faithful citizenship for the 364 days of the year that aren't the first Tuesday in November.

Red, White, Blue, and Catholic | Stephen P. White

Educating for Virtue: Forming the Next Generation of Virtuous Citizens

Today Americans are asking themselves what it means to be truly engaged in politics. This three-part series, co-sponsored by the National Review Institute and the Catholic Information Center, will explore what it means to renew politics and develop a virtuous citizenry. John Garvey, President of the Catholic University of America, Stephen Minnis, President of Benedictine College, and Kathryn Jean Lopez, Senior Fellow at the National Review Institute, discuss the vital role that education plays in creating the next generation of virtuous citizens. 

This event was co-sponsored by the National Review Institute. 

Catholic Information Center

Making Citizens Great Again | John Garvey, Stephen Minnis, Kathryn Lopez

Today we live under what Pope Benedict XVI called a “dictatorship of relativism.” During this first installment of a three part series reflecting on the human person, Fr. Stephen Fields discusses how the human person is created in God’s image and likeness. He also comments on the strengths and limits of humanity’s distinctive powers of reason and freedom. Fr. Fields does this against the backdrop of authentic understandings of truth and goodness.


“What a Piece of Work is Man" (Part 1) | Fr. Stephen Fields

Unrepeatable: Cultivating the Unique Calling of Every Person

Panelists explore the pernicious effects of secular progressive education, and its infiltration of Catholic schools. By examining the nature and purpose of Catholic education and its roots in the classical liberal arts tradition, the panel recognizes how neglect of our own tradition undermines both faith and reason in our children. A dynamic renewal, however, is transforming and inspiring a growing number of Catholic schools who are reclaiming the Church’s tradition.

Confronting the Crisis of Faith and Reason: Reclaiming Authentic Catholic Education

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 apartment).

A Guide to Gather Two or Three Together in His Name

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.

Catholic Infomration Center

The God That Did Not Fail: How Religion Built and Sustains the West

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?

Nationalism: Virtue or Vice?

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.

Authentic Freedom in the Novels of Graham Greene

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.

What is Christian in Christianity?

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.

American Priest: The Ambitious Life and Conflicted Legacy of Notre Dame’s Father Ted Hesburgh

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.

Eat, Fast, Feast: Heal Your Body While Feeding Your Soul—A Christian Guide to Fasting

The Catholic Church is on the verge of a transition of great consequence. Drawing on his personal discussions with John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis, as well as his decades of experience with Catholics from every continent, George Weigel examines the major challenges confronting the Catholic Church and its 1.3 billion believers in the twenty-first century: challenges the next pontificate must address as the Church enters new, uncharted territory.

The Next Pope: The Office of Peter and a Church in Mission

Foster care is at the heart of Christian life, and yet it can often be at the peripheries of our public conversations and even parish life. At a time when the need for foster parents is on the increase, as so many anxieties and addictions rise to the service in this pandemic, how can we get more involved? How can we support those who need support? How can we make sure children are in safe and stable homes? And why is a Supreme Court case in the fall critical to this all?

Our speakers will be Melissa Buck, a foster and adoptive mother whose court case was argued by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, Andrea Picciotti-Bayer, legal advisor & senior fellow at the Catholic Association (who has written an amicus brief on the Philadelphia adoption case before the Supreme Court), and Sarah Zagorski, former foster child and activist.

Foster Care: An Essential Call

Editor and publisher of The Lamp, a new bimonthly Catholic political magazine, talk faith, politics, and culture with Professors Robert Wyllie and Michael Hanby.

The Future of Catholic Journalism: A Conversation With The Lamp Magazine

Robert Reilly, Director of the Westminster Institute, discusses his new book “America on Trial: A Defense of the Founding.” During his lecture Reilly will focuses on the tradition of “right reason,” that is, the metaphysical, epistemological, anthropological, and theological roots of constitutional government. He will reintroduces listeners to ideas about the primacy of reason over will, universal truth, natural law, and monotheism.

America On Trial - A Defense Of The Founding

The Catholic Information Center is committed to making the Catholic Church alive in the hearts and minds  of men and women living and working in our nation’s capital. Through a variety of spiritual, intellectual, and professional programs, the CIC offers  the tools to live an integrated life and to engage in all areas of human endeavors.

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