The Catholic Hierarchy and the Mideast Conflict
"The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does [...]
The Oldest and Strangest Hatred
The hatred of Jews is manifest once again in the massacre of hundreds of Israelis, including unborn children slashed from [...]
Trump or Biden? A Not So Difficult Choice
The early phases of the 2024 Presidential campaign are well underway and barring unforeseen events, the final faceoff will be [...]
Reflecting on the Middle East Slaughter
Most of us are still struggling to grasp the enormity of the recent attacks on Israel by Hamas. We heard [...]
Will the Hierarchy Embrace This Wise Counsel?
The four-year Synod of the Catholic Church is nearing completion. It has been described as a "Journey" that is "both [...]
Pope Francis’ View of Conservative Catholics
In a conversation with Jesuit priests and students in Portugal on August 28, 2023, Pope Francis answered a number of [...]
The Contemporary Fashion of Loving Ourselves
I recently heard a sermon in my parish that encouraged parishioners to love themselves. It was not the first time [...]
Curiosity’s Role in Saving America
In a recent essay titled "Our Urgent Need to Examine Ideas" I noted that in this age of constant, rapid, [...]
An Example that Inspires Hope
In the early 1902s Anthony, a young Italian immigrant to the United States, was being screened at New York's Ellis [...]
Our Urgent Need to Examine Ideas
In a recent essay I noted that critical thinking is a more reliable guide to behavior than emotion, provided it [...]
When “Eyes Do Not See, Nor Ears Hear”
Cardinal Dolan began a June 2023 essay by lamenting that "religious freedom—our first and most cherished liberty—has wrongly come to [...]
Valuing God’s Incomparable Gift, the Human Mind
Rodin's The Thinker The Bible tells us that God created humans in his "image and likeness." What does [...]
The Decline of Emotional Control
A biological male wins the Miss Netherlands title. Whistle-blowers are maligned for reporting crimes. An employer fires his employee for [...]
How Our Minds Play Tricks on Us
I recall an interesting anecdote that speaks volumes about the workings of the human mind. Henry was driving on a [...]
The Grave Danger of Denying Consequences
Consequences are a central and inescapable feature of life. Some are good, some bad. The good ones improve us and [...]
What in the World Were They Thinking?
For years the news has filled with reports of behaviors by people in influential positions that make the rest of [...]
Are You Confused About LGBTQITA+?
If the acronym puzzles you, take heart. You are not alone. Anyone born between the 1930s and the 1970s, in [...]
A Bishop Discusses Open Borders
Sacramento Bishop Jaime Soto recently published an essay titled "Migrants Are Not Fodder for Political Propaganda" in the Jesuit magazine [...]
Self-Love Minus Guilt Equals Chaos
Several decades ago the word "guilt" fell out of use, as did its companions “remorse" and "repentance." All three words, [...]
Restoring Catholic Wisdom, Part 3
Part 1 of this essay argued that the Catholic Church desperately needs to renew its historic teachings, and the Bishops [...]
Restoring Catholic Wisdom, Part 2
In Part 1 I argued that the Catholic Church desperately needs to renew its historic teachings, and the Bishops and [...]
Is Donald Trump the Best Republican Candidate for 2024?
This question is both important and difficult. Important because the answer could affect the fate of the country. Difficult because [...]
Restoring Catholic Wisdom
It remains a common assumption that individuals who went to Catholic Colleges are much more informed about their faith than [...]
Will the Catholic Synod Achieve Its Goals?
Many readers may be unfamiliar with both the term "Synod" and the reality currently underway in the Church. The term [...]
The Gospel Message and the U.S. Border Crisis
When two nuns who work with illegal immigrants were accused of "exacerbating the border crisis,” they responded as follows:“It is [...]
Author Vincent Ryan Ruggiero
Since retiring from teaching, I have continued my work in promoting sound thinking in education and in the general culture. More specifically, I have kept refining my textbooks, four of which have been continuously in print for an average of 33 years. I have also continued to write books for the general public, the latest of which is Corrupted Culture: Rediscovering America’s Enduring Principles, Values, and Common Sense, and I write a weekly column for an online journal.