mathew-schmalz, Author at Crux

Is the death penalty un-Christian?
- Commentary, Religion News Service
- May 1, 2017
Mathew Schmalz, associate professor of religion at College of the Holy Cross, discusses the death penalty and Christianity. He reminds readers that Pope Francis speaks of a larger ethic of forgiveness. He emphasizes social justice for all citizens as well as the opportunity for those who harm society to make amends through acts that affirm life, not death.
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Mount St. Mary’s and the future of Catholic higher education
- Life
- February 25, 2016
The controversy at Mount St. Mary’s, a Catholic university in Emmitsburg, Maryland, made headlines for weeks: A brutally blunt new president, his plan to boost retention numbers by getting rid of poor-performing students early, the firing of professors who disagreed with him, and a faculty vote of no-confidence in his
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On the celibacy of St. John Paul II
- Church
- February 23, 2016
With the recent revelations of St. John Paul II’s close relationship with a married woman, the philosopher Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka, many commentators are wondering whether we need to revise our understanding of Karol Wojtyła the man. Barbara Latza Nadeau, writing in The Daily Beast, asks the question surely on many people’s
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October 1, 2015

In the early 1980s, six children in the Yugoslavian town of Medjugorje reported seeing visions of the Virgin Mary. Since that time, millions of people have made the pilgrimage to Medjugorje and countless others still follow messages attributed to the Virgin Mary that are revealed by the original seers. This summer,

John Boehner and Bob Brady: Catholic to the core

Papal Visit

September 30, 2015

While everyone is still thinking and talking about Pope Francis, I’m thinking and talking about two seemingly very different people who were affected by the Holy Father in very similar ways. They’re both congressmen, but one’s a Democrat and the other’s a Republican. I’m thinking and talking about Rep. Robert Brady

Touching and being touched at Sumanahalli

Faith

August 31, 2015

BANGALORE, India — I walked through the Ave Maria Home for leprosy patients — the halls and rooms were clean, although they were showing their age. In the TV room, patients were watching a version of the great Hindu epic, The Mahabharata, in the local language of Kannada. Others were