The Moynihan Letters

St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 140 to 202 A.D.) depicted in stained glass in St. Irenaeus Church in Lyons, France (link). He has been declared the Patron Saint of Church unity     Letter #78, 2022, Wednesday, June 29: World War III     Today is the feast day of St. Irenaeus of Lyons.     Five months ago, [...]

    British scholar Anatol Lieven, 61, in a photo from 10 years ago at the Chatham House event "A New Era in Maritime Security?: Risks, rules and responsibilities," held in October 22-23, 2012, in London. Anatol Lieven is a British author, journalist, and policy analyst best known for his expertise on the Taliban of Afghanistan. He is currently [...]

    "Notice that this phenomenon of abstract ideas about the human condition is ancient. It characterized, for example, decadent scholasticism, a theology of pure ideas, totally distant from the reality of salvation, which is the encounter with Jesus Christ. That is why a cultural magazine must work on reality, which is always superior to the idea. [...]

    "One wonders whether the transfer of Metropolitan Hilarion to Budapest is related in any way to the position taken by Patriarch Kirill on Ukraine. Aside from advocating peace and help for refugees, Metropolitan Hilarion has been relatively quiet on the subject of Ukraine. He has not echoed the more controversial statements made by the Patriarch." [...]

Pope Francis greets cardinals during the Mass marking the closing of the Year of Faith in St. Peter’s Square on November 24, 2013, the Solemnity of Christ the King.     Letter #73, 2022, Thursday, June 9: Endings     In Rome in recent days, there is much talk about "August 27" and "August 28" -- and on [...]

    "The hegemony exercised by the Anglo-sphere over what is now called the West then signals the Protestant matrix of the cultural-social-political system in question, not in the sense that only (historically) Protestant countries are now considered the West, but in the sense that it is the philosophical-political legacy of Protestantism that defines the ideological horizon [...]

Pope Francis with Leonid Sevastianov and Svetlana Kasyan     Letter #71, 2022, Thursday, May 19: Francis     Dr. Moynihan has traveled to Assisi, Italy, where he is working on a project. He sent this report to share with you.—Katie Carr, Managing Editor     ***     Special Note – Our good friend Richard Duplantis of Southern Liturgicals is [...]

Father Visvaldas Kulbokas, center, serves as translator as Pope Francis and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchange gifts during a private audience at the Vatican in this July 4, 2019, file photo. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)     Letter #70, 2022, Tuesday, May 3: Francis     Today in Rome came startling news: Pope Francis, 85, said in an [...]

American economist Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, 67, who in recent days gave a long interview on the conflict in Ukraine to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera (text below)     Letter #69, 2022, Monday, May 2: Catastrophe     I have received a number of letters from readers asking me why I have not been writing these letters for [...]