Commonweal Magazine

The May issue is here! Feat.: - Rand Richards Cooper on writing in an AI age - @HeidiSchlumpf on the case for lay preaching - Aaron Robertson on the education of Black Catholic writers - The Editors on Trump's war budget And more! commonwealmagazine.org/issues/2026-04…

What is the future for literature in a world where machines churn out plausible facsimiles of our most artful human narratives? A powerful new essay by Rand Richards Cooper: commonwealmagazine.org/writing-artifi…

Who can justify the war with Iran? Paul Baumann considers Francis X. Maier’s bizarre recent attempt: commonwealmagazine.org/baumann-iran-t…

"For a writer—a human writer—it’s hard not to feel gloomy." In a major new essay for Commonweal, Rand Richards Cooper considers the future of writing in our AI age: commonwealmagazine.org/writing-artifi…

Should Christians renounce both the eating of sentient creatures and the performance of experiments on them? Yes, we should, to the extent that we can. Paul J. Griffiths on the case for animal rights: commonwealmagazine.org/selves-are-not…

"Perhaps the reason Americans root for a visit from Leo is that they envision him giving our feckless leaders the talking-to they deserve. But if you listen, he’s doing that already." Mollie O'Reilly: Should Pope Leo return home? commonwealmagazine.org/leo-trump-war-…

"Having read, over a lifetime, more than a dozen of Updike’s novels and story collections, it’s always astonishing to me that I find it so hard to actually remember anything about them." — Anthony Giardina commonwealmagazine.org/updike-letters…

Patti Smith talks with Antonio Spadaro - read this

“They tried to discredit him, but they didn’t succeed. You can’t take down love.” — Patti Smith on Pope Francis commonwealmagazine.org/smith-patti-in…

In the letters of John Updike, very little self-reflection goes on and absolution reigns. Anthony Giardina reviews: commonwealmagazine.org/updike-letters…

"From the ecclesial and theological points of view, the phenomenon of adult baptisms may have more urgent impact on European than American Catholicism." — @MassimoFaggioli commonwealmagazine.org/massimo-faggio…

"The Christian in politics should shun the devices of the demagogue at all times, but especially in a time when anxiety is great and uncertainty prevails." From the archives — Eugene McCarthy on Christianity and political life: commonwealmagazine.org/christian-poli…

God isn’t a subject of typical bar conversation, but the partial gospels sometimes found there reveal a desire to justify hope. A Last Word reflection by David Mills: commonwealmagazine.org/mills-theodicy…

Alfred Tennyson’s faith was shaken as scientific discoveries redefined his world. But a crisis of faith isn’t always a conquest of it. Todd Shy on Tennyson's honest doubt: commonwealmagazine.org/tennysons-hone…

"Will the Church continue to grow weaker sociologically as the hierarchy seems willing to do almost anything to recruit more young people?" @MassimoFaggioli analyzes the recent 'surge' in adult conversions: commonwealmagazine.org/massimo-faggio…

President Trump’s supporters have offered some implausible scenarios on the likely outcome of his war with Iran—as well as some wild justifications for it. A new column by Paul Baumann: commonwealmagazine.org/baumann-iran-t…

my latest in @commonwealmag on the recent surge in the number of adult Catholics receiving baptism commonwealmagazine.org/massimo-faggio…

"If the pope did not name names, it was at least partly because he didn’t have to." The Editors on Trump's scandalous war budget: commonwealmagazine.org/war-trump-heal…

In 1990—in anticipation of the 20th anniversary of the first Earth Day—theologians Michael and Kenneth R. Himes called for a more urgent religious response to the ecological crisis. On this 56th Earth Day, we're delighted to reshare this powerful essay: commonwealmagazine.org/sacrament-crea…

On a NEW EPISODE of the Commonweal podcast, Princeton historian D. Graham Burnett shares how we can take back our minds from the depredations of Big Tech. Listen now! commonwealmagazine.org/podcast/reclai…