I was a speaker at Doxacon 2017, a Christian sci-fi and fantasy convention in Washington, DC. My talk was about power & authority, Cap & Iron Man, and the whole moral architecture of the MCU. Find out why Tony Stark makes all the wrong sacrifices, what Captain America teaches us about conscience—and, finally, how Spider-Man: Homecoming is a cinematic exploration of Catholic social teaching's concept of subsidiarity. Listen to the talk at Ancient Faith radio. #Podcast #Speakin

"There’s something monstrous about living without responsibilities to others. That’s the clearest theme of Colossal, the new film starring Anne Hathaway as Gloria, an alcoholic piecing her life together while discovering a strange connection to a giant monster wreaking havoc in Seoul, South Korea. The film, written and directed by Nacho Vigalondo, uses the kaiju genre (Godzilla and its progeny) to meditate on addiction, self-loathing, and toxic friendships. Yet the film is al

"When I speak to my pro-choice friends, I’m often able to find some common ground. They do not necessarily admit that human life has a God-given dignity, but they certainly assign it value—and even assign some value to life in the womb, though they leave this contingent on a mother’s choice. Some of my friends are sympathetic to the pro-life movement’s ideal of a world where mother and child are both offered love and support, a world less subject to the cultural and economic

I was a guest on EWTN's Morning Glory radio program, discussing masculinity, serving as an acolyte, and Donald Trump's so-called "locker room talk." Hear me discuss my formative male role models and how altar serving represents a similar source of esprit de corps to organized sports—and how training up young men should have to do with the responsible use of fire. You can find my segment at the end of the embedded podcast, starting at the 46:50 mark. #Podcast #Theology #Charac

"When I ask my friends for their formative, positive male role models, the answers (real and fictional) were often men of quiet confidence and steadfast service, like St. Maximilian Kolbe or Atticus Finch of To Kill A Mockingbird. G. K. Chesterton suggests that Christian manliness is well illustrated by the medieval Christians’ creative re-reading of the Trojan War, a reading that treats Hector as the protagonist. The great loser of Homer’s story becomes the model of chivalry

"Trump’s policies, such as they are, usually come down to America breaking its promises. In the debate, he doubled-down on his previous pledge to back out of defending our NATO allies (who came to our defense after 9/11). Later in the debate he casually said we can’t defend Japan, another nation with whom we have a mutual defense treaty. This promised perfidy is of a piece with his rhetoric about tearing up deals and starting trade wars. He then brushed off the idea that stop