“The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.” Those words, spoken by Erika Kirk at her husband Charlie’s memorial service, cut through grief and politics with startling clarity. They were not about party or power. They were about...

When the pulpit merges with power, does the sword overshadow the Sermon on the Mount? Though I’m no longer practicing, I was raised Catholic. I went through the rituals—Baptism and Confirmation and confession and “eat no meat” Fridays, and I left because it was just too rigid. However, at its heart, Catholic doctrine was about love, mercy, humility, and salvation:...

What a way to end the year. The erosion of America’s moral integrity is overwhelming. Entitlement has overtaken personal responsibility. Meanness has overwhelmed kindness. And hatred has crushed tolerance. Many of today’s “leaders” place self-interest above public interest. They role model viciousness and lies instead of kindness and facts. They believe that the best way to influence the public forum...

Bernie Madoff conned friends and strangers out of billions using a scheme that out-Ponzied Charles Ponzi, the now former emperor of elite schemers. However, after serving almost 11 years of a 150-year sentence, Madoff is now asking for an early release from prison due to a terminal illness. In 1998, “Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 criminal counts… At the time...

With news that Congressman John Lewis — the last of the Civil Rights protestors who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King — was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, I was reminded of a commentary I posted ten years ago about an extraordinary act of forgiveness. The last time Elwin Wilson saw Congressman John Lewis was at the Rock Hill,...