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Comment Magazine Public theology for the common good. It’s our families and financial systems, politics and education, museums and labour unions, and much more.

Comment is one of the core publications of Cardus, a think tank devoted to renewing North American social architecture, rooted in 2000 years of Christian social thought. In our print and online essays and reviews we zoom in on the multiple components that make up this “social architecture”: the institutions that serve as the scaffolding and skeleton of social life. We’ve been doing this since 1983

. Thanks to our donors and patrons over the decades, Comment has spoken public theology from the time of the Cold War to today.

“Forgiveness raises its voice with the courage to speak but keeps on speaking, just as poetry claims no final word, only...
26/12/2024

“Forgiveness raises its voice with the courage to speak but keeps on speaking, just as poetry claims no final word, only an ageless echo of imagination, even if from empty tombs.”

Matthew Ichihashi Potts on literary forgiveness.

W.H. Auden argued that forgiveness is an act that cannot be portrayed in literature, but he might have been wrong.

“You want to understand something, so you’re going to empty yourself, humble yourself, be in the presence of it without ...
19/12/2024

“You want to understand something, so you’re going to empty yourself, humble yourself, be in the presence of it without presenting your prior demands in advance.​”

A new production of Handel’s Messiah breathes new life into the famous oratorio.

A new production of Handel's Messiah breathes new life into one of the hoariest works in the canon.

“What I can say from experience is that appealing to the forgiveness of God for comfort without actually going through t...
19/12/2024

“What I can say from experience is that appealing to the forgiveness of God for comfort without actually going through the death of repentance will not lead to any change.”

How forgiveness brought a s*x offender into the light.

A s*x offender examines his fall from grace, and the ways the beautiful forgiveness of his spouse showed him Christ and gave him new life.

"What does it mean to listen to a survivor of abuse?"Sister Carino Hodder walks with Kristin Lavransdatter through traum...
19/12/2024

"What does it mean to listen to a survivor of abuse?"

Sister Carino Hodder walks with Kristin Lavransdatter through trauma and healing.

What does it mean to listen to a survivor of abuse?

“There is, in fact, a richness of vision to be had at the margins that is difficult to attain for those who are comforta...
18/12/2024

“There is, in fact, a richness of vision to be had at the margins that is difficult to attain for those who are comfortable at the centre.”

Angel Adams Parham argues The Benedict Option overlooks a vital witness—the Black Church.

There is a richness of vision to be had at the margins that is difficult to attain for those who are comfortable at the centre.

"I trust something in the non-repeatability of these stories will call out to your own, challenging you, wherever you ar...
18/12/2024

"I trust something in the non-repeatability of these stories will call out to your own, challenging you, wherever you are, to risk a new beginning."

Editor-in-chief Anne Snyder introduces our winter issue.

When a Texas town chose to forgive horrific hate, they spoke to a yearning deeper than trauma, power, and cynicism.

"The beautiful soul laments the world’s wrongs but is uncommitted. It is unwilling to act in accordance with the needs o...
18/12/2024

"The beautiful soul laments the world’s wrongs but is uncommitted. It is unwilling to act in accordance with the needs of the moment and instead despairs—very publicly—that nothing can be done."

A chance encounter leads to a reflection on Native American identity and the failure of critical theory to act according to reality.

“Forgiveness isn’t so much a transactional repair of an old world, but rather a glimpse of a more profoundly coherent ne...
18/12/2024

“Forgiveness isn’t so much a transactional repair of an old world, but rather a glimpse of a more profoundly coherent new one.”

Esther Lightcap Meek on the way forgiveness provides a new pattern to reality.

A look at the way forgiveness provides a new pattern to reality for both the forgiver and the forgiven.

"Dragons, as Brother Edvin told the child Kristin, seem big only to those who harbour fear within themselves. But they a...
18/12/2024

"Dragons, as Brother Edvin told the child Kristin, seem big only to those who harbour fear within themselves. But they are utterly monstrous to those who do not even recognize the fear they are harbouring."

What does it mean to listen to a survivor of abuse?

“The shameful parts of our history do not make us a bad country, any more than the shameful parts of my mom’s past made ...
18/12/2024

“The shameful parts of our history do not make us a bad country, any more than the shameful parts of my mom’s past made her a bad person. Paradoxically, it’s in our denial of shame that we give it the power to define us.”

Chris Owen on confronting truth.

Whether in our families or in our politics, the lies we choose to believe and to tell about our innocence mask unacknowledged psychic pain.

“There’s so much goodness the bad is hardly even a blip. We’re just not seeing it.”Kurt Armstrong introduces the ‘League...
17/12/2024

“There’s so much goodness the bad is hardly even a blip. We’re just not seeing it.”

Kurt Armstrong introduces the ‘League of Anti-Nihilists.’

Is the world spiralling out of control? Or is there more goodness than we can possibly take in? Or both at the same time? How do we respond either way?

"While religion is a factor in some people’s dissatisfaction with homeschooling, it is not as simple as saying that more...
17/12/2024

"While religion is a factor in some people’s dissatisfaction with homeschooling, it is not as simple as saying that more-religious homeschooling families have more-negative outcomes."

A survey about the experiences of homeschoolers shows that popular negative perceptions among skeptics are often off base.

“The naked sobriety of Christian contemplative prayer, which the Virgin Mary teaches, remains the truest awakening.”Matt...
17/12/2024

“The naked sobriety of Christian contemplative prayer, which the Virgin Mary teaches, remains the truest awakening.”

Matthew J. Milliner on the Dark Virgin of Guadalupe as a model of contemplative prayer.

A Marian pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

“Trauma, by its nature, resists integration into the story of ourselves.”Sister Carino Hodder on what it means to listen...
17/12/2024

“Trauma, by its nature, resists integration into the story of ourselves.”

Sister Carino Hodder on what it means to listen to a survivor of abuse.

What does it mean to listen to a survivor of abuse?

"​Forgiveness is sobering. It’s difficult to ask for and difficult to grant. The words of forgiveness can be incredibly ...
17/12/2024

"​Forgiveness is sobering. It’s difficult to ask for and difficult to grant. The words of forgiveness can be incredibly difficult to say or accept. Analyzing forgiveness, as I am about to do here, is much easier than practicing it."

A look at the way forgiveness provides a new pattern to reality for both the forgiver and the forgiven.

"When it comes to physical ability, we are all either 'disabled' or 'not yet disabled.' Perfect freedom to always act in...
17/12/2024

"When it comes to physical ability, we are all either 'disabled' or 'not yet disabled.' Perfect freedom to always act in accordance with our desires is an illusion."

Christina Bieber Lake on theatre's unique capacity to confront us.

Theatre has the unique capacity to confront us with uncomfortable realities, a truth shown with particular force in Martyna Majok's play "Cost of Living."

"I do not need to wait for the total, exhaustive cleansing of my heart to act in accordance with the love of Christ when...
17/12/2024

"I do not need to wait for the total, exhaustive cleansing of my heart to act in accordance with the love of Christ when his Spirit prompts me."

Ian Olson on Native American identity and the limits of critical theory.

A chance encounter leads to a reflection on Native American identity and the failure of critical theory to act according to reality.

"The urge to create and the subsequent urge to create something better are embedded in each child."Doug Stowe on the imp...
16/12/2024

"The urge to create and the subsequent urge to create something better are embedded in each child."

Doug Stowe on the implications of craftsmanship.

Craftsmanship, the making of real things, provides a surprisingly strong basis for a just, equitable, and intelligent society.

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