Mary C. Curtis

1 week ago | rollcall.com | Mary C. Curtis

Skip to content The politics of the Catholic Church after Pope Francis The personality and outreach of Pope Francis attracted worldwide admiration. Though he did not stray from Catholic doctrine, he connected those teachings to issues such as immigration and climate change. He was not as progressive as some progressives hoped, and he also frustrated traditionalists, a split that played out in the United States.

2 weeks ago | rollcall.com | Mary C. Curtis

The blue suit and blue tie amid a sea of mostly black-garbed mourners did stand out, not that President Donald Trump ever blends into the background or wants to. But the man being laid to rest in the simple wooden coffin was the leader whose legacy loomed largest. The hundreds of thousands who made their way to the Vatican to pay respects to Pope Francis proved that.

1 month ago | rollcall.com | Mary C. Curtis

I’m not optimistic enough to call it the death of indifference, but recent events prove there may be signs of life in the democratic republic Americans call exceptional but too often take for granted. Last weekend’s “Hands Off!” rallies have come and gone.

1 month ago | rollcall.com | Mary C. Curtis

Skip to content How a post-World War II ‘Red Scare’ resonates in modern America Fights over how American history is taught. Labels of “communist” and “socialist” used to smear. Civil rights gains seen as a loss for the “real” America. While all that might sound like last week’s headlines, those battles and the hysteria surrounding them are nothing new.

1 month ago | rollcall.com | Mary C. Curtis

So much of the American character is in peril, including the cultural touchstones I often reference, probably more often than my column editors would like. But I believe most Americans’ lives are enriched by the TV shows and music, theater and films that make skeptics and even hate-watchers tune in for the Academy Awards or Super Bowl halftime show. I long ago embraced the fact that the arts (high and low) bring joy, knowledge and — often, just in time — an escape.