The Catholic Church's American Moment

About this episode

The episode discusses the significance of American Catholicism in light of upcoming anniversaries and its evolving role in society.

By Samuel Trizuljak This year is special for American Catholics in two ways. First, there's the upcoming 250th birthday of the American Republic on July 4, 2026. But there's another anniversary to celebrate. Today is the first anniversary of the election of Leo XIV, the first pope to hail from the United States. I'm from Bratislava, Slovakia, and have long had a keen interest in all things American Catholic. I find myself thinking a lot recently about the role that American Catholicism plays not only inside the United States, but across the world. In particular, I recall Fr. Richard John Neuhaus and his 1987 book The Catholic Moment: The Paradox of the Church in the Postmodern World. While that ambitious volume is concerned with the Catholic Church at large, the book captured a special moment in the life of the Catholic Church in the United States. Neuhaus argued that, by the late 20th century, American Catholicism had matured. No longer a marginalized immigrant faith, it had institutional depth (schools, universities, media), intellectual firepower (theologians, philosophers) and growing cultural legitimacy. This created a rare "moment" where Catholic thought could step into the…

People in this episode

Guest: Samuel Trizuljak

Topics covered

• American Catholicism
• Catholic Church
• historical anniversaries
• cultural legitimacy
• moral framework
• transformative role

Keywords

• Catholic Church
• American Catholics
• Leo XIV
• Fr. Richard John Neuhaus
• The Catholic Moment
• cultural legitimacy
• moral framework

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Catholic Moment: The Paradox of the Church in the Postmodern World

Places: United States

More episodes of The Catholic Thing

• Defeating Modernism · June 13, 2026 · 7 min
• Two Reflections on the Feast of the Sacred Heart Now for Human Hearts and the Sacred Heart by Matthew D. Walz And Now for A Pilgrimage to the Sacred Heart by Fr. Thomas G. Weinandy, OFM Cap. · June 12, 2026 · 13 min
• The Consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart · June 11, 2026 · 7 min
• 'Madame Bovary' and Us · June 10, 2026 · 7 min
• Beauty in the Power of the Holders · June 9, 2026 · 7 min
• The World as the Womb of Divine Love · June 8, 2026 · 6 min