Patrick T. Reardon

Calling themselves the "MAGA Boyz,” Trump crypto-supporters, from left, Nick Passino, Shawn Uptown and Devin Dashnaw stand and applaud as Republican Vice Presidential nominee, JD Vance speaks at DiSorb Systems Inc. in North Philadelphia on Aug. 19, 2024. (Tom Gralish/The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Patrick T. Reardon: 17 questions about hate

November 15, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

If I believe that Donald Trump stirs up hate among Americans, should I hate him and all of the people who voted for him?

Pope Francis arrives to celebrate a Mass, on the occasion of 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines, at the Vatican on March 14, 2021.

Op-ed: You’re wrong, Pope Francis, about gay couples

March 15, 2021 at 6:37 p.m.

Well, Pope Francis, I disagree. I respect much of what you've done in the papacy, Holy Father, but this statement from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued...

Trump supporters participate in a rally Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C.

Op-ed: The storming of the Capitol. A sacrilege, a grievous desecration.

January 7, 2021 at 9:29 p.m.

For me, Wednesday's invasion of the U.S. Capitol while both houses of Congress were meeting to certify the election of Joe Biden felt like a sacrilege. I was shocked and...

President Donald Trump lands on the South Lawn of the White House on Oct. 5, 2020, after being treated for COVID-19 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Commentary: My postelection wish for America is a spirit of forgiveness

October 22, 2020 at 8:28 p.m.

Let's talk forgiveness. This election is going to happen, and someone is going to be chosen to lead the United States over the next four years. No matter who wins...

Pope Francis salutes worshippers upon his arrival to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican on Sept. 23, 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commentary: What does it mean to be a ‘good Catholic’?

September 28, 2020 at 9:47 p.m.

Back in the 1980s, during a holiday get-together, one of the family elders, who was known for sweeping declarations, made a sweeping declaration: "You can't be a Republican," she said,...

Participants gather and shout "all power to the people" June 19, 2020, at the One Million Man March at Daley Plaza in Chicago during a day of Juneteenth celebrations.

Commentary: We need more holidays like Juneteenth

June 22, 2020 at 9:28 p.m.

It makes a lot of sense to establish June 19 — Juneteenth, the celebration of the emancipation of the final group of Black slaves in 1865 — as a national...

Commentary: During this pandemic, light a candle of sweet kindness

March 24, 2020 at 10:15 p.m.

My friend Mark and his wife, Cathy, were coming home Saturday from the sad burden of the funeral of their 42-year-old daughter Margaret. Margaret, a wife and the mother of...

The ripple effect of a good book recommendation can go on for years, as Patrick T. Reardon writes in this essay. STANDALONE PHO

The endless ripples of a book recommendation

February 12, 2020 at 8:00 a.m.

Over the last year, I've read two books that knocked my socks off — the exquisitely evocative "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison and that epic, beautiful whale of great...

South Side character captured by three impressive new volumes

November 13, 2019 at 8:00 a.m.

One of the seven chapters in Lee Bey's "Southern Exposure: The Overlooked Architecture of Chicago's South Side" is only three pages long and has to do with St. Thomas Episcopal...

Commentary: The day I fell in love with Emma

September 3, 2019 at 7:30 a.m.

A few weeks ago, I fell in love with a younger woman — a much younger woman. A girl, really. Well, actually, a baby. She was born a little after...

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