Public square

This selection gathers thirty-two columns that Richard John Neuhaus wrote between 1996 and 2000 for his regular series of the same name. The pieces cover a wide range of ground, from theology, philosophy and politics to schooling, bioethics, the law and family life.

Running through the collection is the author's conviction that public life rests mainly on culture, that culture is shaped by morality, and that morality is anchored in religion. Each essay tests that chain of reasoning against a specific question of the day.

Neuhaus was a Catholic priest and the founder of the journal First Things, where the column first appeared. The book suits readers who already know his work and those who are meeting it for the first time.