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Articles by Michele Malia McAloon
‘East of Eden’ and the Families We Choose to Forgive
“It is a choice, rather than an order, to conquer sin and be good,” writes Michele McAloon. (East of Eden/Netflix) Great literature, and I suppose all art, ages well with time. Or maybe we age well with great art. When I was in my early teens, I read John Steinbeck’s 1952 book East of Eden. More decades later than I care to count, I have been given the opportunity to be the moderator for The Free Press’s inaugural online book club, where we are currently reading Steinbeck’s novel.
Reviving a Sacred Tradition: The First Icon of Our Lady of Victories Commissioned for the Modern Soldier
Painted amidst a raging war, the Our Lady of Victories icon is now a traveling source of grace for service members. The icon of Our Lady of Victories. (photo: Courtesy photo / Courtesy photo) Features January 17, 2026 A Marian icon smuggled out of Ukraine for transit to London comes under fire. It sounds like the plot of a spy movie. But it isn’t — through prayer and international efforts by a host of Catholics, this very real icon now offers inspiration to military personnel and their families.
Our “Confinement”
If memory serves (an increasingly dubious supposition), my theatrical debut occurred in the first grade, when I played an elderly Civil War veteran.
Fear - and Hope - in Europe’s Christmas Markets, by Michele McAloon
Advent in Germany is brightened by its world-famous Christmas markets. The smell of grilled sausage, Germany’s famous mulled gluhwein, and gingerbread (Lebkuchen) blend together under multicolored lights creating a cheerful experience in anticipation of Christ’s birth.
Fear – and Hope – in Europe’s Christmas Markets - The Catholic Thing
Advent in Germany is brightened by its world-famous Christmas markets. The smell of grilled sausage, Germany’s famous mulled gluhwein, and gingerbread (Lebkuchen) blend together under multicolored lights creating a cheerful experience in anticipation of Christ’s birth.
‘The Gospel in Motion’: Inside the Military Council of Catholic Women
Marking Veterans Day, a glimpse into a Catholic women’s ministry in nearly 220 global locations that helps support military families. Women attend a prayer service sponsored by the Military Council of Catholic Women. (photo: Courtesy photo / MCCW) World November 11, 2025 Chatter about which books are used for first Communion prep in Korea fills one corner of the room. Just a few feet away, several Catholic ladies discuss how post-Mass fellowship is done in North Carolina.
Saint Martin: European Saint
Born on the plains of Pannonia, in present-day Hungary, raised in Italy, and eventually becoming known in modern-day France as the apostle to the Gauls, Saint Martin of Tours (316 AD – 397 AD) left a legacy that spans the European continent. The name of the man who only ever wanted to be a holy hermit adorns many towns, schools, churches, and even bottles of wine from the Czech Republic to Croatia to France. November 11, his feast day, is an auspicious date in the history of Europe and the world.
Pagan America on Apple Podcasts
Human rights? Do they exist in a post Christian America? Can democracy even survive in a world without religion? John Daniel Davidson a senior editor at the Federalist https://fedsoc.org/ has written a soul searching and searing book Pagan America: The Decline of Christianity and the Dark Age to Come. All the social issues of our times are touched by the role of religion in society. Join me for this thought provoking conversation. Learn. Listen. Engage. ...
Same-Sex Blessings as Superstitions
This summer, my husband and I had the great pleasure of witnessing two of our three sons marry. As I scrambled to help my oldest son gather his sacramental documentation – not an easy feat for a kid who was baptized in California, made his First Communion in Azerbaijan, and was confirmed in Belgium – I realized the walk to the marital altar is the result of a lifelong catechesis of word and deed.
The Bells of Germany, by Michele McAloon
By Michele McAloon, The Catholic Thing, Jan. 5, 2023 Mrs. Michele McAloon is the Executive Producer of Archangel Radio (Mobile, Alabama) and a canon lawyer Note: Be sure to tune in to “The World Over” tonight at 8:00 (Eastern). The Papal Posse (host Raymond Arroyo, Fr. Gerald Murray, and TCT’s Robert Royal) will discuss the funeral and the legacy of Benedict XVI as well as other topics related to the Church.
The Bells of Germany
To live in Germany is to live with the sound of pealing church bells. They ring regularly throughout the day and provide a backdrop of sacred sound to daily life in major metropolitan areas, large towns, and even small villages. Bells are a loud witness to lingering Christian memory that time and atheism have still not entirely erased. In the not-so-distant past, bells were used not only to keep time, but to call people to the Liturgy, to remind them of the Angelus, or to announce a funeral.
Royalty and Russia on Apple Podcasts
The family of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth is an integral part of the history of Europe. Join me in conversation as we talk about some of the Queens 20 th century family desendants . Two young girls Alexandra and Ella, ( who were also Prince Phillip's great aunts) of the royal Hesse family in Darmstadt Germany marry into the Russian royal family for love. They both come to a tragic end at the hands of Russian Bolsheviks.
Abortion and the Problem of the “Parental Project”
As tens of thousands of people gather again in Washington today for the annual March for Life, it’s worth noting not only pro-life gains in multiple states but also growing medical evidence for opposition to abortion.
Religious Liberty in Germany Today
I live in a small German village, not far from Frankfurt. Last week, a printed sign in big, bold red letters appeared on the doors of the local Catholic Church warning that people who cannot prove that they are vaccinated against COVID-19, recently recovered, or have had a negative test within twenty-four hours are not permitted to enter.
On Veterans Day: Everybody Gets Tea
The charity of the United States military toward the Afghans airlifted from Kabul this fall is a better legacy than the violence of war. 09 October 2021, Rhineland-Palatinate, Ramstein: A U.S. military policeman carries a little girl from Afghanistan at the U.S. Airbase in Ramstein. The US is resuming flights from Ramstein. In the next few days, thousands of people are to be flown out of the base to the USA.
RACE CRAZY! on Apple Podcasts
36 min Race Crazy is a great book club read for lively conversation and perhaps the beginning of change. Do not buy what BLM and 1619 are selling. Black or White think for yourselves. Listen to this interview. Buy this book. The most explosive issue in the United States today is race. How can we discuss race and liberty in a manner that is logical, and absent of excessive emotion?
A Christian Response to a Defeat
Withdrawal or defeat? Armchair quarterbacks and history books will debate the question for decades to come. For the majority of Americans watching the debacle of Afghanistan, this question is merely a matter of national pride and not an existential question intruding into their private lives.
The Road to Corruption Is Paved With Gifts
In J.F. Powers’ 1963 National Book Award winner Morte D’ Urban, the acceptance of lavish gifts sets the protagonist, Fr. Urban Roche, into a spiral of spiritual conflict. In this comic masterpiece, Fr. Urban, a priest in a fictitious religious order that is noted in history “for nothing at all,” is an ecclesiastical hot shot who enjoys lobster and champagne, all for the good of the order, of course. His vow of poverty is more of a theoretical goal rather than a lived reality.
Cross Word on Apple Podcasts
17 episodes An in depth discussion with authors who write about the human experience. An in depth discussion with authors who write about the human experience. JUN 3, 2021 The Unbroken Thread The Unbroken Thread To interview the author of one of the most currently talked about books today is always a great opportunity.
No Joy in #Love wins
Last week on a dreary rainy Monday evening I made my way to a small Roman Catholic church located in the back-alley ways of Mainz, Germany. More than 100 Catholic churches around Germany had called for church services May 9-10, to bless lovers in a well-publicized internet campaign bearing the motto “love wins.” I wanted to witness what this “blessing service” for all couples, regardless of sexual orientation, would look like.
American Storyteller: 'Ahmari’s The Unbroken Thread'
Sohrab Ahmari was born in Tehran and, at 13, immigrated with his family to the United States. After law school, he established himself as a journalist in London and New York, and in 2016 converted to the Catholic faith. He currently serves as opinion editor of the New York Post. His fourth book, The Unbroken Thread, is an achievement in scholarship, journalism, and entertainment. As befits his impressive résumé, Mr. Ahmari writes here as journalist, historian, and biographer.
Germany: On the Brink of Schism
The universal Church is about to witness, in the homeland of Martin Luther, some (but not all) German bishops taking a dangerous path toward open schism with the pope. In outright rebellion to the text by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on March 15, 2021, which denied that the Church has the authority to bless “same-sex unions,” various German bishops plan to do just that on May 10.
Time for Some Pandemic Patriotism
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half of all American adults have now received at least one COVID vaccine dose as of April 18. Development, approval, and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine in the United States is a phenomenal success story, showcasing the very best of American business acumen and efficiency.
Oberammergau: The Passion of a Vow
In 1633, halfway into the brutal conflict between Protestants and Catholics known as the Thirty Years War, a small Bavarian village made a plea for God’s mercy and protection against a raging pandemic. To keep the deadly virus at bay, the mountain-encircled Catholic community of Oberammergau carefully restricted access to their town from marauding soldiers and strangers. All was well, until a homesick villager snuck back home under the cover of darkness, bringing the dreaded pestilence.
Toxic Chanceries
Despite sincere efforts by many to curb the sexual abuse crisis and initiate reform in the institutional Church, the true disease has yet to be cured. A significant problem still lies in the work environments of the chanceries and tribunals in dioceses throughout the country.
The Cost of Crushing Human Community
Human beings do not flourish in isolation. Politics, racial tensions, and a host of other social maladies have been the ostensible reason for riots and chaos in this past year. However, dismissing the deleterious effects of social distancing, enforced isolation, and long quarantines on the human psyche seems blind at best—and dangerously foolish at worst—in explaining one of the reasons why our public emotions have reached a fevered intensity.
Making Room at the Inn
Luke’s is the only Gospel that records the events surrounding the birth of Jesus. It is hard to think of any passage from Scripture that has greater power over the imagination, especially for children, than the Nativity. And why not? It is a story that has everything kids can relate to: a family “trip,” a baby, angels, shepherds, animals.
The Silence of Christmas Markets
German winter, notorious for steel grey skies, bone penetrating dampness, and rare slivers of sunshine, is even drearier this year in the absence of the famed Christmas markets. In early November, the city of Nuremberg, with perhaps the most famous of the Christmas markets, decided to cancel its festivities because of the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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