Philip Lawler

Biography

Philip F. Lawler is editor of Catholic World News, the first English-language Catholic news service operating on the internet, which he founded in 1995.

Born and raised in the Boston area, he attended Harvard College, graduating with honors in Government in 1972. He did graduate work in political philosophy at the University of Chicago before entering a career in journalism.

Mr. Lawler has served as Director of Studies for the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank based in Washington; as founder and president of a national organization of Catholic laity; and as editor of Crisis magazine. In 1986 he became the first layman to edit The Pilot, the Boston archdiocesan newspaper. From 1993 through 2005 he was editor of the international monthly magazine Catholic World Report.

Philip Lawler has been active in political campaigns, as a speechwriter and organizer, on the local, state, and national levels. He was an honorary member of the the Inauguration Committees for President Ronald Reagan in 1984, and for President George Bush in 1988. In 2000 he himself was a candidate for the US Senate, running against Sen. Edward Kennedy.

Mr. Lawler is the author or editor of a dozen books on political and religious topics, The Faithful Departed, on the decline of Catholic influence in Boston; Lost Shepherd, on the policies of Pope Francis; and Smoke of Satan, on the crisis of Church leadership. His essays, book reviews, and editorial columns have appeared in over 100 newspapers around the United States and abroad, including the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Boston Globe.

He and his wife Leila have seven children and fifteen (and counting) grandchildren. The Lawlers now live in central Massachusetts.

To read Phil Lawler’s regularly commentary of the Church and cultural matters, see his columns at Catholic Culture.