John C. Pinheiro

John C. Pinheiro is director of research at Acton Institute. He was professor of history and the founding director of Catholic Studies at Aquinas College. His newest book, edited with Dylan Pahman, is The Christian Roots of American Liberty (Acton Institute, 2026). Among his books and articles are the award-winning Missionaries of Republicanism: A Religious History of the Mexican-American War (Oxford, 2014) and The American Experiment in Ordered Liberty (Acton Institute, 2019). He is on X as @DrJohnPinheiro. His Substack, "Liberty & Order," can be found here.

Posts by John C. Pinheiro

October 31, 2025

Dilexi Te and Loving the Poor

Pope Leo XIV’s first major proclamation, Dilexi Te (I Have Loved You), is an apostolic exhortation addressed “to all Christians” on caring for the poor. Pope Francis was preparing this exhortation when he died. Continue Reading...
April 28, 2025

What to Expect at the Conclave

The conclave to elect a new bishop of Rome and successor of Peter, better known as “the Pope,” starts May 7. Here are a few things to consider as you begin to hear more about the future of the Church and the several cardinals considered to be the “front-runners.” Continue Reading...
April 21, 2025

Requiem Aeternam: Pope Francis (1936–2025)

On behalf of our colleagues, families, and friends at the Acton Institute in the United States and Rome, we express our heartfelt sorrow and the pledge of our prayers for the eternal repose of the soul of Pope Francis, the 266th Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, who passed away today at the age of 88 during the 13th year of his papacy, which began March 13, 2013. Continue Reading...
December 16, 2024

Lee Edwards: A Conservative for All Seasons

Dr. Lee Edwards, historian of the American conservative movement and self-professed “admirer of the Acton Institute and its important work,” passed away last week at the age of 92. Edwards was more than a scholar of the conservative movement: He was a pivotal person in it. Continue Reading...
January 30, 2024

Escaping Life in a Too-Negative World

Being a Christian in ancient Rome was not easy. Stories and legends of the martyrs of this period are not for the faint of heart. Recall that, according to tradition, only one of the 12 apostles died a natural death. Continue Reading...
September 17, 2023

On Constitution Day, Celebrate the Anti-Federalists

Constitutional questions used to be intellectually serious, steeped in competing traditions, and shaped by schools of thought often rooted in divergent interpretations of the American past. No more. Now we get pressing questions like, “Can Trump run for president from prison?,” Continue Reading...