Among last week’s troubling headlines: ” ‘Jersey Shore’ scores most-watched season premiere ever: Opener drew 8.8 million total viewers.” Apparently, last Thursday night, overcome with news of our economic woes, millions of us sank into the sofa to escape to Italy with Snooki, the Situation, D.J. Paulie D and the rest of the gang from […]
Recently we reprinted an outstanding article entitled “The Erosion of Human Rights” that had been published in the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano. The author, Carlo V. Bellieni, addresses the horrific practice that involves doctors who are denying basic care and treatment to newborn children. Bellieni referred to researcher Michael Gross who conducted a study of […]
Combat Boots I fight the flesh. The world’s no test. When I fight the devil I’m at my best. But combat boots, Size 8 for me, I wear when I fight the Ph. D. Hilary McRee Flanery
One Small Room Is the past a house with doors and windows, What is to come a citadel one blind entrance? There is no past or future There is a room with open windows The wind blows through from one side to the other Curtains billow out like banners Shadows move too quickly to be […]
The apostles thought she was a nuisance and asked Jesus to get rid of her. Jesus had gone to the region of Tyre and Sidon, modern-day Lebanon, and a local woman approached him for a favor. This was pagan country, home turf of the infamous Jezebel. The inhabitants of these parts were fondly referred to […]
Mark Five: Red Letter Edition Come out, come out wherever you are! What is your name? Go home to your friends and tell them the things – the merciful things – the Lord has done. Who touched My clothes? You’ve touched the Son! Now go, touched in peace. You have been healed. You have been […]
Jesus Christ fulfilled the prophecies and the promises of what God had revealed to his chosen people, the Jews, long ago in the First Testament. This is why there remains such a close connection between Judaism and Catholicism, two religions rooted in biblical revelation and faith in one eternal and saving God who in ways […]
As debate surrounding the recently published John Jay Report (Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010) continues, more and more Catholics are coming to the unavoidable conclusion (contrary to “official findings”) that the overwhelming majority of abuse cases were directly related to homosexuality. One may further […]
As America gears up for another presidential election season, do we really have to agonize yet again over whether being a Mormon disqualifies a person for the presidency? Since the answer apparently is yes, at least let’s try to get some use from the discussion by understanding what’s really at stake. With two Mormon ex-governors […]
One of the disturbing aspects of the liberal/progressive faith campaign known as the Circle of Protection is that its organizers have such little regard – indeed are blind to — the innate freedom of the human person. Their campaign, which has published “A Statement on Why We Need to Protect Programs for the Poor,” equates […]
As Sure as the Moon and the Sun I’ve written no poem so far While I wait for the words to be blessed, In a little green porcelain jar The wrens have returned to their nest It swings from a beam of the porch Glazed with the O of a gate, In the O is […]
For fatherhood in America, these are the best of times and the worst of times. So says a new Pew Research Center report on fathering trends. The report, released in June, found that today’s fathers are active in their children’s daily lives to a degree not seen in nearly half a century. Live-in dads now […]
How many times have you heard an expectant mom say, “I don’t care if it is a boy or a girl, as long as the baby is healthy?” But what happens when the baby isn’t healthy? How does one’s world change when a child is diagnosed with major health issues, either before or soon after […]
Opponents of the burqa and niqab had reason to celebrate on July 23 as Belgium became the second Western country to enforce a nationwide prohibition on face-covering attire in public. The Chamber of Deputies, Belgium’s lower house, overwhelmingly backed the legislation on April 28, with the Senate offering no objections during its subsequent review period. […]
[This document was prepared on behalf of a group of parents to address issues locally that may also be going on elsewhere in the country. It is published here as a resource for parents who may find it useful.] Dances in the Catholic School: Parental Concerns and Suggested Remedies This document addresses parental concerns with […]
Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has come to the aid of islanders in the Bay of Bengal who could not afford to finish building chapels in rural areas with no priests. Bishop Alex Dias explained how parishioners in his Diocese of Port Blair, which covers the Andaman and Nicobar islands, have […]
Editor’s note: This article is Part II in a series. Click here to read Part I. The U.S. Department of Defense must restructure to accommodate deep budget cuts and, more importantly, be ready for the challenges of 21st-century warfare. Those challenges will include unconventional operations and wars fought in vastly expanded battle spaces. Reforms are […]
The Pearl of York St. Margaret Clitherow A girl, a lady, Wife, a mother, From church of England She saw the other. The other, where, Her church came from. The other, where, The fruit was plumb. The other, where, Her church beat down, And looted jewels For earthly crown. And watching, she, Was irritated, And […]
Preface to Ark of Grace I was officially received in the Catholic Church on Assumption Day 2001 in the Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood of Christ, in London, England. I was drawn to serve the Church but most importantly to serve the Truth. The Catholic Church teaches that the Truth is a Person, Jesus […]
Lest the dreamy title throw you, this is not a dreamy film. The title means, quite literally, that in this film there is another Earth dangling above us, quite visibly. But the film is not really sci-fi. It’s a drama. A tad existential, but for those of you who did NOT appreciate Tree of Life, […]
Most business owners hate Social Networking. I don’t blame them. They have enough to do and now there’s this gorilla in the room that refuses to be ignored. I’m going to tell you briefly how to get started in a non-stressful manner. The main thing is simply to set up a Twitter and business Facebook […]
The Great and Splendid Hunched on the limb of a young green tree A red-tailed hawk in a crowd of yelling jays Hemmed by limbs and leaves Close confined, a cage of wings and screams They hit the broad brown wings and swoop away Crouches, helpless to strike back, to apprehend The midgets who assail […]
[Last] week the UN’s working group on aging [met] in New York. On the agenda [was] consideration of a new treaty for older persons. UN statistics show that the number of people over 60 will double by 2050 and be even higher in the developing world–63% to 78%. One out of four will be women, who […]
In a recent Reuters opinion column, Mark Thoma faults academic economists for their failure to predict the housing crash. He says their failure can be attributed to the disconnect between academia and economic forecasters. I don’t agree with Thoma, but I do think he gets it right when he says the failure of modern […]
