Amidst all the tales of chivalry from the Titanic disaster there is one that’s not often told. It is that of Fr. Thomas Byles, the Catholic priest who gave up two spots on a lifeboat in favor of offering spiritual aid to the other victims as they all went down with the “unsinkable” vessel. A […]
The late medical essayist Lewis Thomas once described Alzheimer’s as “the worst of all diseases, not just for what it does to the patient, but for its devastating effects on family and friends.” For anyone who has witnessed the ravages of Alzheimer’s firsthand, as I did during the dozen-plus years that my father battled it, […]
A new study from China shows that women who have experienced induced abortion have omnipresent mental health problems during a subsequent pregnancy. It also confirms that adverse mental health effects of induced abortion are far more severe than those of miscarriage and they persist longer. The most recent study published in the Bulletin of Clinical […]
If you haven’t yet seen the film October Baby yet, find the time to do so. I can’t recommend it strongly enough. It’s one of the best films I’ve ever seen. I’m not going to critique the film or focus on the obvious pro-life aspect of the story (that’s for you to discover for yourself), […]
Occasionally, a book perfectly marries expert insight with the tone and interests of its audience. Mary Eberstadt’s Adam and Eve After the Pill: Paradoxes of the Sexual Revolution (Ignatius Press) is just such a serendipity. In a rejoinder to decades of sexual liberation barbs and sexually libertine behavior, Eberstadt’s thin but illuminating volume introduces female […]
There’s a new kind of film coming to a cinema near you–film that is Christian, made by Christians, but (proudly) not part of the “Christian film genre.” The movie is rated PG-13 but was almost rated R because of its “realness” with regard to campus life. Lots of language and mature themes. Director Steve Taylor […]
On Holy Thursday, Melinda Gates publicly professed her Catholic faith and then personally attacked her Church over its position on contraception. I could not help but be reminded of Judas and his mysterious betrayal of Christ that night, sealed with a kiss. In fairness to Mrs. Gates, her speech wasn’t expressly about the Church. It […]
Last month, I was invited by the editors of These Stone Walls to write a “Special Report” about a new development in the case of Father Gordon MacRae, a priest of the Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire whom I believe – to a moral certainty – has been wrongly imprisoned for nearly 18 years. My […]
Pennsylvania State Rep. Babette Josephs, a Philadelphia Democrat, recently attacked her pro-life women colleagues in the state legislature for supporting a bill that would allow women a chance to see an ultrasound of their unborn child before an abortion, calling them “men with breasts.” But who are the real “men with breasts”? As one of […]
When President Obama made his famous declaration about how he was confident that “that the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress,” many observers figured the chief executive missed April Fools’ Day by a […]
The poor remodeler, he was so uncomfortable that I thought he might break into a sweat. In fact, he might already have been sweating, but I dared not look too closely, lest my scrutiny escalate his discomfort. He’d come to bid on our kitchen reconstruction and walked into more than he’d bargained for. However, the […]
The Hunger Games is set in a way beyond dystopia future in which the rulers living in the Third-Reich-like “Capitol” keep the peons in the “Districts” in fear and subjugation by holding gladiatorial games each year. The combatants are children and teenagers, picked at random to fight to the death, each representing their District. And […]
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) currently has before it an unprecedented number of cases relating to abortion. Because the principles established by the Court in its case law are binding on the 47 member states, the next few months will be decisive for the respect of human life and dignity. The European Center for […]
Apologists often try to explain away Islamic terrorism as a byproduct of something else. The usual argument is that, because Muslims are politically, socially, or militarily weak—the archetypal example often given is Israel vis-à-vis the Palestinians—they have no choice but to resort to terror to strike at their stronger adversaries. In other words, they resort […]
A troubling pattern of putting U.S. and allied security interests second to the Obama administration’s political priorities is now well-established. If allowed to continue, it will not only make the world more dangerous. It is going to get people killed – probably in large numbers and some of them may be Americans. A prime example […]
Last week, President Obama made news when he suggested that it would be “unprecedented” for the Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional a law passed by a “strong majority of a democratically elected Congress.” His comments were prompted by the less than favorable reaction of the Supreme Court during oral arguments on the constitutionality of his […]
In 1968, cigarette maker Philip Morris launched a brand of smokes just for women. Marketed with the provocative slogan, “You’ve come a long way, baby,” Virginia Slims offered an elegant profile and an image that suggested freedom, empowerment and equality. Unfortunately for women, “Skinny Ginnys” were not a cultural or political statement, they were just […]
The movie version of The Hunger Games debuted on March 23, and it is breaking all records. What follows is a review of The Hunger Games Trilogy by author, Suzanne Collins. **Spoiler Alert—The plot is discussed here in detail for parental benefit. The level of detail is to help facilitate a discussion with your child […]
In the past few weeks, I have seen both October Baby and the The Hunger Games. Though I didn’t expect it, these two movies have much more in common than I thought. October Baby was a powerful depiction of what kind of effects abortion has on every person it touches. It was a heart-wrenching film […]
“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” (Rom. 12:2) Advances in neurobiology may be on the verge of explaining what St. Paul knew by inspiration – the interaction of the mind and the flesh. (Rom.7: 23-25). While we may think of the flesh of the part of us below the neck, the brain is […]
Baby seals, puppies and horses all seem to have a universal ability to tug at people’s heartstrings. It’s just something about how we’re made, and Steven Spielberg’s War Horse doesn’t disappoint in that department. This film takes you on an emotional ride from the opening scene, the birth of a horse in rural England, right […]
Eric Holder is a busy man. When President Obama’s chief law enforcement officer isn’t tied up selling guns to Mexican drug cartels, refusing to prosecute self-serving cases of voter intimidation or ignoring “wanted dead or alive” bounties placed by black militants on the heads of private citizens, he’s busy conspiring with pro-abortion extremists to bring […]
“People…people who need people…” Barbara Streisand sang in her sixties’ movie Funny Girl. “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world!” Streisand’s singing was over-the-top; music speaks to the soul, and there is so much truth in the song. We need to recognize that we need people. At the same time, though, […]
If you ask Jack Hannahan what he’s thankful for, be prepared to listen for a while. Hannahan, 32, has plenty to appreciate, starting with the realization of his dream of playing in the major leagues. In 2001, he was named Big Ten Player of the Year at the University of Minnesota and was drafted in […]
