The Fourth of July is one of my favorite days. Living across the street from a public high school field from which the town fireworks display was launched each year made it extra special, as did the presence of many relatives and friends who would come to our house to celebrate the day (as well […]
A massive grassroots campaign in Poland to implement a total ban on abortion witnessed an important victory Friday as the lower house of the Polish parliament fought off a first round of voting intended to scrap the historic bill. Sejm lawmakers voted 254-151 against a motion by the pro-abortion communist Democratic Left Alliance to reject […]
“[S]ome things must be said, and there are times when silence becomes an accomplice to injustice” Ayan Hirsi. In her best-selling autobiography, Infidel, Somali-born writer, politician, and activist Ayan Hirsi catalogs a lifetime of grievances against the Muslim culture and religion. Throughout the book, Hirsi laments the West’s reticence to deal honestly with the egregious […]
Among those doing excellent work on G. K. Chesterton is Joseph Pearce, the brilliant Brit who is a scholar at Ave Maria University in Naples, Florida. Pearce, like Dale Ahlquist, is unearthing all sorts of gems from Chesterton’s writings. Pearce recently came to Grove City College in Western Pennsylvania, where he offered an intriguing European […]
Despite what other people think, Tracy Christianson insists that she is not a painter. It’s not that she refuses to acknowledge her God-given talent, but that her portraits are pencil drawings, not paintings. “People are usually surprised to find out that my portraits are drawn with [Prismacolor brand] colored pencils,” says the Seattle artist. “Most […]
The Pope gave a talk today that was a profound critique of the modern scientific method. I was in the Vatican press office at noon today when Pope Benedict in the Clementine Hall inside the Apostolic Palace conferred “Ratzinger Prizes” on three European theologians for the excellence of their theological work. I was able to […]
Yesterday, in a split 2-1 decision, a divided panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of Obamacare in the case of Thomas More Law Center v. Barack Hussein Obama, the first case to challenge the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Thomas More Law Center will ask the U.S. Supreme […]
Acrimonious and bitter is the fight in America about giving legal approval to gay and lesbian sexual activity. Polarization about putting same-sex unions on a par with traditional marriage pits members of New York City’s elite against one another. Catholic Archbishop Timothy Dolan said he was “very disappointed, very saddened and very worried” by the […]
Whenever there is another story on the news involving a woman who has killed her child, I do everything I can not to listen or I change the channel. If I do learn any details (which seems to happen inevitably since every few months there is another incident and the media loves to give us […]
Walking in Rome in recent days, I noticed on a newstand the cover of the Italian magazine Focus. It has a picture of a human face in two parts, half-normal and half-transformed into a futuristic being. The title says “Uomo 2.0” (Man Version 2.0) and the subtitle reads: “Siamo un’altra specie” (“We are a new […]
Pope Benedict XVI, Homily, Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, Rome, June 29, 2011 Dear Brothers and Sisters, “Non iam dicam servos, sed amicos” — “I no longer call you servants, but friends” (cf. Jn 15:15). Sixty years on from the day of my priestly ordination, I hear once again deep within me these words […]
As the European Union’s financial crisis continues to unfold across the old continent, many young Europeans are belatedly realizing their economic future looks rather bleak. Unfortunately, the tens of thousands of young Europeans who have taken to the streets of cities such as Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona, Athens, and Paris in recent months to express their […]
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts” — Winston Churchill. Winston Churchill purchased that insight with dear experience. I didn’t realize what a rollercoaster of Himalaya-highs and Death-Valley-lows his life was until I listened to The Teaching Company lecture series Churchill by J. Rufus Fears. The […]
Earlier this month, NBC reminded us of the power of good television. In the opening segment launching its coverage of the final round of the U.S. Open Golf Championship, NBC aired a stunning montage of images meant to conjure a sense of pride and patriotism for America, a nod to the tournament’s location at Congressional […]
It took time for Europe to start addressing one of the saddest aspects of abortion: abortion for sexual selection. Finally, as a result of a motion for a resolution introduced May 11, 2010 by Mr Volontè and 21 other parliamentarians, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) decided to issue a report addressing […]
Dads, when you let the National Education Association, Hollywood and the cast from Glee raise your daughters, you shouldn’t be surprised if they turn out to be self-absorbed, painted little Paris Hilton wannabes. As Doug Giles, columnist and host of the nationally syndicated Clash Radio program puts it: “Fathers, don’t let your babies grow up […]
When I get invited to speak at women’s events, by far the most popular topic is my “Embracing the Matriarch Within” presentation. This is due, in no small part, to the fact that the topic literally animates me while I speak. In fact, if someone were to tie my hands together and mark an “X” […]
I write from Moscow, where I am participating in a Demographic Summit with other World Congress of Families leaders and Russian officials. Abortion is rampant here, having first been legalized and encouraged by the Communists in 1920. Even today, the average Russian woman has seven (7!) abortions over her lifetime. Now we have an historic […]
But as for you man of God, shun all this; aim at righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses (1 Tim 6:11-12). At times, there are certain […]
A recent article on Catholic Lane took up the question of whether widespread misuse of insurance was contributing to rising healthcare costs and in turn making healthcare less affordable. The point was made that when people are self-employed and purchase their own coverage, they usually opt to have only catastrophic coverage, reasoning that the cost […]
“Gay rights have arrived at the United Nations as of today,” proclaimed a senior US official during a triumphant briefing. Her boss, Hilary Clinton, called it a “historic moment” for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered” (LGBT) persons. What they were referring to was a non-binding resolution passed [Friday, June 17] by a vote of 23-19 […]
I encourage you to set aside the burgers and dogs and soda and beer for a moment this Fourth of July and contemplate something decidedly different, maybe even as you gaze upward at the flash of fireworks. Here it is: Confirm thy soul in self-control. What do I mean by that? Let me explain. The […]
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” I do not know of anyone who does not know this verse. Maybe it is the only one people can quote from memory, almost correctly. It really is […]
After waiting nearly three years to dig through Sarah Palin’s 13,000-plus old emails, journalists searching for juicy headlines from her brief tenure as Alaska’s governor were left empty-handed. The 300 pounds of printed correspondence dumped on the public this month revealed little new information aside from Palin’s fondness for exclamation points and faux-curse words like […]
