It’s always painful to read a book that makes you feel like you have failed/are failing in every way that truly matters. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read it. I felt that way after reading School of the Family by Chantal R. Howard. Howard has had an eventful life. Although still only in her twenties, […]
Remember how you felt when Nancy Pelosi told us that we would know what was in the Obamacare bill after it had been passed by the House of Representatives? For a lot of Americans – in and out of the Tea Party movement – that quintessential expression of political elitist arrogance and contempt for the […]
The following has been released by Right to Life New Zealand Inc. The Killing of Unborn Children with Down syndrome – A Crime Against Humanity: Complaint to be lodged with the International Criminal Court Right to Life applauds the producer of TV3’s 60 Minutes programme for providing a service to our community by producing an […]
In case you missed Meet the Press Sunday morning: Blah, blah, blah, job growth… unemployment numbers. Blah, blah, blah, recession… debt reduction. Blah, blah, blah recovery… tax credits. Blah, blah, blah health care… social security. Blah, blah, blah, Democrats… Republicans. Blah. And so it went up to the interview with Rick Santorum and through the […]
My wife and I were at the home of another married couple for dinner. While a roast finished cooking, we sat around the table talking and eating salad. When the oven timer rang, the wife turned to her husband and said, “That’s a corn job.” The husband got up and went to the kitchen. He […]
Bin Laden is dead. Terror and terrorism continues. So does martyrdom. But what a difference between the two types of deaths. A terrorist takes his life and others. The martyr gives his life for others. One is an act of violence in which evil destroys goodness and humanity. The other is an act of love […]
This November the citizens of San Francisco will decide whether to ban circumcision, a practice that dates from antiquity and is embraced by at least three of the world’s major religions. Now, the fact that something stretches far back into human history is by no means a guarantee that it has social value. Slavery, human […]
The Syrian government must resist the uprising — and has the people’s backing in quelling forces seeking “destabilization and Islamization” — according to one of the country’s most respected Catholic bishops. In a strongly worded defense of President Bashar al-Assad’s response to the protests and instability, Bishop Antoine Audo accused the media, including the BBC and Al […]
©Heidi Bratton Photography When you review a book that was written by someone you consider a friend, it is always a little difficult. You want your friend to look good, but you want to be completely honest in your assessment of his or her work. Come My Beloved: Inspiring Stories of Catholic Courtship was written […]
The UN’s high-level conference on HIV/AIDS began [last] Wednesday with fanfare and a veritable parade of delegates, scientists, activists, and UN bureaucrats. In keeping with what is now standard procedure, there was a panel integrating a “gender-mainstreamed” perspective into the discussion: “Women, Girls, and HIV.” The panelists told the audience with authority and enthusiasm that the […]
Another week, another dozen or so images of Weenie the Tweeter in various states of disrobe. I can only imagine the suffering of the poor wife, the humiliation of the family and friends at the sight of this debacle. Yet there is something worse than that. The poor guy wants to keep his job as […]
In the same way that Eucharist is the conjoining of the past, present and future, personal prayer is a present participation in the time to come. It is a glimpse of the Eschaton and an entry into the kingdom which has been inaugurated but not yet consummated. Prayer unfolds in time, but essentially it transcends […]
Recently, I took an online course on the Revised Roman Missal, the use of which will be introduced on November 27th (the first Sunday of Advent and the new calendar year for the Church). During the five-week course of study, about a dozen of us students discussed our thoughts about the present state of the Mass […]
The power of words can be phenomenal. I’m sure you’ve seen jewelry with inspiring words. A necklace with the word “Love,” a bracelet with the word “Dream,” a trinket box with the word “Remember.” The meaning and energy a word carries can help lift our hearts throughout the day and fill our minds with inspiration. […]
There has only been one official schism in the Roman Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council. That occurred in 1988, when Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre consecrated four bishops against the express instructions of Pope John Paul II. That led to the excommunication of Lefebvre and those four bishops, and the schism of Lefebvre and his […]
Recently I heard a minister describe children this way. And I agree with him. What is convenient about children? Pregnancy is inconvenient. Not that I have ever personally experienced it, but I hear things. Nausea. Throwing up. Weight gain. Kicking against the bladder. Toxemia. Leaking. More weight gain. Overheating. Not able to get comfortable. Restless […]
As Congress moves toward reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the problem is not that the Department of Education is not doing enough but that it suffers from an acute case of what psychologists call “organizational narcissism.” If they really wish to address America’s inner-city public school crisis, federal education officials must look […]
Some in the UN believe that comprehensive sexuality education is the main intervention needed to prevent new HIV infections – even for adolescents as young as 10 years old. “It is time to seize the opportunities to promote sexuality education and comprehensive knowledge of HIV and other health matters among very young adolescents before they […]
When I was a little girl, my mom would sometimes pack a supper for my dad, who worked second shift as a foreman at a steel manufacturing plant. Then she’d pack me up, load the supper and me into the car and drive over to the plant. I’m not sure whether those were days on […]
We older Americans have saddled our youth with a mind-boggling public debt—over $20 trillion already spent ($14.3 trillion of “official” national debt plus various off-budget expenditures, according to the U.S. Treasury); trillions more of projected deficit-spending over the coming decade; and tens of trillions of dollars of unfunded liabilities. By the time today’s toddlers can […]
Last week witnessed popular Muslim preacher Abu Ishaq al-Huwaini boast about how Islam allows Muslims to buy and sell conquered infidel women, so that “When I want a sex-slave, I go to the market and pick whichever female I desire and buy her.” This week’s depraved anachronism comes from a Muslim woman—Salwa al-Mutairi, a political […]
It is rare to hear a UN discussion on youth that include a message of hope for their future. Often, UN agencies view youth as a problem or liability, whose large numbers in the developing world are a destabilizing force for society and the economy, and whose futures will be full of hardships. Last week, […]
At the base of all modern economics lies the assumption that people always act in their own self-interest and that in doing so, they unwittingly create an economic and social order that results in “the greatest good for the greatest number.” Demand curves, reflecting as they do each person’s self-interest, add up to the total […]
When I woke up today, I did not know I was going to hold a dying woman’s body in my arms. I did not know I would have to push through skin, muscle and fat tissue to tie a tourniquet around her leg, which was nearly severed from her body. I was heading to our […]
