Sunday, October 7, 2012 was “Pulpit Freedom Sunday.” It is based on a simple question: May the government filter, edit, or veto the contents of a sermon? No court has ever heard a case regarding whether the Internal Revenue Service can do so. Yet every day – and especially in these weeks prior to an […]
Mitt Romney gave a generally fine speech [yesterday] on the Middle East. Sensibly, he criticized the Obama administration for its Benghazi shenanigans, for the “daylight” with Israel, fecklessness vis-à-vis Tehran, and the cuts in military spending. Very justifiably, he called it “time to change course in the Middle East.” But I worry about three specifics. First, […]
Two new books by thoughtful Catholic authors take deeply different views of the future of American Catholicism. Both deserve serious pondering. One of them is called Why Catholicism Matters. The subtitle tells it all: “How Catholic Virtues Can Reshape Society in the 21st Century” (Image Books). It’s the work of Bill Donohue, feisty president of […]
Two news items about “the rich” recently popped up online within a couple of hours of each other. Story No. 1: Pew Research Center found that non-rich Americans have ambivalent feelings toward the rich: On the positive side, there was admiration for those “who get rich by working hard” and a sense that rich Americans […]
The emperor wears no clothes. The bloom is off the rose. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Pardon the barrage of stale metaphors, but it’s difficult to put into words the utter pasting Mitt Romney put on Barack Obama Wednesday night. Pat Buchanan called Romney’s “the finest debate performance” in 52 years “with […]
Moroccan authorities have taken action against the floating abortion mill commandeered by the Dutch abortion group Women on Waves. In a press release today, the abortion activist group notes that their ship was due to arrive in the harbor of Smir at 1pm local time but was blocked by warships. “Marina Smir has been completely […]
What can a homeschooling mother of seven children possibly do to touch our entire nation? Pray? Sure. Raise responsible, future citizens? Of course. Found a national organization and make a video with well over 2 million views that can impact the outcome of the 2012 Presidential Election? It’s what Adriana Gonzalez of Florida did. Yet, […]
In order to grasp the spiritual significance of the birth of our nation, it must be understood that the Unites States Declaration of Independence and Constitution were the first documents of their kind in the history of mankind. Up until this time, men had always been governed by royal, papal, or tyrannical edict. The laws […]
When I converted, I was overjoyed to be part of the One Body, but soon after discovering Catholic media, I was shocked by the criticisms — even condemnations — of some of the bishops. To a newcomer, that looks about as smart as poking your finger in your eye. Usually the justifications are that we […]
As we prepare for the critical November elections, I find myself increasingly frustrated whenever I enter my social networking venues online. A trip to Facebook or Twitter these days often feels like a running of the gauntlet as I dodge nasty comments, unkind graphics, and attack oriented posts on both ends of the political spectrum. […]
It’s been an eventful week at the intersection of parenting and politics, that busy corner where decision-making often is affected by the onslaught of traffic from social engineers, liberal educators, public health experts, and civil rights activists who know better than parents what’s best for their kids. Several news stories seem to indicate that America’s […]
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 In late Spring, AD 312, Constantine’s victories at Susa and at Turin in northwestern Italy liberated Roman domains as far east as Milan, much to the joy of Christians and also of many pagans alienated from the co-Emperor, Maxentius. Misrule by Maxentius in the Roman diocese of Italia had […]
“The hour is coming, in fact has come, when the vocation of women is being acknowledged in its fullness, the hour in which women acquire in the world an influence, an effect and a power never hitherto achieved. That is why, at this moment when the human race is undergoing so deep a transformation, women […]
The only doubt about the Federal Reserve’s decision to embark on a third round of quantitative easing was about when it would begin. It was a foregone conclusion that Chairman Ben Bernanke’s Fed would resort to more quantitative easing. Under his leadership, the Federal Reserve has become a one-trick pony. Their solution for every economic […]
“Reports that the Chinese Party-State has ended its practice of forcibly aborting women pregnant in violation of the one-child policy are premature,” says Steven Mosher, President of the Population Research Institute. Mosher, who blew the whistle on forced abortions in China back in 1980, points out that “The Chinese Party-State has asserted for over three […]
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), Pub.L. 111-148, enacted on March 23, 2010, substantially expands funding of abortions by federal tax dollars. Federal tax dollars, of course, are your dollars, conscripted to serve the federal government’s purposes. This article provides the nuts and bolts of one of the several ways this will happen […]
It is said that Planned Parenthood usually wins in court. But not always. Last month, thanks to a display of courage by Michael Ferman, abortion “rights” did not, for once, trump all other considerations. Ferman, age 34, is a member of the Knights of Columbus, and a former student of mine. I have known him […]
Good news came from UNICEF today. The number of children under age 5 dying globally has dropped nearly in half since 1990. (This, of course, would not include the number of babies who die before they are born.) In 1990, nearly 12 million children died. That dropped to 6.9 million in 2011. UNICEF and the […]
Few politicians are interested in making obscure UN treaties a political talking point. Nevertheless, the Republican and Democratic parties stand at polar opposites on the question of whether or not the United States should ratify new UN treaties, particularly human rights treaties. The platform adopted at the Republican National Convention last month specifically names four […]
Few expressions are better guaranteed to spark passionate debates among Catholics today than two words: “Vatican II.” Though most Catholics today were born after the Council closed in 1965, the fiftieth anniversary of the Council’s 1962 opening on 11 October this year will surely reignite the usual controversies about its significance. Much discussion will undoubtedly […]
Not long ago I encountered two people who were arguing in favor of a libertarian presidential candidate and making the argument that his election would lead to greater subsidiarity in the United States. Neither of these individuals agreed with this candidate’s libertarian philosophy. Both, in fact, saw his philosophy as significantly flawed. Their only argument […]
Since the Obama administration is so fond of fictional narratives, I thought I would write one too about Bill and Jill. Bill and Jill Green are entrepreneurs. The Greens met in college studying environmental engineering. Bill and Jill immediately knew they were destined to not only marry, but change the world together. After graduating, the […]
Thanks to David Bovee’s new book about the illustrious history of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, The Church & the Land, one of the luminaries who helped shape the rural church in America once again resurfaces: Msgr. Luigi Ligutti. His classic book Rural Roads to Security, published in 1940 [and reissued this year] , thoroughly […]
A panel of experts warned U.S. lawmakers this week that the UN Disabilities treaty could threaten the rights of parents and advance abortion rights. “This treaty… would allow unelected bureaucrats in Switzerland to determine the meaning of the words ‘disability’ and ‘sexual reproductive health,’ said Congressman Jeff Duncan following a briefing to the House Sovereignty […]
