I grow old (but shall not wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled), and my interest in Anton Bruckner’s music deepens with time because it speaks of the timeless. His Symphony No. 8 is one of the summits of music that endeavors to make the transcendent perceptible. In it you will hear the swirl and … Read more
Jeremy Warner, assistant editor of The Daily Telegraph and prominent British economics journalist, has a message for liberal economist Paul Krugman: Please shut up. The occasion for the remark — and come on, we’ve all been thinking it — was Krugman’s recent and wholly unsolicited criticism of Britain’s deficit reduction plan. Professor Krugman suggests that … Read more
Rachel Held Evans, a Christian writer and blogger in Tennessee, has taken on an interesting new project. For one year, she has committed to following all of the Bible’s instructions for women as literally as she can. Don’t worry, she’s not including polygamy (and a few other things) — but pretty much everything else is … Read more
Is the religious right uncivil? Conservatives Michael Gerson and Peter Wehner think so. In a joint Huffington Post column titled “The Success and Failure of the Religious Right,” they argue: The language and tone of the religious right have often been apocalyptic, off-putting, and counterproductive. “Just like what Nazi Germany did to the Jews,” said Jerry … Read more
First, here’s some news about a real-life Catholic in Action: Cardinal Thuan’s cause has officially opened, giving him the title Servant of God Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan! If you don’t know about him, do your soul a favor and rent this DVD or buy this book. He’s truly an amazing future saint. Below is … Read more
Religious philosopher Michael Novak, cofounder of Crisis Magazine, was the 1994 recipient of the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. According to many observers, Novak’s influence played an important role in the drafting of Centesimus Annus, Pope John Paul II’s 1991 encyclical on Catholic social teaching. In particular, Novak’s work is seen within the Holy … Read more
A quick look around the Catholic mom-o-sphere might leave you with the impression that most Catholic moms — especially those with large families — are a bunch of Frugal Frannies. And that might be so. Depending where you click, you can find articles about sewing your own clothes, baking your own bread, and making your … Read more
Peggy Noonan says that far from being a nuisance, the Tea Party saved the Republicans. She also has a few words for the GOP establishment: The tea party did something the Republican establishment was incapable of doing: It got the party out from under George W. Bush. The tea party rejected his administration’s spending, overreach and immigration … Read more
Time for some Friday morning links: In the wake of Juan Williams’s firing from NPR, many are again calling for an end to public funding for the news organization. Bill O’Reilly announced that Jim DeMint will introduce legislation to do just that later today, calling NPR a “totalitarian outfit functioning as an arm of the … Read more
The nastiness of today’s political campaigns serves as an excellent example of how civility and respect have lost their way in our nation. Take, for instance, the past Florida primary races where the negativity sank to new lows. The Miami Herald called the GOP primary for governor a “slugfest” in which the candidates’ negative ads left … Read more
Every now and then, I stumble across a “film news” article so unexpected and shocking, it becomes an instant member of my “Awesome/Terrible Idea” file. For some (far too explicable) reason, these stories nearly always feature someone attempting to remake a classic masterpiece, and today’s entry is no exception: Who wants to see Johnny Depp … Read more
When I wrote a book on happiness in 1995, I was required to read a number of the popular self-help books on the subject. It was only dogged persistence and several strong cigars that got me through them. But lo and behold, at the suggestion of a friend, I took a look at the best-selling … Read more
Archbishop John Nienstedt of St. Paul-Minneapolis made headlines recently when he distributed a DVD to his 800,000-member diocese reiterating the Church’s teaching on marriage. In an interview with AP about the project, reported by USA Today, he defended the Church’s involvement in what some see as a purely political issue — encouraging other Catholics to … Read more
When a parish is closed, what happens to the art? Lou McClung, an artist and jack-of-many-trades near Cleveland, Ohio, wondered just that and decided to do something unusual: open a museum for rescued statues. A local paper, the Canton Rep, carried the story. McClung, who owns Lusso Studio, recently bought a decommissioned church to show … Read more
Popular NPR and Fox News Channel political analyst Juan Williams lost his radio contract late last night after making a controversial remark about Islam. Williams appeared Monday on The O’Reilly Factor, and host Bill O’Reilly asked him to comment on the idea that the U.S. is facing a dilemma with Muslims…. Williams responded: “Look, Bill, I’m … Read more
Doug Johnson, legislative director of National Right to Life, got on a conference call yesterday hosted by the Fake Catholic Group Catholics United. Catholics United is insisting the healthcare legislation did not contain taxpayer funded abortions in spite of the fact the Catholic bishops insist it did. The Washington Independent published an account of Johnson’s … Read more
To raise the possibility of an all-male liturgical ministry is to invite tribulation. Those who prefer the traditional arrangement of male altar servers, lectors, and so on are nervous about vocalizing their convictions, let alone acting upon them. This in itself is significant: Regardless of where one stands on the issue, it should give us … Read more
The Vatican released its list of new cardinals today. There are 24 total, including two from the United States. Two Americans are on today’s list, and neither a surprise, considering the positions they hold: Donald Wuerl, the Archbishop of Washington, D.C., and Raymond Burke, the former Archbishop of St. Louis. Burke is the head of … Read more
Last week I explored the usefulness of calling people’s bluffs — that is, of swiftly testing whether the proponents of a given policy really mean what they say, by offering to grant them what they claim to want . . . and seeing if they will take it. If they will, then they might really … Read more
I’m so confused about which future climate scenario I’m supposed to be dreading: a mini ice age or an expansive drought? Live Science reported yesterday that some scientists are predicting a severe drought for two thirds of the Western hemisphere by the year 2030: “We are facing the possibility of widespread drought in the coming … Read more