With apologies to Christine O’Donnell, I am not you. I didn’t grow up in places where Mexicans were a distant if ominous threat. I can’t say that I came of age only speaking English, that I feel totally grounded in this country (even though I was born here), or that I never helped anyone who … Read more
The last few weeks of Election Season news almost always leave me feeling overwhelmed and unsure as to what we will see when Election Day comes to an end, and this season is no exception. On the one hand, I find myself inundated by articles about the GOP’s potentially unprecedented lead amongst likely voters and … Read more
In the LA Times today, Jonah Goldberg defends conservatives against those who blame them for holding up infrastructure improvements. Goldberg says we just don’t build things the way we used to for a number of reasons — among them, low tolerance for deaths on the job and environmental regulations. Much of the liberal intelligentsia is … Read more
Cristina Odone is against doctor-assisted suicide, and she knows whereof she speaks: Her own father asked her to help him die. She tells the story of how she came to see that the medical community has it exactly backwards when it comes to matters of life and death: “Put me out of my misery.” The … Read more
On Saturday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel became the latest European politician to declare the end of multiculturalism. She was blunt: “Immigrants should learn to speak German,” she said. “We kidded ourselves a while, we said: ‘They won’t stay, some time they will be gone,’ but this isn’t reality. And of course, the approach [to build] … Read more
Each month, to test our courage, my wife Lisa and I stand before an auditorium full of couples about to marry in the Catholic Church and explain to them the Church’s teachings about sexuality. The crowd is generally not happy to be there. Many are not Catholic and few, needless to say, want to hear … Read more
I’m sitting here in an airport during one of those countless little bubbles in time where nothing big is going on. I’m between flights, having just arrived in Detroit from Seattle and (soon) heading out for Pellston, Michigan. So I’m taking this time to write a bit — and reflect on the empty space in … Read more
Sr. Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association, has been a frequent guest at the obama White House. Visitor logs just released reveal that Sr. Keehan visited the White House 15 times since the beginning of the present administration. However, on seven occasions, Sr. Keehan met with President Obama himself — that’s a remarkable … Read more
Though he was no friend of the Catholic Church, Erich Heller was the enemy of our enemies, and under current circumstances, that should be good enough for us. The man has been dead for 20 years, and my paperback copy of his most famous book, The Disinherited Mind, has been yellowing for half a century, … Read more
Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha has been forced to suppress the Intercessors of the Lamb, a formerly-Catholic association of the faithful in his archdiocese. After the group requested recognition as an official Catholic organization, the archbishop undertook a canonical visitation: “It was my hope from the beginning that the Intercessors and the archdiocese would move … Read more
Pope Benedict released a letter to seminarians today, encouraging them in their vocation. It starts with an incredible story from his youth in Nazi Germany, explaining why priests are so desperately needed — “today, tomorrow, and always”: When in December 1944 I was drafted for military service, the company commander asked each of us what … Read more
And you thought liturgical dancers were just harmless distractions… According to Catholic News Agency (CNA), Cardinal Gabriel Zubeir Wako was almost assassinated during an outdoor Mass in Khartoum, Sudan, by a man who disguised himself as a liturgical dancer: The man disguised himself and joined the liturgical dancers at the crowded stage where the altar … Read more
With the decision of the Ohio Elections Commission to allow a hearing to decide whether the Susan B. Anthony List has falsely represented the voting record of Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-OH), the question is again raised: Was abortion funding authorized by the health care legislation signed into law by President Barack Obama? The complaint arose … Read more
Here’s part 5 in 1953’s serial “Catholics in Action,” an exploration of living the Church’s social doctrine in one’s day-to-day life, no politics necessary. Today, the focus is on evangelizing. As always, these pages come from Catholic University’s online archive of Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact. This fits in so well with the “New … Read more
You may know the name of John Courtney Murray. He’s worth remembering. Father Murray was the American Jesuit who helped craft the Second Vatican Council’s landmark Declaration on Religious Liberty. A year after World War II ended, with millions dead and Europe and Japan in ruins, Murray wrote that “those who deny the sovereignty of … Read more
I’m about to post some links to some videos by Bill Whittle from PJTV. The purpose of this post is to help readers of InsideCatholic understand the Tea Party folks and their manner of thinking about government. Why This Post? First, a bit of justification: It is worthwhile and apropos to write a post at … Read more
My first major spiritual crisis occurred when I was five years old. It was the early 1980s, and a local UHF station had started airing a new cartoon called Transformers during my family’s Mass time of choice. As long as we didn’t stop to talk to neighbors on our way home, I’d still be able … Read more
Our friend Elizabeth Scalia — known to the online world as The Anchoress — spoke to NET-NY about enduring economic and personal crises through the consolation of the Rosary. Elizabeth is a true font of spiritual wisdom, being both a contemplative and naturally thoughtful, so this is well worth a listen. (One of the reasons … Read more
Time for some Friday morning links: Archbishop Burke addressed obedience and the magisterium at a Human Life International conference in Rome, touching on the scandal of Catholic politicians who disregard moral law: “When a person has culpably espoused and cooperated in gravely sinful acts, leading many into error and confusion over fundamental questions regarding respect … Read more
Scientists have studied the movement on five pairs of twins in utero and determined that by the 14th week of gestation, the fetuses aim movements at each other. Science magazine reports on the research: By the 14 th week of gestation, the fetuses began reaching toward their partners, and just 4 weeks later, they spent … Read more