Direct peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine will resume on September 2 in Washington, D.C. The announcement of the talks has been greeted with a polite but skeptical nod from the media and a rolling of the eyes from experts in the realpolitik of international affairs. The assumption behind these dismissals is that peace talks … Read more
A certain gentleman I know told me that his young son is attending a private Catholic school that is run independently of the diocesan or religious order systems. He and his wife were evidently happy with the school: “It is a much more loving place, no Baltimore Catechism sort of thing.” Aside from the fact that … Read more
A press release from Human Life International: The board of directors of Human Life International (HLI) has announced that after nearly 10 years of meritorious service to HLI as president, Reverend Thomas J Euteneuer has stepped down from his position after being asked by his Bishop to return to his Diocese in West Palm Beach, … Read more
We’re up in the air when the baby starts to get fussy. I try to nurse her without elbowing my fellow airplane passengers. I make her laugh with a game of owl. I hand her a Biscoff cookie. I manage to entertain her for a few minutes, but then her crumb-covered face melts into a … Read more
Time for some Friday morning links: As movements are being made in Congress to ease travel restrictions to Cuba, Delia Lloyd at Politics Daily says now is a good time to consider “Ten Reasons to Lift the Cuba Embargo.” CNN reports on a troubling trend in Nigeria: Children are increasingly becoming the targets of attacks … Read more
Two men wearing tennis whites walk out on the court. Opening a folding table and chairs, they sit down and start to play chess. An attendant rushes up and says, “Sorry, gentlemen, this place is for tennis. You can’t do that here.” Looking up with a scowl, one of the men snaps, “This is how … Read more
John Paul II was a shaker of world events. He regraded the political landscape of the 20th century and was counted among the few who were responsible for the relatively peaceful demise of the Evil Empire. Pundits were busy assessing his impact in this realm and wondering about his broader political legacy. They were having … Read more
So, those end-of-life conversations we were talking about yesterday? To the list of questions to ask your doctor, you may want to add, “Do you believe in God?” Doctors who are atheist or agnostic are twice as likely to take decisions that might shorten the life of somebody who is terminally ill as doctors who … Read more
Many articles today explore the question of what technology and modern gadgets are doing to our brains. How do they affect learning? Memory? Focus? Productivity? Health? This article in The New York Times says some research shows that constantly stimulating the brain isn’t a good idea: Cellphones, which in the last few years have become … Read more
One of the obstacles to a wider acceptance of the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, as well as a more reverent celebration of the ordinary form, is an enduring misunderstanding of the concept of active participation. Earlier this summer, Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg, South Africa, criticized Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI … Read more
Sitting over an overpriced gin and tonic at the Polo Lounge in the Beverly Hills Hotel, I probed the excommunicated bishop about his secret sedevacantism. I didn’t toss the issue naked on the table, since he would simply have denied everything. But I knew from several sources that, while the man publicly claimed to accept … Read more
According to the Daily Caller, some popular political bloggers are receiving more than news tips from their favored candidates: In California, where former eBay executive Meg Whitman beat businessman Steve Poizner in a bitterly fought primary battle in the campaign for governor, it sometimes seemed as if there was a bidding war for bloggers. One … Read more
Have you ever purchased a fake Gucci bag, Rolex, or pair of Ray-Bans? New research suggests that wearing knockoffs makes you less honest and more cynical. Sound far-fetched? I thought so, too, until I read more details. Three psychological scientists have been studying the way fake adornment affects attitudes and behavior — Francesca Gino of … Read more
Earlier this month I blogged about a New Yorker article that discussed the sorry state of end-of-life care in America. In an effort to address that problem, New York State last week signed the New York Palliative Care Information Act into law, which would require physicians to discuss prognosis and end-of-life options with their terminal … Read more
The much-discussed new English-language translation of the Roman Missal has been issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Read the article here. The USCCB has set a date for implementation throughout all US parishes of the First Sunday of Advent, which is November 27 2011. “Cardinal George announced receipt of the … Read more
For years I’ve puzzled over the question of why Catholics have such trouble coming to terms with economics. This problem applies only to modern Catholics, for it was Catholics in 15th- and 16th-century Spain who systematized the discipline to begin with. That was long ago. Today, most of what is written about economics in Catholic … Read more
This blog post from the always fluent Lisa Graas got my attention today, given that I’ve been trying lately to make sense how the CCHD decides to give away our money. The Chicago Worker’s Collaborative (CWC) receives CCHD funding through the Chicago Archdiocese. As a part of their “Boycott Arizona” campaign, the CWC has targeted … Read more
More than three decades after the legalization of abortion, the story line has barely changed. Granted, technology, especially the increasing sophistication of ultrasound, is altering the debate. But if some disinterested screenwriter right now were to turn the script into a movie, what would it most closely resemble? I’d put my money on Inherit the … Read more
Reading David Bordwell’s blog is a rewarding and deeply demoralizing experience. For a mostly self-taught (and self-proclaimed) film aficionado such as I, the amount of cinematic knowledge he and his fellow blogger (Kristen Thompson) have at their fingertips is a bit mind-boggling — a treasure trove of information, once I have managed to check my easily-bruised … Read more
In the coming decades, India is expected to surpass China as the most populous nation on earth. Worried local Indian governments are using soft sell tactics to reduce family size, according to this article in the New York Times. Previously charged with coercing women to sterilize themselves in some regions, government officials are using new … Read more