It might be a little quiet around the blog today — the staff of InsideCatholic is heading out to our twelfth annual Lazarus Golf Tournament in Fairfax, VA, for a day on the links with friends of the site. (It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it.) Feel free to make this an open … Read more
That rigorist Christian apologist of the second and third centuries Tertullian wasn’t what most people would call a funny guy, yet now and then, when something really got his goat, he seems to have been capable of a sharp-edged sort of humor. As in this: If the Tiber cometh up to the walls, if the … Read more
Yesterday was the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a traditional feast that goes back centuries. As a private devotion, it was commonplace by the sixteenth century and grew even more popular after a series of visions experienced by French visitation nun, Mary Margaret of Alacoque. Pope Pius IX made the devotion a feast … Read more
The late Dennis Hopper’s film is associated of course with the counter culture; in fact, in the 1970s it inspired a bunch of movies that did not exactly uphold the values of traditional morality and the Establishment. Now, or a few weeks ago at least, conservative commenters say that all along the film has been … Read more
I am sitting in front of my computer in Washington, D.C. The electricity is on, and lights shine overhead; outside, I hear planes, trains, automobiles. Down the street, not far from where I live, are the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. None of this would be remarkable except that the purveyors of politically … Read more
“Fine, then!” Stephen huffed. He tossed a handful of Uno cards across the table and stomped toward the stairs. Each step thundered through the house as he made his way to his room. I love this prickly child. But prickly he surely is. I’d like to blame this one’s temper on his Irish … Read more
The “Year of the Priest” has come to an end, and in his homily in St. Peter’s to mark the occassion, Pope Benedict had some strong and clear comments about the sex abuse scandal, reported by Reuters: Wearing white and gold vestments as he spoke to some 15,000 priests, Benedict said the year that was … Read more
Time for some links to get the morning rolling: As if the bill weren’t already controversial enough: The Senate Armed Services Committee approves an amendment to the bill seeking the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” that would allow abortions at military hospitals. Pope Benedict reaffirms celibacy during the closing events for the Year of … Read more
Since film’s earliest days, no genre has stood out as more quintessentially American than the Western. Drawing heavily upon that era of America’s violently romantic, whirlwind adolescence, Hollywood’s savviest studios churned out an extraordinary number of them during the industry’s silent and early sound years. These films — along with the dime novels and tall … Read more
With World Cup festivities kicking off in South Africa today, I think I’m going to post this article by Stephen Webb (originally published at First Things last year) and then just back away slowly: Soccer is running America into the ground, and there is very little anyone can do about it. Social critics have long … Read more
An unusually wet spring, combined with an unusually large amount of snowmelt in the Wind River Mountains, has produced flood conditions in and around my hometown of Lander, Wyoming: In the largest state activation of the Wyoming National Guard in more than 10 years, more than 200 soldiers and airmen are working around the clock to … Read more
An unusually wet spring, combined with an unusually large amount of snowmelt in the Wind River Mountains, has produced flood conditions in and around my hometown of Lander, Wyoming: In the largest state activation of the Wyoming National Guard in more than 10 years, more than 200 soldiers and airmen are working around the clock to … Read more
The long walkway was lined with painted crypts. Electric blue. Aqua marine. Black. White. Some were topped with crosses. Others had large and rusting padlocks hanging from their hatches. And still others were smashed open by grave robbers — the ragged remains of their occupants left atop the shattered ruins. My escort, Martin, and I … Read more
Steve Ertelt at LifeNews.com has posted a complete list of President Obama’s record on abortion since taking office. Given the one year anniversary, it’s time to ask whether, since visiting Notre Dame, there has been any subtle or significant change in direction in Obama’s view of innocent human life. After all, President Jenkins, as you … Read more
Did California voters just strike a blow for governmental ‘moderation,’ or was Tuesday’s successful passage of Proposition 14 an early Christmas gift for lobbyists and big name, big money candidates? The new system will put candidates of all political stripes on a single ballot, and all voters will be able to participate. The top two … Read more
Should feminists embrace Sarah Palin and those like her? Last week, feminist author and blogger Jessica Valenti offered an emphatic no in The Washington Post. But Cathy Young, a columnist for RealClearPolitics has an interesting response in The Boston Globe. She thinks feminists make a big mistake when they ignore women like Palin: If feminism … Read more
When Dante rises with his guide Beatrice to the circle of the lovers, symbolized in Paradise by the planet Venus, he is told that the most brilliant and most deeply blessed of all the souls in that realm is Rahab, the harlot of Jerusalem who housed Joshua’s spies and assisted the children of Israel in … Read more
I promised last week while on retreat with Father Groeschel that I would tell the story of his visit with Walker Percy. As many people know, the Catholic novelist lived in the small town of Covington, Louisiana where he entertained many visitors on his porch. (I remember a friend at Mercer University who used to … Read more
I promised last week while on retreat with Father Groeschel that I would tell the story of his visit with Walker Percy. As many people know, the Catholic novelist lived in the small town of Covington, Louisiana where he entertained many visitors on his porch. (I remember a friend at Mercer University who used to … Read more
Some friends have urged me repeatedly to write a memoir, recounting what it was like to grow up Catholic in the 1970s, but I’ve always waved them off. Mainly it’s a marketing decision: There are too many horror titles, anyway. Perhaps, well-meaning pals suggest, I could shift the focus from the craziness that filled our … Read more