I’ve just returned to my hotel room in Sydney after meeting with Cardinal Pell and his secretary, Michael Casey. I don’t need to tell anyone what an extraordinary man, and bishop, he is. He’s still recuperating from some heart surgery, so I was very lucky to spend the time with him I did. We discussed … Read more
I happened across this horrifying link over the weekend, and am at a complete loss as to what to say about it. It’s mind-boggling: The Katowice Appeal Court has today upheld the verdict of the Katowice District Court which ruled in September ‘09 that the Polish Catholic newspaper Gosc Niedzielny (Sunday Visitor) and its editor-in-chief … Read more
I receive, not infrequently, inquiries by mail from recent converts to the Church who, after a year or so as new Catholics, find themselves wondering about this and that. All of these letters are from former Evangelicals who have read themselves joyfully into the Church. With their earnest, muscular, biblically oriented background in the … Read more
Our good friend Tom Hoopes of the National Catholic Register enjoyed John Zmirak’s column on the Traditional Latin Mass from a couple of weeks back, calling it “hilarious, copiously linked to supporting material, clever”…and also wrong. John argued that, while the form of the Mass itself may be composed of changeable externals, “Inessential things have … Read more
The first story I wrote for Crisis opened with a scene, not a very good one, in Rep. Bart Stupak’s congressional office. So Stupak has always been in the back of my mind. But others must wonder how it could be that this backbencher could bring down the Democrats’ latest health-care reform effort. Some of … Read more
As you can tell, several of the IC crew are faithful Oscar viewers. If you’re similiarly minded, here’s my report on the big night… The major surprise had to be the Best Picture winner — The Hurt Locker. In fact, it took six oscars last night, upsetting an anticipated sweep by Avatar. Adding to the … Read more
Even I was surprised a few weeks ago at the strength of the positive response to my column asking, “Is It Time for a Catholic Tea Party?” There’s considerable unrest among faithful Catholics who differ with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on some of its major policy positions, as well as its mistakes … Read more
The big show is starting soon — post predictions, favorite speeches, best and worst dressed, and more in the comments!
Let’s jump right into our story, part nine of the ten-part serial “Uncle Harry’s Gold Mine” from 1960. As always, these pages come from Catholic University’s online archive of Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact. Who can be the first one to find the grammar error on page 5? (I attribute the error … Read more
I have long been an admirer of Matthew Boudway’s writings. So I am mystified as to why he would call a federal policy that covers abortion but doesn’t subsdize it principled and ingenious. This must be a mistake.
“How do you do it all?” As a homeschooling, work-at-home mom of many, this is a question I hear fairly often. Usually, people ask “how I do it all” when I am outside of my home, sitting in the bleachers at a basketball game or standing in line at the pharmacy. The fact that … Read more
Good morning! Today’s links are all odds and ends that wouldn’t fit anywhere else this week — feel free to drop your own news items in the comments: Why you’ve never really heard The Moonlight Sonata. Don’t miss the clips. The story of the British POW who snuck into Auschwitz: “I knew in my gut … Read more
A fresh embarrassment in Rome: The Vatican was today rocked by a sex scandal reaching into Pope Benedict’s household after a chorister was sacked for allegedly procuring male prostitutes for a papal gentleman-in-waiting. Angelo Balducci, a Gentleman of His Holiness, was caught by police on a wiretap allegedly negotiating with Thomas Chinedu Ehiem, a 29-year-old … Read more
To Begin the World All Over Again: Lawrence of Arabia from Damascus to Baghdad John Hulsman, Palgrave Macmillan, 256 pages, $27.95 Those of us who try to keep up with developments during the Iraq War find that there are many basic facts about the region that don’t get answered in the daily coverage by … Read more
As Hollywood’s “silly season” draws to a close — only 4 more days before we can put all these “For Your Consideration” ads behind us — here’s the most entertaining visual summary I’ve seen on the season thus far. From LocateTV.com, it’s entitled simply “Everything you wanted to know about the Oscars.” (The “lowest grossing” vs. “highest grossing” tidbit might … Read more
Big news from the Archdiocese of Washington this week: Catholic Charities announced that they would no longer be offering spousal health-care benefits for employees, rather than be forced to acknowledge same-sex partners under DC’s new law. In a statement on Tuesday, Archbishop Donald Wuerl justified their decision: “The Catholic Church teaches to pay a just … Read more
The Washington Examiner reports that yet another top government aide has moved over to K Street — the lobbying and consulting corridor in Washington, D.C. Damon Munchus, former aide to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, will now work for Cypress Group, which counts among its clients some of the nation’s largest banks. I’ve written before about … Read more
“Cardinal Pell is an inspiration to all Catholics in Australia,” says Cory Bernardi, a pro-life Catholic senator from South Australia. Bernardi, along with his wife Sinead and two young sons, attends the traditional Latin Mass in his hometown of Adelaide. I spoke with him a few months ago in Washington, D.C., as I was preparing for my trip … Read more
No, really. All kidding aside. I mean it. I know it may be hard for some of you to accept. (For others, it might seem too good to be true.) But, barring the Second Coming, it’s absolutely certain: Someday, the Zmirak supply will simply run out. Sure, it will be for some the end of … Read more
Over at The Daily Mail (UK), there’s a fantastic post on NASA’s recently-released Update Blue Marble images — the most detailed outer-space images of the Earth we have to date. (I’m not quite sure what “recently released” means. The NASA website can be a bit tricky to navigate, and while their Visible Earth section is … Read more