When America’s pro-abortion forces won their great victory of January 1973 — the Roe v. Wade ruling of the United States Supreme Court — they were not surprised to see that religious and moral conservatives were immediately outraged. Similarly, white supremacists were immediately outraged when the Court handed down its Brown v. Board of … Read more
IC readers likely will agree with the above statement. But hey, the argument is gaining traction, or it is if Luke Timothy Johnson , Ross Douthat , and Rod Dreher are an indication. Over at my blog at True Slant, I argue that Christianity’s materialistic turn has had positive and negative effects: To be fair, … Read more
The number of estimated dead from the horrific attacks outside of Jos in Nigeria this weekend has reached 500, officials say: The dead were Christians and members of an ethnic group that had been feuding with the Hausa-Fulani, Muslim herders whom witnesses and police officials identified as the attackers. Officials said the attack was in … Read more
Here’s an attention-grabbing headline for you, courtesy of the UK’s Telegraph: Nail from Christ’s crucifixion found? Not to be outdone, USA Today ran with: Archaeologists find crucifixion-style nail from the time of Jesus Sounds like quite a find, right? Here’s the story, as reported: A group of unidentified “archaeologists” were excavating an alleged Crusades-era … Read more
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
In the Gospel of Luke, the angel Gabriel tells Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (Lk 1:35). Some sufferers from Mariaphobic Response Syndrome look at this and … Read more
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