“Religion is divisive,” we Christians hear from our secularist critics, and have heard from them since that night of totalitarian cravings called the Enlightenment descended upon Europe from Paris to Prussia. “It needs to be kept in check, relegated to the closet, for the sake of a decent and civil society.” Yet exactly … Read more
Debates about what a Catholic hospital must (and must not) do to be considered fully “Catholic” are nothing new, but this latest step by Bishop Vasa perhaps is: The diocese of Baker, Oregon, has announced that it will be “ending its official sponsorship” of St. Charles Medical Center, a historically Catholic hospital: “It is my responsibility … Read more
Canadian Dahlia Lithwick has an enjoyable piece at Slate defending “Own the Podium,” her nation’s $118 billion dollar effort to dominate the medal race in Vancouver. Someday, someone is going to explain to me why it is that journalists so frequently speak about Canadians as though we are all about 2 feet tall and 7 … Read more
How many times have you been on an important cell-phone call, and suddenly the call is dropped? Whether you pay for service from Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, or any other service provider, dead zones are unhappy facts of daily life. For the past few years, phone companies have been encouraged to invest in expanding infrastructure — … Read more
“Why do you people care so much about externals?” my non-Trad friends sometimes ask me. And they deserve an answer. A few weeks back, my delightfully contentious colleague here, Mark Shea, waded into the conflict between those who describe themselves simply as “orthodox” Catholics, and those who consider themselves “traditionalists.” (Just to save space in … Read more
Lent. It’s here already. My Shrove Tuesday fare was a bit subdued because I’m fighting a cold, but I managed to make my favorite pancakes. With only 7 tablespoons of flour and 1 cup of sour cream, it’s the perfect food for Fat Tuesday. But I’m not posting to tell you about my pancakes. A … Read more
Brenda Steele, writing at Catholic Advocate, remembers her first Lent after her conversion. As a convert, I remember every minute of the Easter Vigil when I, too, could at long last, partake in the sacrament of the Eucharist for the very first time. If you are a convert, and you’re reading this, you know exactly … Read more
If you’re anything like me, Ash Wednesday usually sneaks up on you, such that you’re scrambling to figure out what you’re “giving up” halfway through the first week of Lent — and then it’ll be something poorly thought out that doesn’t seem to do much along penitential lines. So for my fellow procrastinators, I’ve done … Read more
Rev. Richard John Neuhaus long wondered about the phenomenon of innumerable Catholics, pious and not, practicing and not, who throng to churches at all hours of Ash Wednesday to receive ashes on their foreheads on the first day of Lent. He was unable to pinpoint a reason why the annual ashes exceed both the Lord’s … Read more
I know, I know… it’s been a long time since I rapped at ya (and I’ll buy a post-Lenten beer to anyone who can cite where that line is from). I’ve been in a job transition that has been rather consuming for a few months, though I’m hopeful that things are soon to settle down … Read more
I know it is coming, and I do not fear it, because I believe there is nothing on the other side of death to fear. I hope to be spared as much pain as possible on the approach path. I was perfectly content before I was born, and I think of death as the same … Read more
The bishops of Ireland wrapped up their meeting with Pope Benedict today regarding the sex-abuse scandal in that country. The Holy See has released an official statement about the closed-door meeting: For his part, the Holy Father observed that the sexual abuse of children and young people is not only a heinous crime, but also a grave sin … Read more
Now here’s a fascinating story. Catholic man meets Jewish girl. They marry. He converts to please her family. They have a daughter. They divorce. She gets custody. He returns to the practice of Catholicism, and takes the three-year-old daughter to be baptized without his ex-wife’s knowledge. Then a Chicago judge issues a restraining order forbidding … Read more
Our favorite Vatican newspaper is at it again with another odd article. On Sunday, L’Osservatore Romano published a “semiserious guide” to the ten best rock albums of all time. “Some songs seem to have been written yesterday…. while others still send shivers down the spine for their illuminating simplicity and musical thrust” the writers of … Read more
The Rosary is a deeply scriptural prayer, and the words “The Lord is with thee” root that profoundly Christian prayer, not merely in Scripture but in Old Testament Scripture. One of the things that marks the writers of the New Testament is their appreciation for the fact that, since Scripture is primarily the work … Read more
My friend, Deacon Keith Fournier, argues at Catholic Online that what is needed in politics is not a conservative revolution, but a Christian one. His argument is a response to the forthcoming “Conservative Manifesto” scheduled to be unveiled at the CPAC Convention beginning on Thursday. Fournier’s insistence on leaving the terms “liberal” and “conservative” behind … Read more
It stands overlooking the Thames, across an exceptionally glorious view of a beautiful part of England. White and austere, it has the solemn feeling of a temple, and you instinctively — and correctly — lower your voice as you draw near. This is Runnymede. The name echoes at once in the mind of anyone with … Read more
Having been able to catch a little of the Olympic speedskating events over the weekend, this article about a former speedskater turned nun was particularly interesting. Kirstin Holum came from “speedskating royalty” — her mother was a gold medalist in 1972 and went on to train the legendary Eric Heiden to his 5-gold victory in … Read more
Somehow, this story slipped under the radar last week: The Obama administration is arguing before a federal appeals court that the government has the right to use a citizen’s cell phone signal to track his location, without a warrant. [T]he Obama administration has argued that warrantless tracking is permitted because Americans enjoy no “reasonable expectation … Read more
“Hope” has certainly been the cause célèbre of the past couple years. Whether the “Yes, we can” slogan or a “hopey -changey” challenge, “hope” magnifies some of the most basic of human expectations, emotions and desires. But it seems that hope has been diluted with “I hope the Daytona 500 lasts less than six-hours,” “I … Read more