If this Washington Post article is correct, modern-day Hamlets are going to have to find a new way to express their frustrations: Acronyms have been around for years. But with the advent of text and Twitter-language, it certainly feels like we’re speaking in groups of capital letters a lot more. It’s a question that intrigues … Read more
Delicate museum-goers, avert your eyes now: A group of breastfeeding moms is planning a “nurse-in” at the Hirshorn Gallery this weekend to “highlight their right to breastfeed.” The idea was born when one local mom was told that she couldn’t breastfeed her baby in the gallery, and instead should nurse in the bathroom (only to … Read more
I’m sure it has happened to you: In the course of an argument about some timeless teaching of the Church, your opponent dismisses what you’re saying as “medieval.” In other words, your position (and the Church’s) might have worked well enough when the Black Plague was ravaging Europe, the majority of literate men were … Read more
The Interwebs are really lighting up with the story of a new iPhone app that aids Catholics in making a good confession. The app allows users to create a secure personal profile that then leads to a guided examination of conscience based on one’s age, gender, and state in life. You then “select” your sins … Read more
The Church can seem slow when responding to the culture. We have 2000 years of wisdom to draw upon, but so often it’s like we’re learning to crawl when the rest of the culture is already running. Which brings me to the fund drive InsideCatholic is doing this week… Here at IC, we’re not only … Read more
For 27 years, the International Bulletin of Missionary Research has published an annual “Status of Global Mission” report, which attempts to quantify the world Christian reality, comparing Christianity’s circumstances to those of other faiths, and assaying how Christianity’s various expressions are faring when measured against the recent (and not-so-recent) past. The report is unfailingly interesting, … Read more
Many years ago I was attending my first faculty reception at my first formal faculty appointment, at Stanford, and was met at the receiving line by the sponsoring dean with a warm handshake and the baffling words, “I want to tell you that I have the greatest admiration for your Church.” The two of us … Read more
As you’ve probably noticed from the Home page, we’re conducting an InsideCatholic fundraising drive this week. I hope you’ll participate. While we offer our articles, columns, and blog posts free of charge — unlike a print magazine — that doesn’t mean that they’re free to us. Running an online publication is an expensive business — … Read more
Political discussions here on IC tend to include numerous commentors who have chastised the Republican Party for paying lip service only to their erstwhile pro-life plank, observing that, since 1973, despite years of GOP control over both Congress and the POTUS, we still haven’t seen any real progress toward outlawing abortions in our nation. The … Read more
Father Longenecker is all for the new translation, but he says we shouldn’t expect any miracles when it comes to the solemnity of the Mass: What is more important than the words is how the Mass is celebrated by both the priest and the people. I am quite sure that when the new Mass is … Read more
Over at the National Catholic Reporter, John Allen says that too much has been made lately of letters sent by officials in the Vatican to various American and Irish bishops, letters that appear hesitant about immediately reporting sexual abuse allegations against priests. Allen says some people want to turn such letters into smoking guns, as … Read more
This being V Month, I thought it might be novel to turn our thoughts away from PC obsessions with sex and have a little fun subverting of the Dominant Paradigm. To that end, I thought it might be good to run a little series on the perpetual virginity of Mary, both the evidence for it … Read more
Aristotle said that there are some things we would want to have even if they did not give us pleasure. His examples were sight and hearing. St. Basil the Great (330-379), in his wonderfully titled Detailed Rules for Monks (N.B.: Jesuits are not monks, though they have no problem with St. Basil), wrote: “Love of … Read more
Last month, we mentioned that some exciting changes would soon be coming to InsideCatholic. Today over on the home page, you can finally get a glimpse of what some of those changes will be. In addition to an expanded mission that will offer greater coverage of how our faith affects every arena of our world … Read more
The first Norbertine convent has just been established in the United States, and 9 of their 20 sisters made their solemn profession on January 29 in Fresno, California. More than 50 priests and hundreds of guests were present. The Norbertines, also called the Premonstratenisan Order, was founded by St. Norbert in 1121 in the Valley … Read more
Are there aliens out there? Nothing is more likely to grab headlines than the latest speculation about extraterrestrial life. Here, a Vatican theologian speculates and organizes a conference; there, a scientist says he’s analyzed 500 planets and is convinced that the cosmos is a cold, empty and lifeless place. Still others insist the sheer size … Read more
Here’s part 2 of Frank Moss & Frank Borth’s ten-part serial from 1952, “The Treasure of Paradise Island.” As always, these pages come from Catholic University’s online archive of Treasure Chest of Fun & Fact. It’s interesting… I like the plot, and each individual panel is very nicely drawn (if occasionally a tad stiff), but … Read more
One of the least-known stories of the Irish who immigrated to America in the 1840s is that of the Irish battalion that fought on the Mexican side in the U.S. – Mexico War of 1846-1848. They came to Mexico and died, some gloriously in combat, others ignominiously on the gallows. United under a green banner, … Read more
Some time ago, an online discussion of NFP took an interesting turn. I remember it especially because I got off a pretty good zinger. (And that’s what we Catholic bloggers do to advance the kingdom of God: We zing people.) The Other Guy’s argument went like this: Sure, sure, the Church permits NFP to space … Read more
Time for some Friday morning links: Can Rick Santorum win the Republican nomination in 2012, and possibly even the presidency? George Will thinks so. In case you were wondering, the pope is not an organ donor (though Cardinal Ratzinger was). So no holy kidney transplant for you. Personalities of the Catholic combox. Pat Archbold hits … Read more