Thousands turned out for pro-Mass rallies in front of churches in nearly forty cities across France last Sunday, November 15. France is currently enduring another round of lockdowns in which public Masses have once again been declared illegal. Schools are open, supermarkets are open, public transit is available, and you can even go into a … Read more
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is a bloated, corrupt organization teeming with left-wing bureaucrats who don’t have the Church’s best interests at heart. Crisis Magazine has said so on several occasions. It remains our opinion that all Catholics—laymen, priests, and bishops—would be better off without it. That said, the USCCB’s committee elections at this … Read more
Implementing the Commander-in-Chief’s Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping, the Secretary of the Navy, on November 4, issued a directive stating, “The [Department of the Navy] shall suspend all civilian and military personnel training relating to diversity and inclusion.” It is important to note that educational training on diversity and inclusion are still … Read more
“There is no place where espionage is not used. Offer the enemy bait to lure him.” — Sun Tzu Sexual predators, like spies, are masters of deception and deceit. Both operate in secrecy, perpetuate a cover story, manipulate their victims through lies, and maintain a facade of respectability. Often, sexual predators become prime and easy … Read more
When I was a boy, every so often my father would take me to the National Press Building downtown for the gatherings of the Ottawa Chesterton Society. It was a merry, all-male club whose president used to say grinningly that GKC stood for “Girls Kan’t Come.” After enjoying a fine dinner with those well-dressed, garrulous … Read more
“If you think that your priests and bishops are not saints, then be one for them.” — Robert Cardinal Sarah I know that many of our readers were irate over USCCB president Archbishop José Gomez’s statement on the 2020 election. Many of you were angry that he referred to Joe Biden as the second Catholic … Read more
“With filial affection, I embrace the threshold of the home of my birth, giving thanks to divine Providence for the gift of life passed on to me by my beloved parents, for the warmth of the family home, for the love of my dear ones, who gave me a sense of security and strength, even … Read more
How did it happen? That’s the question the McCarrick Report was supposed to answer. How many of the bishops knew about his beach house? Who turned a blind eye? Who lied to protect one of their own? Nobody expected the Report to answer those questions, and so nobody will be disappointed. Still, it was revealing. … Read more
Father James Martin, S.J., says Catholics must place orphan children with homosexual men, or else they become guilty of a new sin: homophobia. He says religious liberty should not be used as a cover for this new sin. He also compared sodomitical relationships with (of all things) Methodism. After all, just like sodomites, Methodists don’t … Read more
It was a crisp November morning. As I watched the state trooper firmly leveling the brim of his hat and striding toward my car, many things went through my mind. Foremost, the mixture of curiosity and embarrassment over what my two sons were thinking in the back seat and that the flashing lights somehow looked … Read more
Last Saturday, after all major news media outlets announced Joe Biden’s presidential victory, ebullient Biden supporters (or more precisely, Trump opponents) took to the streets to celebrate. Mr. Biden obliged the crowd of supporters—oddly, the largest crowd he has ever had—and gave a speech accepting the job of president of the United States. Few people, … Read more
The professed intent of the McCarrick Report, released yesterday after much delay, is to shed some light on just how this man managed to rise to such status and power within the Church, all while his habit of sexual abuse were known to so many of his brother-bishops. In another time, in other circumstances, that … Read more
The night after Election Day, rioters took to the streets of Portland armed with guns, knives, hammers, and fireworks. Reporters on the ground said that the group had gathered to “rally against authoritarianism,” which, in effect, was a rally against the sitting president of the United States—a “fascist,” in the minds of his more excitable … Read more
“I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square. His successor will pick up the shards of a ruined society and slowly help rebuild civilization, as the Church has done so often in human history.” — Francis Cardinal George I had … Read more
A friend of mine, an early activist in the Christian Democrat party in El Salvador, told me a story that I have been thinking about lately. Before I had ever gone to that country as a missionary, the parish school building served as a polling place. When they were setting up for an election, my … Read more
G. K. Chesterton once wrote, “The unconscious democracy of America is a very fine thing. It is a true and deep and instinctive assumption of the equality of citizens, which even voting and elections have not destroyed.” I wonder what Mr. Chesterton would have said about mail-in ballots. After so many hopeful prayers and earnest efforts … Read more
No matter the results of this election, one thing is clear: half of America has announced through its vote that it does not implicitly trust the public health experts. As both Donald Trump and Joe Biden made clear time and again, part of this election was a referendum on the pandemic and its management. Mr. … Read more
“We are a working-class party now. That’s the future.” — Senator Josh Hawley I’ve held off on writing a post-election column, hoping against hope that the votes would be counted quickly and fairly. I suppose that was naïve. At this rate—and regardless of who “wins” in the end—half of the American people will feel cheated … Read more
On October 24, the Polish conservative movement Konfederacja organized the “Great March of Freedom,” a massive protest against the koronaterror (Coronavirus terror): the ruling Law and Justice Party’s excessive restrictions on Polish social and economic life. Tens of thousands of people assembled in cities across Poland, including Warsaw. The government proclaimed this event a health threat, … Read more
Bishop Robert Barron and Father James Martin are the two most dominant figures in American Catholicism today. Bishop Barron is the affable producer of popular videos on Catholicism through his Word on Fire ministry; Father Martin is a media darling and a Vatican favorite for his outreach to gay Catholics. As just one indicator of … Read more