In case you didn’t think the antics of the woke name police could get any more absurd, on August 31, the “D.C. Facilities and Commemorative Expressions Working Group” released a report urging the District of Columbia to rename, remove, or “contextualize” various municipal public properties named after various historical persons. Included in the list are … Read more
You probably think North Korea is thousands of miles away. Actually, it is as close as your nearest university. By and large most of our universities and colleges have become little North Koreas—sealed enclaves of repressive ideology, stifled speech, and rigid thought control. Students enthuse to this jailed status through daily dosages of Huxleyan soma … Read more
Alcohol sales are on the rise, and have been for a while. No surprise when liquor stores are identified as essential institutions, even though our churches aren’t. People who haven’t been able get to Mass, or to their libraries, or to their workplaces haven’t yet been forbidden from going out and buying a bottle of … Read more
The bishop of La Crosse, Wisconsin, is clutching his pearls over the popular video made by Father James Altman, one of his priests. For those who have not read the weather report on this particular tempest in a teapot, Father Altman has voiced his opinion that Catholics cannot vote for Joe Biden. He also had … Read more
The popular resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement has compelled academic institutions and corporate America to make a public pledge to root out systemic racism and promote justice, equality, and diversity within their ranks, lest they face the cold-blooded mob for inaction. Internationally famed companies, including Ben & Jerry’s, JP Morgan, and Airbnb, released … Read more
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Humans are mimetic creatures: we learn by images and imitation. This is nothing new. Aristotle identified it, Saint Thomas Aquinas built from it, and René Girard pioneered his grand theory of violence and the sacred from it. As Christianity declines, the human impulse for transcendence … Read more
The American media lies, and lies damnably. This statement will come as no revelation to regular readers of Crisis magazine. We all remember the more glaring falsehoods peddled in the past few years, e.g., that Nicholas Sandmann and his classmates bullied and harassed a Native American tribal elder, that President Trump praised neo-Nazis as “very … Read more
“A decline in courage may be the most striking feature which an outside observer notices in the West in our days,” the great Solzhenitsyn told America’s intellectual elite at Harvard in 1978. It was heartening, therefore, to read a letter of “Advice to Students in a Time of Strife,” published by First Things in late … Read more
For many well intentioned Catholics, determining whom to vote for in the upcoming presidential election is a difficult decision. The Church has no official, clear criteria to aid in the decision. Yet, the fact is that Rome, the highest authority in the Church, has provided the faithful with contemporary, official teaching concerning political decisions. Pope … Read more
The public recitation of baptismal vows should be familiar to most practicing Catholics. The vows consist of a series of questions whereby the faithful are invited to renounce Satan, his works, and his empty promises. As infants receiving the sacrament of Baptism, our parents and sponsors make these vows on our behalf. As adults, usually … Read more
The world has never done a real good job of listening to prophets. The Old Testament prophets didn’t have a lot of success throughout the long history of Israel. They came along regularly and warned people to repent. Several of them were stoned to death for their troubles, and many were treated in an abrupt … Read more
In ten years, when you think back to the year 2020, which name will come to mind? Maybe it will be Donald Trump or Joseph Biden. Maybe it will be George Floyd or Rayshard Brooks. For me, I’m afraid, it will be Joseph D. Rosenbaum. A video recorded during the Kenosha protests shows Mr. Rosenbaum—a … Read more
On Wednesday, August 26, Sister Diedre Byrne, POSC, a nun who served as a surgeon, a retired army officer, and a missionary, gave a bold speech at the Republican National Convention regarding the sanctity of all human life. She affirmed and praised President Donald Trump for being one of the most pro-life presidents in American … Read more
Amidst the witches’ sabbath that the news has become, a rather pleasant centennial has come and gone—that of the birth of Ray Bradbury. The late Mr. Bradbury is author of such novels as The Martian Chronicles and Something Wicked This Way Comes, numerous short stories, plays, and film and television scripts. It was my pleasure … Read more
Marco Pontecorvo’s new film Fatima, a drama based on the apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Portugal in 1917 and the three young seers who experienced them, debuted August 28 with balanced but mostly-favorable reviews in major outlets like CNN and The New York Times, as well as in Catholic publications. It’s encouraging that mainstream … Read more
From his first Mass as pope to the last days of his life, John Paul II often repeated what became a primary theme of his pontificate: “Be not afraid!” At the heart of this call was that all people — Christians and non-Christians — should not fear to open their hearts completely to Jesus Christ, … Read more
“These are my principles, and if you don’t like them… well, I have others,” said Groucho Marx. In the land down under, many are wishing the Catholic Church would be so flexible, especially as it relates to a recent ecumenical ethical development. Australian Catholic, Anglican, and Greek Orthodox archbishops authored a joint letter on August … Read more
Filipe Castro, a professor of maritime anthropology at Texas A&M, earned his fifteen minutes of fame when a number of disturbing posts on his Facebook account were published by conservative media outlets. Most of the posts contained graphic descriptions of Republicans meeting violent, gruesome ends. Among the most lurid—and we apologize for the disturbing image—is … Read more
In a recent article for the Catholic Herald of London, Eve Tushnet argues that the Church has a stark choice. Either she must accept out-and-proud gay men and women as they are or, failing that, she must risk losing them to apostasy or suicide. Ms. Tushnet asserts that any efforts to help men to deal … Read more
Editor’s note: Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, in partnership with the Benedict XVI Institute, has launched a petition calling on lawmakers to lift “extreme restrictions on public worship.” His Excellency kindly granted Crisis Magazine an interview to discuss his efforts. Do you see any connection between the Mass restrictions and the attacks on Catholic … Read more