The folks over at the Population Research Institute have done it again. Below is the fourth installment in their “Pop 101” series, this time answering the claim that too many people lead to poverty. It’s a nice companion video to the one Joseph posted on Monday (be sure to check it out here if you … Read more
Happy Feast of the Immaculate Conception! Over at First Things, David Mills has an excellent column on just what this doctrine means, why we believe it, and why it so confuses our Protestant brothers and sisters: [Mary] is, [Pope Pius IX] wrote, “far above all the angels and all the saints so wondrously did God … Read more
New York magazine has a surprisingly good article on the little-discussed consequences of the Pill that will have every Catholic woman wanting to yell “I TOLD YOU SO” at her computer. (Or was that just me?) After opening with a description of the Pill’s 50th anniversary gala earlier this year (and really, the details of … Read more
In a recent column for Mercatornet, InsideCatholic contributor Bob Reilly argues that the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell would be a subversion of the very military virtues they claim to value: In his testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee, poor Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, never seemed to … Read more
Time for a few morning links: NASA announced yesterday that they have discovered “alien life” in California: a bacteria that is partially composed of (and feeds off of) arsenic, in place of phosphorous — something previously thought impossible — raising the possibility of a “shadow biosphere” here on earth. That sound you just heard is … Read more
Yesterday, I mentioned that two billboards in New York City were carrying on the Christmas Wars. Meanwhile, some billboards in Tennessee are carrying a very different religious message: “proclaiming May 21, 2011, as the date of the Rapture.” The Rapture is going to be a great day for God’s people but awful for everyone else, … Read more
Recently, the American Atheists put up this billboard along the route to the Lincoln Tunnel in New York City: David Silverman, the president of American Atheists, confuses me with his explanation for picking this particular battle now: “Every year, atheists get blamed for having a war on Christmas, even if we don’t do anything,” he … Read more
The new TSA regulations are on everyone’s minds, it seems; it was a big topic of conversation at our Thanksgiving dinner. But over at the Daily Beast, American Muslim author Asra Nomani is proposing an alternative that makes many people cringe: profiling. Nomani lays out her case: We have to talk about the taboo topic … Read more
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I’m still more or less stuffed from yesterday’s feast, which I think means I did it right. Feel free to supplement today’s round-up with tales from your own holiday, interesting reads you found over the break, or whatever else is on your mind. You too can make your very … Read more
Newly elected USCCB president Archbishop Timothy Dolan gave an interview with the New York Times where he spoke about his surprise election, the pope’s recent comments on condoms, and what he sees as the biggest obstacles facing the Church: He said the bishops would not stop speaking out on political issues like abortion, same-sex marriage and immigration. … Read more
For those who hadn’t heard, the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, are making a repeat appearance on Oprah this afternoon. The sisters were the focus of an episode back in February, and the response was apparently so positive that they were asked back again. According to the sisters: We have accepted this … Read more
Time for a few Friday morning links: The TSA’s new regulations for air travel — including the introduction of full-body scans — have been getting plenty of negative press lately. In protest, one group has proposed a National Opt-Out Day where passengers would refuse the scans the day before Thanksgiving — potentially creating huge delays … Read more
I never would have called myself a Democrat, but if this study from the Hollywood Reporter about Americans’ TV preferences is to believed, I should be a Prius-driving, arugula-munching, Pelosi-loving liberal: According to months of data from leading media-research company Experian Simmons, viewers who vote Republican and identify themselves as conservative are more likely than … Read more
The surprise results of this morning’s elections for USCCB president have had the blogging community in uproar. Most Catholics are already familiar with the new president, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York City; but his vice president — Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville — hasn’t had quite as high a profile (though surely that’s about … Read more
Over at the American Papist, Thomas Peters points out this story about a Pittsburgh parish that’s raising eyebrows with its new Mass time: Old-time Pittsburghers remember when a church in the city offered services in the early morning hours for employees who worked odd hours. One church is now bringing that tradition back with a … Read more
Time for a few Friday morning links: Yesterday the pope released Verbum Domini, an apostolic exhortation on Sacred Scripture. It’s a door-stop of a text — the 208-page PDF can be read here, or you can read excerpts via Zenit here. A Christian woman has been sentenced to death in Pakistan for “blasphemy.” Next week … Read more
…then the basilica must go to the parishioners. That’s the theory of the Diocese of Buffalo, anyway: Rather than let one of their closed churches stand empty (or be turned into a restaurant or apartments), they want to ship it piece by piece to a congregation in Georgia that needs one: When Father David Dye … Read more
An article in the New York Times explains the risky business of scientific research, where “there are far fewer hits than misses” when it comes to research grants ever paying off. One of the biggest offenders? Embryonic stem cell research. Stem cell researchers have created an illusion of progress by claiming regular advances in the 12 years … Read more
Over at First Things, David Mills tells the poignant story of his father’s death — one that, by any modern standard, would have been considered humiliating and undignified. It wasn’t pretty, Mills admits, but he says that his father’s willing acceptance of his circumstances was more “dignified” than any easy way out: This is what … Read more
Thanks to Father Z for putting me on to “Rev. Know-It-All” — the nom-de-blog of Father Richard Simon of Skokie, IL — and his recent thoughts on celebrating parts of the Mass ad orientem. He explains, first of all, why he wanted to try it: I did it as an experiment. I suspect that the … Read more