Dr. James Dobson is the founder of the largest, most influential, Evangelical organization in America, Focus on the Family. His radio show reaches two million listeners every day, and he’s easily the most important Evangelical leader in the country. As a result, Dobson’s political pronouncements carry a lot of weight among Christian voters. But these … Read more
The last eight Carmelite monks in America, perhaps even the world, live in a four-bedroom rectory in the mountains of northwest Wyoming. With 35 candidates in various stages of discernment, they hope to move 70 miles away to a 492-acre property near Carter Mountain once owned by “Buffalo Bill” Cody as his hunting preserve. … Read more
Last Thursday, 16 of the 25 Catholics in the U. S. Senate voted to overturn the “Mexico City Policy” to allow funding to overseas health clinics providing abortions. One of the 16 was freshman Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA) who ran against, and defeated, Sen. Rick Santorum as a “pro-life” candidate. It’s doubtful whether Casey, … Read more
I’m not a Republican because I think Republicans are fun or especially good company. If I were looking for sociality or cordiality in my political party, I would look elsewhere. I would also look elsewhere if the GOP ever turned its back on the issues that brought me into its fold in the first place: … Read more
Senator Sam Brownback was traveling between events while campaigning in New Hampshire when I spoke to him last week. Despite criticism, Brownback has kept the abortion issue at the top of his agenda for the nation, and recently finished among the top three candidates in the Ames Straw Poll. I called him to ask about … Read more
We all awakened this morning to the news that the greatest voice of our generation, Luciano Pavarotti, had died. The sound of his voice is something that I have carried inside my head since my early 20s, when I first heard him sing La Boheme at the Metropolitan Opera. I heard him sing … Read more
Bishops often speak about the virtue of “collegiality”—their desire to act and speak in one voice. The recent history of the Church illustrates problems arising from the expectation that individual bishops should subjugate their public message in favor of the USCCB. John Cardinal O’Connor and Bernard Cardinal Law were among the first bishops to challenge … Read more
Bishops often speak about the virtue of “collegiality”—their desire to act and speak in one voice. The recent history of the Church illustrates problems arising from the expectation that individual bishops should subjugate their public message in favor of the USCCB. John Cardinal O’Connor and Bernard Cardinal Law were among the first bishops to challenge … Read more
“A man and a woman united in marriage, together with their children, form a family. This institution is prior to any recognition by public authority, which has an obligation to recognize it. It should be considered the normal reference point by which the different forms of family relationship are to be evaluated” (Catechism of the … Read more
Catholic Voting Catholics are obliged to participate in politics by voting. Legislators are elected to serve and protect the common good, human dignity, and rights of human persons. Voters should have a clear understanding of the principles of Catholic moral and social teaching. The life issues are dominant in the hierarchy of issues for the … Read more
Catholics make up about 30 percent of those who vote in national elections. These 30 million Catholics have the power to make our country a better nation— more welcoming to life, more supportive of families, and more effective in its programs to help the poor and marginalized. Furthermore, Catholics who attend Mass regularly vote more … Read more
If you know the name Huckabee, it’s probably from the popular movie or the highly publicized weight-loss campaign of the Arkansas governor. My wife is politically astute and very knowledgeable. When I told her I was meeting with Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, she quickly replied, "Oh, he’s the guy who lost all the … Read more
A recent New York Times article reported a Pew Forum poll showing that significantly fewer people view the Republican Party as "friendly" to religion. "The survey found that the proportion of Americans who say the Republican Party is friendly to religion fell 8 percentage points in the last year, to 47 percent from … Read more
I have just returned from Rome, where a senior member of the Curia asked me to tell readers of The Window the following story. You may have already heard its beginning, but in all likelihood not its end. On Sunday, February 5, 2006, while praying in his church, an Italian priest by the name of … Read more
The Catholic Church in 1978 was marked by confusion and conflict. In October of that year, the conclave voted and gave us Pope John Paul II. More than 26 years later there are two dominant views of his papacy. One argues that he renewed the Church and saved it from dissent and the encroachment of … Read more
I met my guide, Helmut Konitzer, at the airport. A German who visits the West Bank to assist the sisters, monks, and priests living there, Helmut had the look of a well-cut drifter. I wasn’t surprised when he told me his preferred mode of transportation was his motorcycle, especially when medicines have to be delivered quickly … Read more
I met my guide, Helmut Konitzer, at the airport. A German who visits the West Bank to assist the sisters, monks, and priests living there, Helmut had the look of a well-cut drifter. I wasn’t surprised when he told me his preferred mode of transportation was his motorcycle, especially when medicines have to be delivered … Read more
The Church dodged a bullet on November 2. The last thing the Church needed was an openly dissenting Catholic in the White House. By now everyone knows that Catholics voted for George Bush at the historic level of 51 percent overall and 55 percent of regular Mass attendees. This shift in political support provides further … Read more
It’s been over ten years since I took the helm of Crisis Magazine and moved my family to Washington, D.C. Since then the circulation has grown from 6,000 to over 32,000, the full-time staff from three to eleven, and the budget has more than quadrupled to nearly $2 mil-lion. More important than the numbers, however, … Read more
Having never been to a major Marian shrine, I didn’t know quite what to expect. So on my way to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, I consciously put aside all preconceptions about what I should experience. I wanted just to let it happen. Over the years I’ve become increasingly aware … Read more