This statement from Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix on the federal court decision striking down Prop 8 is the strongest I have seen from any prelate. It will be published at the diocesan web site later today. Marriage: a “hang up” or God’s plan? Bishop Thomas Olmsted The misguided decision of Judge Vaughn Walker, striking … Read more
Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and I are both graduates of the same university, the University of Texas at Austin. When I told him this morning that the Longhorn football team was #4 in the preseason rankings, he said, “That’s good, it’s bad when they are too high.” Fayyad’s caution about his beloved Texas Longhorns is … Read more
The Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem is His Beatitude Fouad Twal. Don’t let his name or title intimidate you — the Patriarch is extremely kind and hospitable, making everyone comfortable from the moment he enters the room. Walking at his side is a parish priest, Rev. Firas Aridah, known by some Catholics in the United States … Read more
Hebron is off the beaten track for most pilgrims, though it’s only 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem and the burial place of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Abraham’s wife, Sarah. For centuries, Hebron was a predominately Palestinian city with a small but distinguished Jewish community. Several notable commentaries on the Torah were written there. But the killing … Read more
Danny Seidemann is an Israeli attorney and the region’s leading expert on land and property rights. An immigrant to Israel as a young man and a committed Zionist, Seidemann insisted to me today that the only real pro-Israel position is one that fully supports a two-state solution to the conflict with Palestinians. “There is still … Read more
Archbishop Elias Chacour of the Melkite Church in Israel is a remarkable man. Nominated several times for the Nobel Peace Prize, the author of three books on religion, and now in his early 70s, he’s an internationally recognized leader in the effort to find a peaceful solution to the hostilities between Jews and Arabs. “We … Read more
I’m heading to the Holy Land for eight days. This will be my fifth trip since 2004, and I hope to post daily reports on InsideCatholic. (“Holy Land” refers to the area lying between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, encompassing both Israel and Occupied Palestine and parts of Lebanon and Jordan.) Not all of … Read more
I’m old enough to remember three channels on our black-and-white TV, which was topped with rabbit ears. Those were the days when neighbors naughtily listened in to conversations on the “party line,” and the length of a long-distance phone call had to be carefully measured using the second hand on a wind-up clock. I’ve also … Read more
Having just read Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuers’s new book, Exorcism and the Church Militant, one of the first things I asked him was whether he was afraid of demons. I shivered more than once reading through its short chapters, arranged as basic questions about the devil, demons, possession, and the rite of exorcism. “Not at … Read more
The photo below was taken earlier this week by my friend Renata Grzan. Her website www.fortheloveofbeauty.com is worth visiting. Her photo evokes memories of my summers as a young boy, when days seemed long, and I needed nothing but a stick to pass the afternoon. I had invited Renata to take some photos of Chippy … Read more
The photo below was taken earlier this week by my friend Renata Grzan. Her website www.fortheloveofbeauty.com is worth visiting. Her photo evokes memories of my summers as a young boy, when days seemed long, and I needed nothing but a stick to pass the afternoon. I had invited Renata to take some photos of Chippy … Read more
The photo below was taken earlier this week by my friend Renata Grzan. Her website www.fortheloveofbeauty.com is worth visiting. Her photo evokes memories of my summers as a young boy, when days seemed long, and I needed nothing but a stick to pass the afternoon. I had invited Renata to take some photos of Chippy … Read more
The photo below was taken earlier this week by my friend Renata Grzan. Her website www.fortheloveofbeauty.com is worth visiting. Her photo evokes memories of my summers as a young boy, when days seemed long, and I needed nothing but a stick to pass the afternoon. I had invited Renata to take some photos of Chippy … Read more
I admit I was taken aback by some of the comments under my article on Gov. Christie’s effort to privatize many government services, such as toll collection, etc. (“A Catholic Governor Embraces Subsidiarity“). Given the fact that Catholic teaching on subsidiarity is directly connected to the encroachment of centralized government into the lives of communities … Read more
Stephen Phelan, communications director at Human Life International, writes at Catholic Advocate about the alarming attempt of Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) to investigate pro-life efforts to protect the unborn in Kenya. Reading about Kennedy’s effort to mount a federal investigation of a perfectly legal lobbying effort, you have to wonder if he is coming unglued … Read more
Stephen Phelan, communications director at Human Life International, writes at Catholic Advocate about the alarming attempt of Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) to investigate pro-life efforts to protect the unborn in Kenya. Reading about Kennedy’s effort to mount a federal investigation of a perfectly legal lobbying effort, you have to wonder if he is coming unglued … Read more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), earlier this summer, issued a Notice of Inquiry on its new “Open Internet,” proposals. Better known as “net neutrality,” FCC leadership has made it clear they intend to use the power of the federal government to regulate broadband service on the Internet. To remind our readers, the policy of net … Read more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), earlier this summer, issued a Notice of Inquiry on its new “Open Internet,” proposals. Better known as “net neutrality,” FCC leadership has made it clear they intend to use the power of the federal government to regulate broadband service on the Internet. To remind our readers, the policy of net … Read more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), earlier this summer, issued a Notice of Inquiry on its new “Open Internet,” proposals. Better known as “net neutrality,” FCC leadership has made it clear they intend to use the power of the federal government to regulate broadband service on the Internet. To remind our readers, the policy of net … Read more
The new governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, is distinguishing himself in two ways as a Catholic politician. Not only he is pro-life, but he is also aggressively pursuing a set of policies grounded in the principle of subsidiarity. At a time when most prominent Catholic politicians — Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, and John Kerry … Read more
With so much happening in the Church right now, we are hard at work drawing out the battle plans so we can keep the faithful informed—but we need to know who we have on our side. Do you stand with Crisis Magazine?