Men, Women, Laity, and Clergy: God’s Wise Plan of Differentiated Order
Allowing women to be liturgical ministers stokes the flames of a false egalitarianism that agitates for women deacons and priests.
George Floyd Was Not Jesus Christ
In anticipation of The Catholic University of America’s obligations and observations regarding Black History Month, an icon entitled “Mama” by artist Kelly Latimore was displayed outside Mary, Mirror of Justice Chapel at the Columbus School of Law—and, like the pachamama, soon disappeared. Whether this was an act that mirrored justice or injustice may be a … Read more
Warning: This Book is Dangerous
I pushed Michael Warren Davis’ new book, The Reactionary Mind (Regnery Publishing), on a friend of mine, a noted Catholic and academic leader. I told him a good part of the book was a defense of feudalism. I thought he’d like that. Instead, he said, “Well, recent scholarship shows that feudalism did not exist. So, … Read more
Our Moral Edifice Has Fallen
In a recent article at The Pillar, the estimable J.D. Flynn interviews a family in the Cleveland archdiocese whose son was preyed upon—through two years of utterly demonic enticement, spiritual blackmail, and cruelty—by a priest now serving a life sentence in prison. It is an agony to read, as it should be. The young man … Read more
All or Nothing
“Ye shall be as gods,” said the serpent. Whitaker Chambers called it the second oldest religion in the world. It has always proved popular. In his time, it took the form of communism. But the tempter is not so stupid as to appear in the same guise always; even human beings eventually get the idea … Read more
Trump is Owed a Second Term
A friend of mine says, “Of course, the NeverTrumpers were right after all. Trump had so alienated suburban women by his personal behavior, he couldn’t possibly have won a second term.” This person was Trump-resistant but voted for him nonetheless and was pleasantly surprised at all he accomplished. In the end, however, after he lost, … Read more
A Beautiful Funeral
She was only 24 years old when she fell asleep in the Lord—a tragic swimming accident in late September. Bright, kind, and beautiful, she had recently graduated from a Catholic college in California and was studying nursing at a university in Ohio. When our community heard what happened, we were shaken to lose such a … Read more
On Ghosts: A Little Spectral Speculation
But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out for fear. —Matthew 14:26 I have always liked Halloween as a joke that’s hard to get. The joke, as I see it, is that death is something to smile about, even laugh about. … Read more
When the FBI Protects Moral Monsters
The members of the Fairfax County and Loudoun County School Boards here in Northern Virginia are little more than pipsqueaks and perverts (there is one good member of the Loudoun County School Board. There are none at Fairfax). They are power-hungry, low-level bureaucratic hacks who don’t give two hoots for the children under their care … Read more
The Catholic University of America at a Crossroads
After more than a decade of successful leadership in university expansion and academic excellence, The Catholic University of America’s President John Garvey announced his retirement last month. In a laudatory article in The Washington Post, President Garvey is described as having led “the most successful era of fundraising in university history, resulting in more than … Read more
This Time the Crucifixion Will Be Personal
I dread the final season of The Chosen because that is when they will kill my dear friend Jesus. This may sound heretical, but I have never felt exactly this way about Him before. There has always been a kind of veil between Him and me, a fog that even His light cannot fully pierce. He is … Read more
Leaving Twitter
For the past two months I have not known what is going on with liberal Catholics like Mark Shea, or Simcha Fisher, or Dawn Eden, or the guy who runs WherePeterIs, or any of the rogues’ gallery I’ve had so much fun with on Twitter these past few years. The reason is that in early … Read more
The Return of Abortion Tourism
As Texas and an increasing number of states are saving the lives of unborn children by successfully implementing restrictive abortion laws, we are already witnessing the return of the pre-Roe era of “abortion tourism.” It is likely that once again—as in the early 1970s—New York City will be the deadly destination of choice for women … Read more
Are the Culture Wars Over?
Many conservatives say the Culture Wars are over and we have lost. Many people look around our culture and society and see utter destruction. They see grade-schoolers being taught that the gay-sex drug PrEP is just peachy. They see kids being taught there is this thing called anal sex. Seventh graders in my local school … Read more
Shadows of the Liturgy
I’ve heard a lot of gloating in the last few weeks, as Catholics of a certain sort enjoy the discomfiture of their brothers who attend the Latin Mass. Evil motives prompt those brothers, they say: hatred of Pope Francis, disdain for Vatican II, unease with women in the sanctuary, and a Right-wing politics that makes … Read more
Labor’s Lost Love
That sport best pleases that doth least know how: Where zeal strives to content, and the contents Dies in the zeal of that which it presents: Their form confounded makes most form in mirth, When great things labouring perish in their birth. Love’s Labor’s Lost Strange to say (though not much stands outside that category … Read more
Cinderella’s Genderless Godmother
For the child—and the adult who knows there is still a child in all of us—fairy tales reveal truths about ourselves and the world. As psychologist Bruno Bettelheim stated in his extraordinary study titled The Uses of Enchantment (1976), “the fantastical, sometimes cruel, but always deeply significant narrative strands of the classic fairy tales can aid in … Read more