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
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.” “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master—that is all.” (Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland) … Read more
The Washington Post recently published an op-ed by Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco defending the many Catholic bishops who have publicly considered barring pro-choice Catholic politicians from the Eucharist. But Archbishop Cordileone went a step further: he declared his support for the recent anti-abortion legislation in Texas, including praising the Lone Star State for … Read more
In the 1970s, during the heyday of the chaos that followed Vatican II, a French bishop, when asked why he did not more firmly address the crisis, replied, “What can I say? I wasn’t chosen because they thought they might find a prophet in me, but just an administrator.” The Church has always struggled to … Read more
New York’s new governor, Kathy Hochul, recently sent a letter to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and founder of Facebook, calling on him to censor pro-life content on his social media platform because of the Heartbeat Bill in Texas. Her letter was framed in the context of Facebook’s trailblazing manner of quashing misinformation over the course of … Read more
Like most of you, I was surprised when I learned that the Holy Father was apparently disparaging EWTN in his private conversation with the Jesuit community in Slovakia. My reaction to the news, which was dropped by Father Spadaro, the editor of La Civiltà Cattolica, took several stages of deduction. First of all, I was … Read more
Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich recently mandated that all priests and employees of his diocese receive vaccinations against COVID-19. While medical exemptions to his mandate will be granted, religious exemptions will be refused. You read that correctly. With a broad appeal to the “common good,” the cardinal is refusing to recognize individual objections of conscience. Perhaps … Read more
In her National Catholic Reporter article “Catholics seeking ‘religious’ exemptions from vaccines must follow true church teaching on conscience”, M. Therese Lysaught, a professor of bioethics and a corresponding member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, maintains that Catholics in good conscience MUST receive a COVID-19 vaccine. She provides a template for a “dialogue” with … Read more
Swiss Bishop Joseph Maria Bonnemain apparently has publicly accepted the creation of “same-sex civil unions.” Accordingly, he says that it is “good and right” that there be “different forms of stable relationships” that are “given rights and duties.” Again, “It is for me self-evident that other forms of partnership can be oriented toward an enduring … Read more
Conservatives long to recapture “the ideal of a gentleman.” But is this another example of cheap moralizing and lamenting the good days gone by? Do they themselves really understand what they aim to recover? Aaron Renn thinks not. In The Masculinist, he argues that today’s nostalgia for the gentleman ignores the historical context which made … Read more
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is arguably the greatest play ever written. It is, however, also one of the most misread and misunderstood. One could write a book, or perhaps a whole shelf-full of books, on the way in which the play is misconstrued by critics, or the manner in which it is sacrificed to the latest literary … Read more
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
In response to an apparent plague of video game addiction among young people, China has set strict limits on playing video games for people under 18 years old that restricts them to three hours a week. This builds upon much looser restrictions on gaming imposed in 2019 which allowed for an hour and a half … Read more
“I am a queer Catholic. When will the church feel like home?” This question was posed by a young woman named Grace Doerfler in a recent essay in America magazine. As someone who once lived life as a gay man and who has now converted to the Catholic Church and found there a welcome home, … Read more
“Pride goeth before a fall,” as the Good Book tells us. But prior to the fall, there is often a leap. The proud person believes he can do things that are far beyond his ability. Being ignorant, incompetent, or unqualified are not factors that deter him from attempting to do what he cannot do. A … Read more
“No Place for Politics in Biden Communion Flap” “Pope Says Bishops Should be Pastors, Not Politicians” “Pope Warns Clergy Against Allowing Political Preferences to Enter Holy Communion Equation” “Vatican Warns U.S. Bishops About Denying Communion” On Wednesday, September 15th, Pope Francis finally weighed in on the issue of denying the Eucharist to Catholic politicians who … Read more
What is the purpose of Catholic education? As Catholics, this is a question we should always be asking and concerned with. Catholics are supposed to be a separated people, a people elect and married to God through Jesus Christ. Catholic education, therefore, as an extension of our own ecclesiological theology, is equally meant to be … Read more
In January 2019, a year before COVID-19 descended upon New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo and a beaming group of New York progressives enacted a hideous piece of legislation. They made abortion possible right up until the moment before delivery and even stripped the baby of protections if he or she accidentally survived the scalpel. Their … Read more
“People warn that you’ve got to watch what you say on the air,” said Tom Basile, “because of the cancel culture. I’m not going for any of that. I’m going to put God first.” Basile, news anchor and host of the weekly show America Right Now at Newsmax TV, is a faithful Catholic and a … Read more
The Wall Street Journal recently published a powerful article on the large and growing gap between the numbers of men and women enrolled in American colleges and universities. Enrollments have declined steeply in recent years, but they have declined much more among males than females. Only 40 percent of current college students are males. The … Read more