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
The biggest problem with critical thinking is the critical part. It’s not socially acceptable; it’s not nice to be critical. And thinking? Well, we’ll get to that. As I was mindlessly dawdling on Facebook (which is about the only thing one can do there), and was just at the point of chastising myself, I came … Read more
What do Andrew Jackson, John C. Calhoun, Stephen Douglas, James Buchanan, Grover Cleveland, Woodrow Wilson, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden have in common? All of course have been either Democratic presidents or presidential contenders spanning the long history of the oldest political party in continuous existence on the face of this earth. But they have … Read more
(Note: This previously unpublished article was written on September 14, 2001, from the office of Fr. John A. Perricone at St. Agnes Rectory in Manhattan, some two miles away from Ground Zero. Much of the horror of that day has faded. Even more so, its urgent lessons. Much of America seems to have moved on … Read more
More than most of Shakespeare’s plays, Julius Caesar begs a good many questions. Who are the heroes? Where are the out and out villains, the machiavels, who are so evident in many of Shakespeare’s other plays? Where are the women? Is their relative absence significant? What does it say about politics and politicians? What does … Read more
As we all know, Twitter is a cesspool of the obtuse, the oblivious, and the opinionated. Nothing brings out this unfortunate trifecta more than a blindingly obvious statement of fact. Recently, I tweeted through the Crisis Magazine twitter account: “Vaccine Mandates are contrary to Catholic moral teaching.” Vaccine mandates are contrary to Catholic moral teaching. … Read more
In Northern Virginia, where critical race theory, gender ideology, and emptied classrooms because of COVID-19 have sparked protests by angry parents of public-school students, a parish priest is taking up the legendary Archbishop “Dagger John” Hughes’ mission of helping Catholic children get out of public schools by every means possible. Archbishop Hughes founded the Catholic … Read more
You’re the new pastor over a church that offers a Mass that attracts hundreds of Millennial and Gen Z Catholics. That Mass has inspired lay apostolates for your parish, including one for men to serve at the altar. What do you do? Thank God for this gift that you inherited from your predecessor and do … Read more
Many baseball fans have been alarmed, if not disgusted, by recent news regarding Los Angeles Dodgers star pitcher Trevor Bauer, who is under investigation for allegations of sexual assault. According to the accuser, Bauer physically and sexually assaulted her on two separate occasions, including while she was unconscious. As troubling as such a story is … Read more
Faithful pro-life Catholics, whether Republican or Democrat or whatever political stripe, were treated to a sad spectacle last week. A potentially monumental victory for the long-suffering pro-life movement—a Texas bill banning abortions upon hearing an unborn baby’s heartbeat, which received crucial support by a majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices—was denounced by a Catholic president … Read more
The devout and observant Christian is undoubtedly aware of the precarious state of the faith in our modern world and is becoming increasingly open to out-of-the-box solutions. One such possible solution is to take a cue from our bearded Amish neighbors and form rule-based religious communities—but maybe without the horse and buggy. A brief peak … Read more
In the unfortunate battle between Catholics who promote the COVID-19 injections and those who oppose them, several specious arguments have arisen. Proponents point to a long list of commonly used medications they say were also developed or tested using the cells of HEK-293. This is a fetal stem cell line propagated from an aborted baby … Read more
The latest blast from Rome about the Tridentine Mass has roused all sorts of justified reactions. Many bishops—ranging from those concerned about souls to those worried about finances—have found various ways of ignoring it or setting it aside—at least for the moment. The more legal-minded have looked at different aspects, ranging from whether or not … Read more
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
Teaching is a profession that can age you quickly. The generations of students fly by every four years, not in decades. I have found myself repeatedly asked to give a talk on “The History of the Pro-life Movement” to high school and college students who are ardent in their concern for women in difficult pregnancies … Read more
The reason Milton wrote in fetters when he wrote of Angels & God, and at liberty when of Devils & Hell, is because he was a true Poet of the Devil’s party without knowing it. — William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. “Milton,” replied Father Thomas Edmund Gilroy, “though undeniably possessed of poetic … Read more
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
Rod Dreher let a combination of ego and Twitter get the better of him in Rome a few days ago. Dreher met the Pope in the Vatican, one of those longish meet-and-greets where you briefly shake the Pope’s hand, maybe say a few words, get a picture snapped. Dreher took this moment to tell Francis, … Read more
“To everyone who has, more will be given; but to him who has not, even what he has shall be taken away.” Memes are important in our society. In our virtual public sphere, they often express with clarity the issues at stake in our public life. The first one I ever recall seeing was back … Read more
Lorne Park Baptist Church in Mississauga, Ontario, has fired Rev. Junia Joplin after he announced his transitioning from a male to a female. The congregants voted to terminate his employment, the majority for theological reasons. The chair of the church’s executive council stated that Joplin was offered “a fair severance.” Nonetheless, he is suing for … Read more