“I’ve thought…I suppose it’s a form of comedy that Catholicism is as sane as people get…it’s gothic, it’s dark, it has the same aesthetic in some sense as a horror film, and I’m not being…I’m not saying something denigrating by that; it is part of its strange mystery, and all that strangeness is necessary because … Read more
In just the first months of the Biden administration, Catholic educators have been confronted by serious threats to their freedom to teach and witness to the Catholic faith. We knew the storm was coming. Over the last four years, schools and colleges enjoyed a brief respite before the anticipated return of Obama-era policies like the … Read more
“The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only—and that is to support the ultimate career.” That famous C.S. Lewis line (which is actually just a paraphrase of his original quote) comes to mind every time I see a headline about what the market rate value of a housewife should … Read more
Despite sincere efforts by many to curb the sexual abuse crisis and initiate reform in the institutional Church, the true disease has yet to be cured. A significant problem still lies in the work environments of the chanceries and tribunals in dioceses throughout the country. From my own experience of working in a Tribunal, and … Read more
It is no secret that it is hard for a reverent Catholic to find a beautiful Mass. The desire for reverence is not the desire for a valid Mass, for the Mass—however obnoxious or orderly—is valid thanks to the Grace of God. However, the spirit of reverence adds to the power and majesty of the … Read more
“If young people are educated properly, we have moral order; if not, vice and disorder prevail. Religion alone can initiate and achieve a true education.” St. John Bosco’s understanding of Catholic education seems far from the prevailing view in any western school today. Sadly, this same observation applies equally to the vast majority of schools … Read more
Politics is downstream from culture. You have heard it plenty of times. Andrew Breitbart coined it, and many conservatives have adopted it as a truism, almost as gospel. But is it true? Sure, it’s true. It makes perfect sense. The country’s political views grow from a cultural soil that has been prepared. Brown v. Board … Read more
As the first two months of the new year have come to a close, it’s become apparent that the problems that plagued 2020 have followed us into 2021. In fact, it seems these problems, that were originally scheduled to be solved after a two-week lockdown, will be a part of our lives for many years … Read more
Bishop Robert Barron first came to fame in the Catholic world for his fight against what he called “beige Catholicism.” The founder of Word on Fire rightly saw that a milquetoast, flaccid expression of Catholicism—so common in parishes across the country and embraced by the liberal elements of the Church—is a death knell for the … Read more
One of the ironic things about my diploma from Princeton is that it is written in a language that almost none of the graduates understand: Latin. It confers upon me the degree of Artium baccalaureus, literally, crowned with bay leaves for knowledge of the arts. Since most college graduates write badly, if they write at … Read more
It should be clear by now that truth is not a Woke value. Those on the far-left side of the political spectrum have made certain claims in recent years, including: maintaining slavery was the primary reason for the founding of our nation; innocent, unarmed blacks are being shot down by police with impunity in great … Read more
Whatever else Pope Francis holds dear, vague notions of brotherhood and humanism—severed from any specifically Christian foundation—hold a certain pride of place. Pursuing those ideals apparently means sometimes it is necessary to overlook the stubborn fact that others do not share those same ideals, or view them in the same way. So, even though Islam … Read more
It was only after I had begun Basic Training, courtesy of an offer from the U.S. Army I could not refuse, that I met my first black man. Well, maybe a dozen of them, actually. I felt an immediate rapport with them, owing to a sense of shared suffering. For those of you whom God … Read more
Everything seems to be an existential threat nowadays—from racial, gender, economic and political inequalities, to climate change, to the coronavirus pandemic. However, if we have been paying attention to the media recently, there has been a new addition to the list: misinformation, aka “fake news.” Journalists and politicians would have us believe that misinformation has … Read more
While faithful Catholics are grateful for the statement last week from five of our bishops on the threats posed by the Equality Act, it is a bit too little and much too late. For more than two years, Crisis Magazine has been sounding the alarm about the threats posed by the Equality Act that was … Read more
Six years ago this week, longtime Notre Dame law professor Charles Rice entered his eternal reward. Rereading his obituary now, and reflecting upon his enormous influence on me, I want to say to my friends: We need to follow his example better! In particular, we need to mentor young people, just as he did for … Read more
It is both an underappreciated detail and a morbid irony that, as it celebrates the presidential inauguration of a man nearing his ninth decade on earth, the American Left shows more scorn than ever for the elderly and old age. Take, for instance, Ezekiel Emanuel, an oncologist and the brother of Obama’s White House chief … Read more
It’s been a predictable cycle over the past few years: the price of Bitcoin rapidly rises, and news feeds are filled with Bitcoin-related articles. Heck, I even wrote one of those articles for the Federalist four years ago when Bitcoin was trading around $1,000. Then the price falls or is stable, and Bitcoin returns to … Read more
The time has come for Catholics to return to Mass in person, and the time has come for bishops to restore the Sunday Mass obligation. Catholics are not missing the sacrifice of the Mass because of COVID-19, they are skipping Mass because they simply do not think it is important enough. (The same was true … Read more
Time for our five-minute “When Marxism Comes Knocking, Be a Doormat” team-building session! Today’s wisdom comes from Coca Cola’s Better Together global training materials, reported by a whistleblower on February 19, 2021. All together now: “To be less white is to be less oppressive, be less arrogant, be less certain, be less defensive, be less … Read more