Lent is tough — not so much because of the voluntary deprivations one may undertake, but because of what it leads up to: the Cross. Take a look. Of course, there is the Resurrection on the other side of it. Without that, it would be hard to make it through the day (and I have … Read more
In his weekly blessing yesterday, Pope Benedict called for an end to the fighting in Libya: “My fear for the safety and well-being of the civilian population is growing, as is my apprehension over how the situation is developing with the use of arms,” the pope said. “To international agencies and to those with political … Read more
A new biography on Mahatma Ghandi by Joseph Lelyveld called Great Soul depicts the famous Indian leader of independence as a “sexual weirdo, a political incompetent and a fanatical faddist.” Reviewing the book in the Wall Street Journal, Andrew Roberts says Lelyveld gives credit where it’s due, but concludes that Ghandi was an “archetypal … Read more
When I was in college nearly 20 years ago, most of the young women I knew took birth control pills for medical reasons as instructed by their gynecologists. Now that I am in my 30s, I am encountering women who are only just discovering that they never really needed to be on the Pill in … Read more
This graphic novel from the 1990s has some of the most beautiful artwork ever to grace the field. See, all the pages are painted, resulting in images like this: and this: Created by writer Mark Waid and artist Alex Ross, the graphic novel is set in the future of the DC universe, when the next … Read more
I happened to be reading Fr. Benedict Groeschel’s excellent tour of St. Augustine’s writings shortly before the mass suicide of the Heaven’s Gate cult in 1997. Within a day or two the news reports were giving a fairly clear idea of how to classify the group. Its founder was an ex-Christian who, tormented by homosexuality, … Read more
Margaret linked to a story this morning that I thought deserved a closer look. While studies have shown that regular church attendance is linked to greater levels of happiness, lower rates of substance abuse, and better marriages, a new study has reported that middle-aged people who are religiously active are also more obese. Is it … Read more
Film is not dead. Well, film as a format might be dead. When such cinematographic greats as Dante Spinotti, John Seale, and the criminally underappreciated Roger Deakins begin proclaiming the extraordinary technical and artistic benefits of shooting digitally, the writing is definitely on the wall. But film as an art form? As an exciting, engaging … Read more
Happy Feast of the Annunciation! I hope you’re all taking advantage of the solemnity to have some bacon with your breakfast. And now for a few links: The four New York Times reporters who went missing in Libya tell the story of their capture by Qaddafi’s forces, and their ultimate release. “Annulment Nation”: Jeff Ziegler … Read more
Continuity and change are complementary principles in the Catholic Church, just as they are generally. In a living entity, it’s impossible to have one without the other. Continuity is a principle of identity. It’s what keeps a person or thing the same person or thing in the face of passing time and shifting circumstance. Change … Read more
Tolerance is an ambiguous word greatly valued by the zeitgeist. Who dares to declare himself against tolerance? There would be nothing left to say, however, if the contemporary idea of tolerance was not fundamentally distorted. Properly understood, tolerance implies respect for people but not agreement with their error or fault. Thus, ideas do not have … Read more
Following up on yesterday’s post about Catholic opinion on homosexuality: A Vatican representative to the UN Human Rights council has said that people who oppose gay marriage sometimes have their rights violated because of those beliefs: “People are being attacked for taking positions that do not support sexual behavior between people of the same sex,” … Read more
An article in The Independent discusses some recent studies in neuroscience which disprove the idea that consciousness is unified. In other words, there’s no central place in the brain where the sense of “self” can be located. The scientific evidence shatters Rene Descartes’ “I think therefore I am,” which holds that “a coherent, structured experience … Read more
Readers of InsideCatholic will be well aware of the repeated scandals in Catholic higher education, particularly at many of the large Jesuit universities. But even so, what leads a major university in the “Jesuit educational tradition” to crawl into bed with Planned Parenthood, which commits nearly one-third of the abortions in the United States? Yesterday … Read more
One of the ways we mark Lent is through almsgiving, which doesn’t just mean writing checks but engaging in all the Works of Mercy recommended by the Church. One of those that has never really appealed to me is “visiting the prisoner.” Maybe I’m wimpier or more worldly than most of you, but I’m daunted … Read more
Tom Jacobs at Miller-McCune writes about a study out of Oxford University that shows that, while breast-fed babies fare better at school, the number of American women who choose to breastfeed is “stagnant and low.” The reason? Apparently, breastfeeding women are judged more harshly: Research just published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin … Read more
*Facepalm*: Catholics are more supportive of gay and lesbian rights than the general public and other Christians, according to a new report released today. The new report, which is the most comprehensive portrait of Catholic attitudes on gay and lesbian issues assembled to date, also finds that seven-in-ten Catholics say that messages from America’s places of … Read more
Often, the problem of deciding what to do depends on how an action is described. For example, people are against killing when it is called “murder,” but they may have other thoughts about it when words such as “just war” or “self-defense” are used. So what controls the way we describe our actions? To clearly … Read more
Judging by the impassioned commentary from some Catholic quarters during recent confrontations between unionized public-sector workers and state governments, you’d think we were back in 1919, with the Church defending the rights of wage slaves laboring in sweat shops under draconian working conditions. That would hardly seem to be the circumstances of, say, unionized American … Read more
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father; God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God; begotten, not made; of one Being with the Father. Through Him all things were made. We’ve said those words thousands of times at Sunday Mass. … Read more