Father Longenecker is all for the new translation, but he says we shouldn’t expect any miracles when it comes to the solemnity of the Mass: What is more important than the words is how the Mass is celebrated by both the priest and the people. I am quite sure that when the new Mass is … Read more
Over at the National Catholic Reporter, John Allen says that too much has been made lately of letters sent by officials in the Vatican to various American and Irish bishops, letters that appear hesitant about immediately reporting sexual abuse allegations against priests. Allen says some people want to turn such letters into smoking guns, as … Read more
This being V Month, I thought it might be novel to turn our thoughts away from PC obsessions with sex and have a little fun subverting of the Dominant Paradigm. To that end, I thought it might be good to run a little series on the perpetual virginity of Mary, both the evidence for it … Read more
Aristotle said that there are some things we would want to have even if they did not give us pleasure. His examples were sight and hearing. St. Basil the Great (330-379), in his wonderfully titled Detailed Rules for Monks (N.B.: Jesuits are not monks, though they have no problem with St. Basil), wrote: “Love of … Read more
Last month, we mentioned that some exciting changes would soon be coming to InsideCatholic. Today over on the home page, you can finally get a glimpse of what some of those changes will be. In addition to an expanded mission that will offer greater coverage of how our faith affects every arena of our world … Read more
The first Norbertine convent has just been established in the United States, and 9 of their 20 sisters made their solemn profession on January 29 in Fresno, California. More than 50 priests and hundreds of guests were present. The Norbertines, also called the Premonstratenisan Order, was founded by St. Norbert in 1121 in the Valley … Read more
Are there aliens out there? Nothing is more likely to grab headlines than the latest speculation about extraterrestrial life. Here, a Vatican theologian speculates and organizes a conference; there, a scientist says he’s analyzed 500 planets and is convinced that the cosmos is a cold, empty and lifeless place. Still others insist the sheer size … Read more
Here’s part 2 of Frank Moss & Frank Borth’s ten-part serial from 1952, “The Treasure of Paradise Island.” As always, these pages come from Catholic University’s online archive of Treasure Chest of Fun & Fact. It’s interesting… I like the plot, and each individual panel is very nicely drawn (if occasionally a tad stiff), but … Read more
One of the least-known stories of the Irish who immigrated to America in the 1840s is that of the Irish battalion that fought on the Mexican side in the U.S. – Mexico War of 1846-1848. They came to Mexico and died, some gloriously in combat, others ignominiously on the gallows. United under a green banner, … Read more
Some time ago, an online discussion of NFP took an interesting turn. I remember it especially because I got off a pretty good zinger. (And that’s what we Catholic bloggers do to advance the kingdom of God: We zing people.) The Other Guy’s argument went like this: Sure, sure, the Church permits NFP to space … Read more
Time for some Friday morning links: Can Rick Santorum win the Republican nomination in 2012, and possibly even the presidency? George Will thinks so. In case you were wondering, the pope is not an organ donor (though Cardinal Ratzinger was). So no holy kidney transplant for you. Personalities of the Catholic combox. Pat Archbold hits … Read more
I’m not a sports fan. But like many others, I do watch the Super bowl. It’s my annual opportunity to get together with the guys, engage in some armchair quarterbacking, raise my triglycerides by eating, uh, organic dip, and LMAO at the commercials (hey, can I say “LMAO” on this blog?). Margaret blogged below about … Read more
I can only do justice to John Mueller’s magnum opus Redeeming Economics: Rediscovering the Missing Element (and it is “magnum,” with 470 dense pages and copious footnotes) by comparing it to Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, Ludwig von Mises’ Human Action, and the wrongheaded but immensely influential General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money by … Read more
Over at Whispers in the Loggia, the hard-working Rocco has an interesting post on Cardinal Wuerl’s most recent article on the issue of civil discourse, “Speaking Truth in Love”, noting that the cardinal’s high-profile (and, as head of the Archdiocese of Washington, unique) position in the American Catholic Church makes his thoughts on the matter … Read more
Pope John Paul II was a brave man. Speaking the truth in unstable and unfriendly countries, standing boldly against the popular demise of morality, traveling furiously even when weakened by sickness—no one could deny his courage. But the pope did more than just model strength for us: He called us to it. His apostolic exhortation, … Read more
If it’s Super Bowl season, it must be time to talk about what ads did — and didn’t — make the $3 million commercial cut. Last year, all the fuss was about the ad with Tim Tebow and his mom (which turned out to have such a gentle pro-life message as to be lost on … Read more
The pro-life group LiveAction released a video earlier this week where members posing as sex traffickers received advice on their “business” from a New Jersey Planned Parenthood clinic manager. Yesterday, the clinic fired that manager. Today, LiveAction released a second video that shows a similar scenario playing out in a Richmond, VA, clinic. LiveAction president … Read more
Last week, Sughar Daily reported that the U.S. government and numerous international Christian organizations are working to free two Christians in Afghanistan who have been jailed for converting from Islam. If convicted on apostasy charges, both of them could face the death penalty: The U.S. has called on Afghan authorities to respect the Universal Declaration … Read more
After years of going nowhere, economic theory in the Catholic world just got a big upgrade from none other than the head of the Vatican’s bank. Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, a one-time private banker and professor of financial ethics at the Catholic University in Milan, has headed the Institute for Religious Works since 2009. Writing in … Read more
Yeah, that about sums it up: Hope any IC readers out there who got buried in this latest blizzard are keeping warm! And remember, when shoveling snow, lift from the knees. Or, you know, make your kids do it.