The Catholic Church in America is short of exorcists — there may only be 5 or 6 in the entire nation. While the office had been all but forgotten in the years following Vatican II, contemporary need is bringing it back in a big way, and some of the bishops are responding: Bishops in America … Read more
Last week I was privileged to moderate a debate between two of the best writers on religion in the English-speaking world, Boston College philosopher Peter Kreeft and Jihadwatch director Robert Spencer. How was I able to land two eminent speakers on the same night? Easy: I was their editor. Both Kreeft and Spencer contributed eloquent … Read more
There are few things more enjoyable than watching a two-year-old immersing himself (literally) in the first snow-fall of the season. Here in Lander, the eagerly-anticipated event finally took place yesterday morning – much later than our previous Wyoming Winter Experiences would suggest.  While the four older boys were eager to get outside and “flounder … Read more
Switzerland’s Capuchin monks are getting desperate for vocations, so they recently placed a quarter-page ad in a premier business magazine looking for new recruits. According to The Independent: The ad appeared in the “banking and insurance” section of Saturday’s edition of Alpha. It calls on young Catholic “bankers, journalists, teachers, theologians, tradesmen, lawyers and communication … Read more
An article in the New York Times explains the risky business of scientific research, where “there are far fewer hits than misses” when it comes to research grants ever paying off. One of the biggest offenders? Embryonic stem cell research. Stem cell researchers have created an illusion of progress by claiming regular advances in the 12 years … Read more
“What are we coming to? Where will it all end?” Who among us has not heard anxious questions like those, or asked them ourselves? What is going to happen, we ask, in Afghanistan and Iraq? Will the sorely tried people of those tormented countries ever enjoy peace? When will our brave troops be able to … Read more
Anyone who has read my many posts and columns on the Holy Land and the political struggle between Israel and Palestine knows I have reservations about the Israeli treatment of Palestinian Christians in particular and those who inhabit the West Bank in general. I have consistently argued for the necessity of a two-state solution whereby … Read more
Cybernetics — basically, the science of the brain qua computer — explains much more than we realized. They used to think schizophrenia was due to demons. Then it was bad parenting. Now some think it may be bad brain wiring. They used to think déjà vu (“Hey! I’ve been here before!”) was evidence of reincarnation. … Read more
On Saturday, an old stone house collapsed in Pompeii. The building had been closed to the public, but was known for the beautiful gladiator frescos on its interior walls. Historians believe this was the place gladiators trained and relaxed before fighting. According to the Telegraph, the Italian government has been criticized for allowing Pompeii to … Read more
Over at First Things, David Mills tells the poignant story of his father’s death — one that, by any modern standard, would have been considered humiliating and undignified. It wasn’t pretty, Mills admits, but he says that his father’s willing acceptance of his circumstances was more “dignified” than any easy way out: This is what … Read more
Mollie Ziegler at GetReligion fisked through some of the mainstream press accounts of the pope’s homily at the Sagrada Familia, and noticed that none of them actually seemed to have… uh… listened to it. At least, that’s what you’d conclude from their coverage. In a homily that is almost entirely about the theology and architecture … Read more
When the USCCB issued its document a few weeks ago announcing the “Review and Renewal of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development,” I wondered aloud if the CCHD would be able to keep its promises. As it turns out, one of the promises was broken the moment the document was published. “Review and Renewal” specifically … Read more
A former student of mine, studying at Oxford, came across my essay on “Love and Dogma.” Many of his peers, he told me, when asked what their religion was, responded, “Love.” He would then astutely ask a further question: What did they understand “love” to mean? To them, love means nothing other than “absolute non-judgment.” … Read more
Thanks to Father Z for putting me on to “Rev. Know-It-All” — the nom-de-blog of Father Richard Simon of Skokie, IL — and his recent thoughts on celebrating parts of the Mass ad orientem. He explains, first of all, why he wanted to try it: I did it as an experiment. I suspect that the … Read more
CNS reports that a new seminary opened last week in Cuba: The new headquarters of the archdiocesan seminary of St. Charles and St. Ambrose was inaugurated on Wednesday. It is a complex of salmon-colored buildings organized around a chapel with stained glass windows located about five miles south of Havana. The Holy See’s Secretary of … Read more
I have sometimes ridiculed the Left’s commitment to abortion as its sole core principle by referring to the “sacrament of abortion.” It stands at the center of a belief which holds that the Imperial Autonomous Self is the highest good and that, therefore, all (including the very life of another human being) must be sacrificed … Read more
Here’s part eight of Lloyd Osterdorf’s ten-part series “Catholics in Action.” Completed between 1952-1953, the stories explored Catholic social doctrine from the standpoint of individual people instead of the realm of politics (though the two sometimes inevitably cross over). As always, these pages come from Catholic University’s online archive of Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact. … Read more
Anyone who has been to a Catholic conference has heard the following remark rise up out of the audience: “What we really need to do is to pray and get before the Blessed Sacrament!” Anyone who has spoken at a Catholic conference has had to confront this statement. Usually, in order not to appear like … Read more
I was a teenager when he died. We went to visit him one last time when I was about 14 years old. Nobody said it was “one last time” — not to me, anyway. They said we would be taking some short trips to Canada — just a few of us kids at a time … Read more
Time for your Friday-morning link round-up — but first, a public service announcement: Don’t forget to set your clocks back tomorrow night! Also, today is Guy Fawkes Day. Please don’t go blowing up any government buildings. Thanks. On to the links: Forbes names Pope Benedict the fifth most powerful person in the world, just behind … Read more