There is an elderly man in our parish whose self-appointed mission during Mass is to angrily harass any parent who dares to linger in the apse of the church for a second after his or her child begins to fuss. It’s discouraging to see this sort of behavior in a parish with so many … Read more
“Now the last safe haven for Christians is gone,” said Canon Andrew White, the vicar of St. George’s church in Baghdad. During the past week, twelve Christians have been killed and more than 3,000 have left the city of Mosul, once considered a safe zone for persecuted Iraqi Christians. Mosul, on the plain of Nineveh … Read more
A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World William J. Bernstein, Atlantic Monthly Press, 494 pages, $30 It was the year 1600 and coffee had become wildly popular all over Europe, just as it had been popular all over the Muslim world since its discovery 900 years earlier. The sitting pope was Clement VIII. His … Read more
“Watch this, Mom,” my red-haired, eleven-year-old son yelped yesterday, his brown eyes dancing with amusement. He yanked a white tissue from the Kleenex box and blew. Smiling largely, his drippy nose reddened to match his hair. “Well,” I ventured, “very nice job, dear, blowing your nose.” As I cocked my head quizzically, he offered, “Mom, … Read more
In my old age I have developed some new vices, the two worst being my bad habit of playing solitaire on my computer and my even worse habit of watching and listening to talking heads on cable TV, like Chris Matthews. Matthews is not the worst of them, and sometimes he’s pretty good. When watching … Read more
I must admit right up front that I am anything but an economist. My fiscal sensibility was formed by the heritage of seven generations of Pennsylvania Mennonite farmers. We live within our means. We don’t buy what we can’t pay for. We don’t have debt and we don’t gamble with our money — either in … Read more
An Obama victory on November 4 is far from certain, but the momentum behind his campaign prompts me to wonder: What impact could an Obama administration have on the Catholic Church? The Bush victories in 2000 and 2004 brought a flood of commentary on the so-called red and blue states. If Obama wins in 2008, … Read more
Bill Maher is on the loose with his new film Religulous. Proving yet again that within the breast of every dime-store atheist beats the heart of a Christian fundamentalist crank, the latest pop paladin of Truly True Scientific Atheist Thought sallies forth to combat the ravages of faithheads like Louis Pasteur who promote irrational superstitious … Read more
Two weeks ago, I promised to lay out for you, one week at a time, the "seven key areas of life where Jesus ruins our fun." By this I mean the categories of normal human experience that make up the bulk of our lives — where our instincts, habits, and egos have patched together perfectly … Read more
“I would exhort people to say the rosary every day for life and for the success of the election.” These are the words of Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua, the retired archbishop of Philadelphia. When I spoke to him yesterday, the cardinal emphasized that he neither spoke officially for the archdiocese nor was he endorsing any specific … Read more
The following is a tongue-in-cheek reply to Nick Cafardi’s article, “I’m Catholic, Staunchly Anti-Abortion, and Support Obama.” I believe racism is an unspeakable evil, yet I support David Duke, who is pro-racism. I do not support him because he is pro-racism, but in spite of it. Is that a proper choice for a committed Catholic? … Read more
The verb “to lead” means to be out in front. But it also has the implication of knowing where the group that one leads is to go. The image of the lead mountain climber mistakenly guiding the troupe over a cliff comes to mind. The leader is supposed to know the way and to know … Read more
I don’t know if Bill Maher would call himself a comedian these days, but it’s fair to say that his roots are in comedy. Religulous, his new film, features at least a couple clips from his stand-up days, including one from The Tonight Show back in the Carson era. A young Maher is riffing on … Read more
Rebellion has long been a popular theme in film — particularly that which arises out of the struggle between the working classes and the elites. Unfortunately, the specific details of these stories often lead one straight to controversy. Take, for example, the recently acclaimed Pan’s Labyrinth: Guillermo del Toro’s fairytale is overwhelmed by the struggle … Read more
Fancy calendars and datebooks are all alike. Every fall, at the fresh start of a new academic year, they get to me. Irresistibly coy in their cloth-bound covers, they call to me from bookstore shelves. “Buy meeee!” they whisper alluringly as I pretend to be perusing the fitness section. “I have all the answers! I … Read more
When a Kennedy scion publishes a book about Catholicism in the final stretch of a hotly contested presidential campaign, skeptics might assume the well-publicized literary event is just a political tactic. Read this motley collection of personal testimonials, and the skepticism deepens. Being Catholic Now: Prominent Americans Talk About Change in the Church and the … Read more
Just when this presidential election could not get any stranger, David Brody reports the launching of a “Pro-Life Pro-Obama” Web site. When is the “John McCain, Pacifist” Web site going to show up? The effort to sell Obama as a pro-life candidate is being spearheaded by a group called the Matthew 25 Network, a PAC … Read more
I recently watched a strange movie recommended on InsideCatholic. Ushpizin, or The Holy Guests, is about a middle-aged Chasidic couple whose faith is tested by longstanding infertility. The plot is archetypally Jewish, a charming spin on the story of Abraham and Sarah. There’s nothing strange there. What’s really odd is that it turns out that … Read more
Although a Democrat, I have no intention of voting for Sen. Barack Obama in November. My primary objection has to do with his position on abortion, an extreme leftwing position. Not only does he have a 100 percent pro-choice voting record in the U.S. Senate, but when he was in the Illinois Senate he voted … Read more
I think G. K. Chesterton is onto something profound when he says that when you abandon the big laws, you don’t get freedom and you don’t even get anarchy: You get the small laws. In other words, the paradoxical effect of attempting to be lawless is to become more and more legalistic, to parse words … Read more