Brother Michael Gaitley, MIC watched the NCAA National Championship game at my house between the University of Alabama and the University of Texas. What a delightful man! He came with his sister, Heather McGrath, whose husband Michael McGrath is on the board at Magdalen College. Brother Michael’s book, Consoling the Heart of Jesus: A Do-It-Yourself … Read more
Last year, my Constitutional Law class was discussing the so-called war on Christmas, part of the effort to remove all things religious (or at least all things Christian) from the public square. One of my students argued that holidays did not need to have a religious basis. As an example, she mentioned Valentine’s Day. I … Read more
This film is for those who’ve suffered from religious bigotry. Its sold-out screenings at Sundance and in Salt Lake City are the first step for people to learn the truth about such a damaging and divisive effort. I’m sorry. I just couldn’t help myself. The combination of yesterday’s Variety report on Red Flag Releasing’s acquisition of 8: … Read more
As if Mad Men were not enough to persuade you that everything was cooler in 1961, here’s yet more proof: I understand they also make Shirley Temple toothpaste for the kids.
I’ve picked on Ohio numerous times in the past, and I’m about to do it again. A new report by the Trafficking in Persons Study Commission (formed last year by Ohio Attorney General Richard Condray) found that Ohio is not only a destination place for foreign-born victims of human trafficking, but also a place of recruitment. In … Read more
The Washington Post has published the findings of a recent poll showing that, when it comes to health care, Americans want it all. Over at the American Catholic blog, “DarwinCatholic” breaks down the numbers: Solid majorities think that the current HCR bills are too complex and too expensive, but majorities also approve of the main components: … Read more
Last June, Margaret told you about video game giant Electronic Arts’ newest action title — a loose adaptation of Dante’s Inferno. Very. Loose. Dante, the one in the game, is no poet. Instead, he’s a war-ravaged crusader with serious post-traumatic stress disorder. But he has his domestic side, too. In fact, the game opens with … Read more
Over 750 “tea parties” were held on April 15 of last year, protesting the excesses of the Obama administration — in particular, the pork-stuffed stimulus bill. Initially, the mainstream media tried to ignore the movement. They downplayed its size and influence, until the steady slide of President Obama’s popularity, the growing opposition to Congress’s health-care … Read more
This is what my neighborhood here in Baltimore looked like after our storm over the weekend. And today we just got another 15 inches dumped on us. So, naturally, that must mean it’s time for idiots to try driving in it! It amazes me that anyone would consider heading out in this mess; the city … Read more
Earlier this morning, while drifting through the fantastic world of Naxos Music Library, I stumbled across something quite unexpected. As a long-time fan of Arthur Sullivan’s music — the Kevin Kline-headed Pirates of Penzance is a staple in the Susanka household — I have been aware of (if not quite familiar with) his “serious” music. Yet I … Read more
People sometimes ridicule the Church’s teaching against artificial contraception, but frequently, they just don’t see why the Church teaches against it. To clearly explain Catholic doctrine in this frequently misunderstood area, Fr. John Baptist Ku, O.P., will present a FREE lecture, “Humanae Vitae? Are You Serious?” on Saturday, March 20, at 10:00 AM at Mt. … Read more
It would be easy — too easy — to toss off Sloth as a sin that only afflicted the lazy. My initial instincts in writing about this deadly sin led me to do just that. But friends pointed out to me that there’s another and subtler form it takes, which occurs among the busiest workaholics. … Read more
Damian Thompson has a few words for traditional Anglicans still agitating for concessions from Canterbury: The Anglican Church will eventually ordain women. Either accept that, or leave. I am not saying that if you are an Anglo-Catholic who opposes women’s ordination then you must now seek to join the Ordinariate that Pope Benedict has set … Read more
Well this is unsettling: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security conducted a threat assessment of local pro- and anti-abortion rights activists before an expected rally last year, even though they did not pose a threat to national security. The DHS destroyed or deleted its copies of the assessment after an internal review found it … Read more
A friend’s therapist once suggested that she consider becoming Episcopalian. Wouldn’t that be so much easier than wrestling with all her Catholic angst? This suggestion made me think about the many misconceptions and stereotypes surrounding religious faith — and, maybe especially, religious conversion. No metaphor can really capture the wild variety of conversion experiences … Read more
Brenda Steele watched the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist on The Oprah Show today. Her comments published at Catholic Advocate, I am sure, echo what all of us who were able to watch the show were thinking. Here Brenda hits the nail right on the head: It would have been impossible for … Read more
When Roland Emmerich’s climate change film The Day After Tomorrow first came out, it was difficult to know exactly where to begin. I remember focusing my contemptuousattention on two story points that seemed particularly grievous members of the “Offence Against Credulity” category: the “superstorms,” and the wolves. WeatherUnderground had a fairly thorough debunking of the superstorm idea, recent (and … Read more
A Vatican economist has a very different suggestion for stimulating the economy: have more babies. Ettore Gotti Tedeschi explains: “The true cause of the crisis is the decline in the birth rate,” Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, said in an interview on Vatican Television’s “Octava Dies.” He noted the Western world’s population growth rate is at … Read more
Here’s something incredible: killer whales that have developed the ability to hunt seals and sea lions on the shoreline. National Geographic scientists spotted two orcas on the beaches of Argentina, riding waves onto the shore, grabbing seals, and then using their fins to “walk” back into deeper water. Apparently, the whales are teaching each other … Read more
Apologies for my long blog silence. I spent most of last week serving on a jury, and the remainder battling off a life threatening Man Cold. But now I’m done with both, and ready to get back at it. Lucky you. First, here’s a little good news for Christians in the Middle East: The world’s … Read more
