Whatever hope the health care bill had of authentic Catholic support ended yesterday when the Senate defeated the Nelson-Hatch amendment. Mirroring the Stupak-Pitts amendment in the House, this amendment would have prohibited federal funding for abortion. Deacon Keith Fournier has written eloquently this morning about the significance of this moment in our legislative history. … Read more
Having properly celebrated the Christ child’s mother yesterday, Father James Martin thinks it’s only right that, during the Christmas season, we should remember to celebrate His earthly father, too. Poor St. Joseph gets short shrift sometimes — he appears in only one carol that I can think of, and it’s not a very flattering picture; … Read more
When Pope John Paul II visited Britain back in 1982, I went to meet him at the airport. I wasn’t the only one, of course: I went with a parish group that took a coach to the airport at three in the morning so as to be there on time, joining vast numbers of other … Read more
In keeping with both the season and today’s feast of the Immaculate Conception, here is Mateo Flecha el Viejo’s “Riu, Riu, Chiu,” performed by the Oxford Camerata. (The first and sixth verses are particularly relevant, if this version has the complete sequence. My Spanish is a bit rusty. Which means I don’t know any.) Translation:The furious … Read more
Academic freedom is a great good that should be cherished and honored by every university community. This precious heritage of freedom originated in the Christian West and rose initially in the great universities of Europe, which themselves sprang from the cathedral schools of the early Middle Ages. Great universities such as Padua, Bologna, Louvain, Paris, … Read more
This has been getting passed around the past week or two, and I only just got to watch it today. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a brilliant little stage performance by a group of students posing as silent monks who have devised a clever way to perform Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus without uttering a peep… … Read more
Self. And this is never more evident to me than when I’m driving on the highway. Almost every time, I can count on there being at least one jackass…er… brother in Christ driving WAY over the speed limit who insists on tailgating the car in front of him until that poor schlep moves over and makes … Read more
A South Carolina priest has been making headlines lately for the unusual way he’s raising money for his parish — namely, by playing in a national poker tournament. With the blessing of his bishop, Father Andrew Trapp has already won $100,000 in the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge”; he recently taped an episode that could win … Read more
A recent headline from Zenit announces, “Scholars Aim to Disprove Darwin.” My thought: “Good luck with that.” I’m highly skeptical that guys like Hugh Owen, who believe in a young earth and the coexistence of dinosaurs and humans, are going to land any punches that overthrow the basic arguments for stuff like an old … Read more
A friend wrote me about a school principal, a religious sister, speaking to a parent and requesting school funds. The gentleman was described as an “ultra-Catholic.” My friend asked me: “What is that, do you know?” Evidently, the “non-ultra” principal thought it all right to siphon needed cash from the “ultra” parent. No strings were … Read more
Two years ago, the USCCB released a document of revised guidelines for liturgical music titled “Sing to the Mountains” — er, “Lord.” In its 88 mostly tepid pages are found a meditation on the scriptural and theological foundations for the use of music in worship, notes particular to the celebration of special rites within the … Read more
I didn’t want it to be true. I thought Tiger Woods was one of the good guys. After all, he worked hard at polishing his image in order to convince the world he was one of the good guys. And that polished image earned him over $100 million last year. Woods might still be a good … Read more
