When the U.S. bishops hold their annual meeting in Baltimore next week, one item on the agenda will be approval of the new Order for the Blessing of the Child in the Womb. The blessing, according to the USCCB, “was prepared to support parents awaiting the birth of their child, to encourage in the parish … Read more
In following the presidential contest this year, I have been at times amazed and disgusted at the kabuki theater our political discourse has become. The two major party candidates have presented themselves as both more and less than what they really are—trying to capture voters by simultaneously promising that they will solve our problems and … Read more
Our choices matter. They hurtle before us into eternity, dragging us in their wake. And in this election, more than any in the United States since 1860, they matter desperately. I wish they didn’t. The single most damning objection raised by atheists is this: Why would a loving, omnipotent God permit sin, suffering, and the … Read more
On Saturday, I headed off to the early absentee voting booth, where, for the first time in my life, I voted third party. Though I don’t need to explain myself, I will anyway: I’m a former Republican who voted third party because I’m tired of the issues I care about — all of them — … Read more
My support this election for John McCain has been no secret, as regular readers know. But while I’ve offered my reasons here and there, I’ve never put them all together in a single piece. I try to do that now. Some of my case for McCain comes from agreeing with positions he holds, and some … Read more
One of the most gripping and spiritually terrifying novels I’ve encountered is Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. The story is well known from many film versions, none of which does the story justice, since the visual inevitably puts the focus on the horrors of the painting itself. This is really a distraction, because … Read more
Tomorrow is All Saints’ Day — a time for honoring those spiritual brothers and sisters who have run the race and won their eternal rest, and for celebrating our connection, through the Mystical Body, to the Church Triumphant. I think it’s also an appropriate time for reflecting on our own eternal destiny. Back when I … Read more
Okay, he didn’t, really, because he never had the chance — but it’s as certain as magnolia blooms in the spring that if Jefferson Davis were to rise again and take his place as the extremely senior senator from Mississippi, he would make the Senate ring with his denunciations of Roe v. Wade. In fact, … Read more
In October 2008, the Archdiocese of Zagreb celebrated the 10th anniversary of the beatification of Aloysius Cardinal Stepinac, who led the Catholic Church in Croatia during the Second World War. Though he is a hero in Croatia, his reputation elsewhere is a matter of controversy: The Communist regime that took over after the war convicted … Read more
As I write this, Sen. John McCain is edging closer to Sen. Barack Obama in the national polls. Whether this will translate into enough votes to win battleground states like Pennsylvania, Florida, and Ohio is still a long shot. But whatever happens on November 4, a major shake-up in the GOP is a certainty. Dana … Read more
Two weekends ago, almost four-fifths of the clergy and over three-fifths of the laity representing churches in the Episcopal diocese of Pittsburgh voted to leave the Episcopal Church and join the South American Anglican province called “the Southern Cone.” It was the second American diocese (out of 100 or so) to do so, with two … Read more
 Jesus famously said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you as well.”  Elsewhere, He restated this principle using a different image and adding a negative corollary:  Take heed what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more … Read more
The local Community House in Moorestown, New Jersey, where I grew up, used to sponsor a little parade on their grounds each year at Halloween. We would all line up in our costumes and file past a table on the lawn where the judges sat deciding which costume was the best. The great thing was … Read more
From the tenor of my reflections on the seven deadly sins, the careless reader might think I’m playing devil’s advocate — or, even worse, that I’ve pumped up my ego to the point where I think I can compete with C. S. Lewis. In fact, the only Lewis I’m hoping to emulate is Jerry. (Stay … Read more
If Obama wins on November 4 with the help of Catholic voters, the biggest factor in his favor will be the bishops’ own document and Web site, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.” I never thought it likely that Catholic voters could be persuaded to support a candidate with both the most extreme record on abortion … Read more
Let me begin by confessing that I am one of those conservatives who take comfort in Plato’s devastating critique of Athenian democracy. I believe that civic liberty is not an end in itself, but is a tool that man finds fit for his nature as a reasoning being, a tool to be judged by the … Read more
Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession Anne Rice, Knopf, 256 pages, $24 A decade ago, Anne Rice — the best-selling author of gothic tales of nocturnal bloodsuckers — found herself “Christ-haunted.” Statues of the saints, half-ruined Catholic churches, and the crucified Christ reignited the long dormant piety that suffused her New Orleans childhood. Flannery … Read more
I have noticed that there are certain similarities between the life histories of Sen. Barack Obama and myself (even though I’m old enough to be his father). For one, we were both community organizers — he in Chicago in the 1980s; I in Cranston, Rhode Island, about 1970. As community organizers, we were both inspired … Read more
As if doffing the black robes of judges and donning the mantles of secular pontiffs, three justices of the United States Supreme Court on June 29, 1992, delivered themselves of this profession of faith: “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and … Read more
Frank J. Hanna III has become one of the leading Catholic philanthropists in the nation. His Solidarity Foundation recently obtained the oldest extant copy of portions of the Gospels of Luke and John and presented them to Pope Benedict XVI for the Vatican Library. A merchant banker in Atlanta, Hanna is the CEO of HBR … Read more
