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
Trick-or-treaters might be coming around with UNICEF donation boxes. Don’t give ‘em a dime — UNICEF pushes for abortion and sterilization as part of its efforts to improve the lives of women and children. Beyond the immediate irony of that idea, it’s not even good policy. According to CatholicCulture.org (emphasis mine): Pro-family UN watchers are … Read more
Read the first few paragraphs of this AP story on Catholic bloggers, and see if anything in particular strikes you: Pressure is on to change the Roman Catholic Church in America, but it’s not coming from the usual liberal suspects. A new breed of theological conservatives has taken to blogs and YouTube to say the … Read more
Is the religious right uncivil? Conservatives Michael Gerson and Peter Wehner think so. In a joint Huffington Post column titled “The Success and Failure of the Religious Right,” they argue: The language and tone of the religious right have often been apocalyptic, off-putting, and counterproductive. “Just like what Nazi Germany did to the Jews,” said Jerry … Read more
With the decision of the Ohio Elections Commission to allow a hearing to decide whether the Susan B. Anthony List has falsely represented the voting record of Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-OH), the question is again raised: Was abortion funding authorized by the health care legislation signed into law by President Barack Obama? The complaint arose … Read more
There was a time, 150 years ago, when American law held that all human beings were created equal — except for black human beings. American law currently holds that all human beings are equal — except for the unborn child. The Supreme Court of the United States did legalize de facto abortion on demand in … Read more
Many Catholics were justly upset when the University of Notre Dame awarded an honorary doctorate to President Barack Obama last year. But there are some good things happening at the school as well, and they should be recognized and encouraged. Most recently, the Notre Dame Fund created the Notre Dame Evangelium Vitae Medal, established “to … Read more
Popular Catholic blogger Jeff Miller of the Curt Jester thinks my notion of a Catholic Tea Party is a “bad idea.” It may, in fact, be a bad idea, but if so, not for the reasons he gives. There’s no need to rehearse the entire argument, because it comprises variations on a single theme: the … Read more
With less than a month to go before the mid-term elections, and with Catholic Democrats who voted for Obamacare in trouble, the Catholic Health Association is determined to do all it can to help remove the stigma. As everyone should know by now, Sr. Carol Keehan, CHA president, has been in the foreground of those … Read more
Albert Mohler, Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote a remarkable blog post criticizing Evangelicalism for its acceptance of divorce: When the Christian right was organized in the 1970s and galvanized in the 1980s, the issues of abortion and homosexuality were front and center. Where was divorce? [University of Washington political science professor … Read more
American politicians, unlike European ones, not only can but must play the Jesus card when they are faltering. Accordingly, Obama has done so, and just as accordingly, earnest Christians are now mulling over the “Is he really a Christian?” question that always arises whenever any polarizing public figure says he or she believes in Jesus. … Read more
As I’ve been saying, the Catholic tea kettle is boiling and one of the first places it’s bound to boil over is the home of the original Tea Party, Boston. Joe Sacerdo at the blog devoted to Rev, J. Bryan Hehir is calling for the protest in response to — guess what! — a SOCIAL … Read more
In yesterday’s Washington Post, a column by Kwame Anthony Appiah asked, “What will future generations condemn us for?” We tend to marvel at the shortsightedness of our ancestors with respect to, say, slavery; Appiah argues that actions we unthinkingly accept today will be viewed with similar incomprehension somewhere down the line. He offers three criteria … Read more
Not many articles at the National Catholic Reporter begin with, “My friend Deal Hudson.” But Michael Sean Winters bucks the trend by framing his polished polemic as a“shout out” of sorts to a friend on the other side of the Catholic political spectrum. (How far apart we really are is something to be determined down … Read more
Timothy Carney, senior political columnist for The Washington Examiner, notes an interesting distinction between the fiscally libertarian Tea Partiers scoring upsets in political races across the country and their defeated, standard-bearing Republican counterparts: The economy, taxes, spending, health care, and bailouts dominate the headlines and Tea Party rallies this year. But just beneath the surface, … Read more
Over the past two weeks, I’ve had extensive discussions with a wide group of Catholic leaders about the state of the Church in the United States. The frustration and impatience among Catholics, which I discussed last February in “Is It Time for a Catholic Tea Party?,” continue to grow. The occasions for this discussion were … Read more
Christine O’Donnell’s surprise victory in Delaware has stunned the pundits. It’s called a Tea Party victory, but in fact it was something a bit different. O’Donnell’s message was consistently grounded in the social conservatism of her Catholic faith, with a strong emphasis on the sanctity of life and the defense of marriage. The role of … Read more
This year’s election season promises ever greater challenges to the fake Catholic political groups. Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good seem to be running out of ideas for how to convince Catholics to vote for the same Democratic candidates who had promised in 2008 to support Catholic teachings on life issues, … Read more
It is common for Catholic politicians to say that they are personally opposed to abortion, but that they must accept the law and the rights of others to have a choice in the matter. They are, then, personally against but politically in favor of the right to abortion. Although this is a familiar stance, the … Read more
The following is a series of open memos that I wish I could have sent to various Catholic students whom I have taught at a secular university. I hope they might help any Catholic student intending to evangelize similar campuses. Names have been faux-classicized. t t t Dear Pedadogus Antagonistes, The first few weeks at … Read more