Here’s a truism: If you’re running for President, don’t answer a question by saying, “That’s above my pay grade.” After all, if you want to occupy the White House, there is no higher pay grade. You are the boss, and the buck stops with you. But Barack Obama used precisely that expression when asked by … Read more
Evoking the power of the human heart is the daily bread of American pop culture. It rarely raises an eyebrow. But the use of “heart” by Barack Obama to describe his criteria for picking judges is troubling. Speaking to Planned Parenthood just over a year ago, Obama said: We need somebody who’s got the heart, … Read more
Objections continue to be raised to the charge that Senator Barack Obama supports infanticide, most recently in a Huffington Post column by Seth Colter Walls. I have made this claim myself, as have Sen. Rick Santorum, Terry Jeffreys, Jill Stanek, Bill Donohue, Gary Bauer, and Nat Hentoff. It’s a dramatic charge, but here are the … Read more
There will be much media mischief aimed at Catholic voters between now and November 4. Perhaps the best example thus far appeared in the Trenton Times on July 30. The headline of reporter Jeff Trently’s article tells you all you need to know about his intentions: “U.S. Bishops: Vote your conscience, Catholics urged to weigh … Read more
Alan Moore — pagan, anarchist, wildly bearded author of V for Vendetta and the terrific superhero-deconstruction comic Watchmen — is not the person one might expect to write a poignant story of homecoming, conscience, repentance, and renewal. Then again, he is just the sort of person to write a horror comic about an advertising designer … Read more
In May 2007, Benedict XVI flew to meet with the bishops of Mexico, Central America, and South America. While on the plane, the pope answered a question from a reporter about the Mexican bishops who were threatening to withhold the Eucharist from Catholic politicians who voted in favor of legalizing abortion. The Holy Father expressed … Read more
The Convention for the Common Good was held in Philadelphia over the past weekend. When I wrote about the gathering in early April, Catholics Organize to Elect Obama, one of its co-sponsors wrote to me saying that I had mischaracterized their “non-partisan” effort to bring Catholics together to discuss public policy. Further, they told … Read more
A few days ago, Sen. Barack Obama was asked to clarify his position on late-term abortion by Cameron Strang of Relevant magazine. The senator used this as an opportunity to deny the “email rumors floating around that somehow I’m unwilling to see doctors offer life-giving care to children who were born as a result of … Read more
Infanticide is becoming a touchy subject for Barack Obama. So much so that his supporters either deny that their candidate ever voted against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, or they describe his votes as “procedural,” as if Obama never really opposed providing medical treatment for infants who survived an abortion. The facts show otherwise. … Read more
For the past six months, I have commented regularly on Barack Obama’s outreach to Catholic voters. Looking over what I have written, I realized that taken together these articles serve as a one-stop reference for Catholics who want to know where Obama stands on the non-negotiable Catholic issues. Before I get to the problems with … Read more
When thinking about religion it is often helpful to bear in mind a distinction between “thick” religions and “thin” religions. This distinction can help us understand why American Catholicism went into decline about 40 years ago. By a “thick” religion I mean one that requires its adherents to do and to believe many things. And … Read more
Let’s hear it for fathers. But hurry, because fairly soon it might be politically incorrect, and then perhaps illegal to speak out and cheer for them, as it will be deemed insulting to those who have made children deliberately fatherless. Our government here in Britain has just passed legislation affirming the rights of lesbians to … Read more
Sen. John McCain reached out to Catholic voters yesterday in Philadelphia at a gathering of Catholic lay leaders and clergy. The meeting, held at the venerable Union League on South Broad St., is one in an ongoing series being held nationwide by McCain and his Catholic surrogates — Sen. Sam Brownback, Gov. Frank Keating, … Read more
With the announcement last November that Ian Wilmut, who cloned Dolly the sheep, was ditching cloning in favor of the “amazingly efficient” method of induced pluripotent stem-cell research (iPS) — which reprograms adult stem cells into embryonic ones without using human embryos or eggs — pro-lifers had reason to celebrate. The most prominent cloning … Read more
When New York’s Governor David Paterson ordered state agencies to recognize same-sex “marriages” performed outside the state last month, the New York State Catholic Conference was quick to respond with justifiable anger. “No single politician or court or legislature should attempt to redefine the very building block of our society in a way that … Read more
In my last column, I noted that the California Supreme Court was about to decide on the constitutionality of gay marriage in that state. The verdict is in, and a law defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman has been overturned. By a 4-3 decision, the court declared the state’s Defense … Read more
The Catholic Left is hanging itself right before our eyes. Having never come to grips with the Church’s teachings on sexuality, they are now tightening the noose on themselves in public. It is not a pretty sight. This month alone they have embroiled themselves in a debate with three separate archbishops, with no end in … Read more
A learned friend of mine recently wrote an op-ed piece for a newspaper in which she argued that the drive for same-sex marriage is not simply about same-sex marriage; it is also about winning moral approval for homosexuality. If society, acting through the state, tells us that homosexuals can marry one another, then it is … Read more
When Bill Donohue accused Rev. John Hagee of anti-Catholicism, the liberal media accepted his opinion as authoritative. After Donohue accepted Hagee’s letter of regret and announced “case closed,” the same media accused Donohue of lying to help John McCain’s candidacy. Donohue’s veracity is unquestioned if it allows the media to bash a Christian leader aligned … Read more
In Victorian England, Thomas Henry Huxley was the most determined and ardent defender of Darwinism, thereby earning himself the nickname “Darwin’s bulldog.” By parity of reasoning, Bill Donohue of the Catholic League might be called “the pope’s bulldog.” Hardly an insult, let alone an injury, is aimed at the Catholic religion without Donohue’s nipping at … Read more