“That means they’re anorexic,”said a young woman I know when asked why the great majority of the girls at her elite college had declared themselves vegetarians or vegans. I thought she was being sarcastic, but she wasn’t. Â She was being witty. The ideological self-description has become a code word for an illness the girls … Read more
“So what if two men are allowed to marry?” we hear many a pew-warming Catholic say. “What effect can that have on marriage? I won’t love my wife any the less.” True; perhaps the damage has already been done. If that sounds harsh, consider that married life in our world is a diminished thing. Husbands … Read more
Islam at the Gates: How Christendom Defeated the Ottoman Turks Diane Moczar, Sophia Institute Press, $17.95, 256 pages Once upon a time in the West, our ancestors clashed with peoples from the East. Europe was born at Marathon in 491 B.C., when Athenian hoplites defeated an invading Persian army. The defeat of Darius and his … Read more
Racism has raised its ugly head in the presidential campaign. More exactly, talk about racism has raised its ugly head. Given that it’s a Democratic year — or, at least, should be a Democratic year — the difficult question has presented itself: Why isn’t Sen. Barack Obama way ahead of Sen. John McCain in the … Read more
I’ve always loved this funny little tune from Chaucer’s day called “Sumer is icumen in.” Joyful and ebullient, it was doubtless sung by many an English peasant out sweating in the field and is full of the solid earthy, good humor of a people who were closely bound to the land. For them, one of … Read more
One of the books I’m teaching this semester is a title that, over the years, I’ve found indispensable for my sanity, such as it is: G. K. Chesterton’s The Everlasting Man. If you don’t know the book, stop reading now. Click over and order your copy. Go ahead, I can wait . . . Â … Read more
Satafi in Mauretania Caesariensi was a town in the western part of modern Algeria, and its chief claim to fame was that it was the birthplace of Marcus Opellius Macrinus who succeeded Caracalla as emperor, albeit for just 14 months. Because the Berbers there eventually were Islamicized, it was ripe as a defunct diocese to … Read more
 To some, the phrase “Catholic Community” conjures up images of exclusive ghettos — areas of faith-filled Catholics who live close together and are so different from the world outside that they fail to engage it in any meaningful way. At the other extreme is contemporary Catholic life, where churchgoers attend the parish of their … Read more
The Grand Inquisitor John Zmirak, illustrated by Carla Millar, Crossroad, $19.95, 76 pages A graphic novel is a comic book on steroids: It’s bigger, fiercer, and capable of heavy lifting. What could be a heavier topic than a conspiracy to destroy Christ’s Church from within? That’s the theme of John Zmirak’s latest, The Grand Inquisitor. … Read more
Recently, the influential German philosopher Jürgen Habermas spoke of the emergence of a “post-secular” society. It had long been thought that as societies grew in technological and economic power, and as the risks of daily life that had been so common for generations faded beneath the safety of plentiful food, a social welfare system, and … Read more
It is an old fact of Christian theology that concupiscence “darkens the intellect” — or, as I prefer to put it in more colloquial terms, “Sin Makes You Stupid.” The visceral reaction to Sarah Palin by the Enemies of the Normal in the Obama camp is a picture-perfect illustration of this. From the instantaneous embrace … Read more
With the nomination of Gov. Sarah Palin as the Republican vice-presidential candidate, a fatal blow was delivered to the great myth of this campaign: that religious voters, as we have been told repeatedly, have embraced a broader issue agenda, having left behind their fixation on abortion and marriage. On the contrary: The thousands of Republicans … Read more
The pictures say it all. No, not the Tigh/Roslin ’08 pictures (though they do make you wonder). I mean these pictures here. The believers in the Lightworker (i.e., most MSM types) have all of a sudden morphed into upstanding Republican Puritans of a kind not seen since Ozzie and Harriet ruled the earth. So we … Read more
Greater Than You Think: A Theologian Answers the Atheists about God Rev. Thomas D. Williams, L.C., FaithWords, 192 pages, $13.99 In the absence of any other proof, the thumb alone would convince me of God’s existence. — Sir Isaac Newton It would seem improbable that a Christian might, in a scant 192 pages, bring sound … Read more
A very tangled situation arises in one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known plays, Measure for Measure. This is to say nothing particularly arresting; after all, what do we come upon in any of his plays but tangled situations? We all know the agonies and cross-currents in Hamlet and Macbeth, of course. (To my own mind, King Lear … Read more
Over the past few days, three of our writers have offered lighter reflections on why they prefer a given genre of music — Rock, Showtunes, and Classical. We conclude with Classical Music. ♦ ♦ ♦ Classical music is the greatest music. This assertion is not based upon my preference or opinion; it is as much … Read more
 Over the next few days, three of our writers will offer lighter reflections on why they prefer a given genre of music — Rock, Showtunes, and Classical.  We continue today with Showtunes.   ♦ ♦ ♦   It is said we love the music of our youth. No doubt we respond … Read more
Over the next few days, three of our writers will offer lighter reflections on why they prefer a given genre of music — Rock, Broadway, and Classical.  We begin today with Rock and Roll.   ♦ ♦ ♦  My childhood was marinated in the thunder of Beethoven, the depth of Mozart, and … Read more
“It is the duty of those serving the people in public place,” said Grover Cleveland in his first inaugural address in 1885, “to closely limit public expenditures to the actual needs of the government economically administered.” That was, for Cleveland, plain common sense, and his practice proved that he meant it. He was an implacable … Read more
I do not own a television set, I do not like the cynicism of the Olympic organization, and I’m put off by propaganda spectacles in totalitarian countries. From this, the gentle reader may infer my opinion of the Olympic Games in Beijing. Add to this the fact I am Canadian — we don’t win … Read more