When asked my politics, I sometimes say, “Papal Insurrectionist.” In the classic Catholic novel Dawn of All, by Robert Hugh Benson, I get my wish. Here is a future wherein the world (or at least Europe and the Americas and increasing parts of Asia and elsewhere) has come to be “really and intelligently Christian.” And … Read more
“Submit yourselves one to another, as in the Lord,” says St. Paul, and then he follows his command with a list of applications, involving relationships among husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and servants, citizens and their magistrates, and all Christians and their elders in the Faith. The Christian life, as the saints and … Read more
One of the sillier things one sometimes hears about the Catholic Church is communicated in jokes like the one about the guy who gets to the Pearly Gates and is ushered inside by St. Peter. As Pete’s showing him around the Elysian Fields, they pass by a little gothic structure and hear voices inside praying … Read more
The new governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, is distinguishing himself in two ways as a Catholic politician. Not only he is pro-life, but he is also aggressively pursuing a set of policies grounded in the principle of subsidiarity. At a time when most prominent Catholic politicians — Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, and John Kerry … Read more
There are lessons of wisdom to be found in every folly, however painful the extraction. The ongoing, almost comic bungling efforts and non-efforts of the federal government dealing with the oil spill in the gulf is no exception. The most important political lesson is both conservative and Catholic. The conservative lesson? When dealing with a … Read more
In the 1970s, I inhabited a world where the Second Vatican Council was seen as an unmitigated disaster. Nuns stopped wearing their old habits — or simply left their convents altogether. Priests left their ministry. There was trite music at Mass, and Benediction seemed to have been abolished. Doctrine wasn’t taught anymore, and catechesis for … Read more
Shortly after he became pope in November 1958, John XXIII was asked: “How many people are working in the Vatican now?” With the humor that made him beloved all over the world, the Holy Father replied: “About half.” Â Â “About half” is a more than generous estimate of the number of baptized Catholics who … Read more
About ten years ago, I mentioned to a Catholic friend that I was starting to work on a book critiquing the Left Behind novels. I explained that it would thoroughly examine premillennial dispensationalism, the unique apocalyptic belief system presented, in fictional format, within those books. Premillennial dispensationalism teaches that the “Rapture” and the Second Coming … Read more
Sitting in the pew for Mass at St. Mary’s in Norwalk, Connecticut, I was offended. After the deacon chanted “Ite Missa est,” our pastor took to the lectern to inform us that Connecticut was considering a revision of their laws that would retroactively eliminate the statute of limitations for prosecuting sexual abuse of minors, currently … Read more
They leave for different reasons. Some saw hypocrisy. Others were hurt by those in authority. Still more disagree with a Church teaching. Sometimes, all they’re waiting for is an invitation back. And often, it’s not the Catholic Church itself that the “fallen away” have a beef with but their particular experience of it. “Evangelize at … Read more
Somehow I missed Peggy Noonan’s article from April 17 in The Wall Street Journal called “How to Save the Catholic Church.” I’m surprised it hasn’t generated more controversy (maybe it has, and I missed that, too). Noonan believes the old ways of secrecy, silence, loyalty at all costs, and the “old-boys club” mentality can no … Read more
The day after she defended Obama as “pro-choice,” as opposed to “pro-abortion,” Sr. Anita Baird, an employee of the Archdiocese of Chicago, apologized for the remark. The relevant portion of the apology is found at LifeSiteNews: “In order to clarify my quote that appeared on LifeSiteNews.com, I am affirming my belief in the teachings of … Read more
The Anchoress has written a beautiful piece for NPR: “Today, on Good Friday, Why I Am Still A Catholic.” Â When have darkness and light been anything but co-existent? How do we recognize either without the other? I remain within, and love, the Catholic Church because it is a church that has lived and wrestled … Read more
It is an honor, of sorts, to have one’s Lenten penances externally imposed, and the whole Church has shared in this honor this year. Led by an ignorant and malicious attack in the New York Times, the liberal media internationally have been doing everything in their power to pin something — anything — on Pope … Read more
I’m a sucker for charts and graphs, so this preliminary study on “The Economics of Sainthood” had plenty to entertain me. The authors explain their purpose: Saint-making has been a major activity of the Catholic Church for centuries. The pace of sanctifications has picked up noticeably in the last several decades under the last two … Read more
“So what do you do?” I’m asked over drinks at a recent party. Â I mentally flip through a list of possible responses. I hesitate, considering my interrogator. I think I remember someone mentioning he works as a neurosurgeon. Â He performs brain surgery. I wipe little bottoms. Â So here’s my quandary: Do I … Read more
I receive, not infrequently, inquiries by mail from recent converts to the Church who, after a year or so as new Catholics, find themselves wondering about this and that. All of these letters are from former Evangelicals who have read themselves joyfully into the Church. With their earnest, muscular, biblically oriented background in the … Read more
A friend’s therapist once suggested that she consider becoming Episcopalian. Wouldn’t that be so much easier than wrestling with all her Catholic angst? Â This suggestion made me think about the many misconceptions and stereotypes surrounding religious faith — and, maybe especially, religious conversion. No metaphor can really capture the wild variety of conversion experiences … Read more
I’m not much of a football fan, but I usually find myself watching the Superbowl every year. It provides an excuse for a party, after all, and that means snacks. This year I was rooting for the Saints, mainly because they were the underdogs and have never taken home the Lombardi trophy. (Plus, I like … Read more
Browsing through my feedreader earlier today, I happened across this fascinating web page from Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), “a national, non-profit, Georgetown University affiliated research center that conducts social scientific studies about the Catholic Church.” Entitled “Frequently Requested Catholic Church Statistics,” it’s a compilation of particularly interesting statistics concerning the Catholic … Read more