“I shall not today attempt further to define [hard-core pornography], and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it.” ~ Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart “How about we go see the new Mad Max movie,” I suggested to my almost-twenty son, Ben. It hit a nerve. “I haven’t even … Read more
Wood chipper. If you’re like me, those two words are inextricably linked to the Coen Brothers’ 1996 film Fargo. Despite the violence and gore, it’s one of my favorite movies, for it contrasts good and evil in an intensely memorable and surprisingly nuanced way. Plus, it’s a substantial “grown-ups” movie that I can recommend in … Read more
A few months ago, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), speaking to a Catholic audience, said that her favorite word was The Word, as in the Incarnate Jesus Christ, and that she wanted to pass laws “in keeping with the values” of that Word. More recently, Speaker Pelosi was doing an interview where a Catholic News … Read more
I missed this one: In June, Nancy Frazier O’Brien at Catholic News Service wrote about a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the amount of federal funding given to organizations that perform or promote abortion. Between 2002 and 2009 — during the Bush administration, in other words — the number was a staggering $967 … Read more
OK, we’re a few days from the House vote on the Senate health care bill containing abortion funding. That funding has been publicly acknowledged and condemned by the USCCB and numerous bishops individually. We have also witnessed the support given the Senate health care bill by the trade association for Catholic hospitals — the Catholic … Read more
Many of our Protestant friends appreciate Mary in a way their ancestors didn’t. This is a good thing. Some of them even like her a lot, and in a way that their ancestors would denounce. This is an even better thing. But there are limits, which too many Catholics just can’t see. By “Protestant” I’m … 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