The Catholic Church is often accused of complicity in a variety of moral evils, including the institution of slavery, the rise of the Nazi Party, and even the horror of the Holocaust itself. Historians differ on the degree of blame properly assigned to Catholics. But they all agree on one thing: These evils were the … Read more
Last night, the Archdiocese of New York held its famous Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, with both Senators John McCain and Barack Obama as guests. I watched the coverage today — the story is all over the news, along with images of Obama and Edward Cardinal Egan sharing a laugh. Something about that bothered … Read more
When is the last time a bishop’s statement on abortion resulted in several days of protest from pro-abortion Catholics? The joint statement issued last Friday by Bishop Kevin Vann of Fort Worth and Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas has done just that. No doubt the forceful clarity of the bishops’ message elicited the outcry. The … Read more
There was a brief controversy in the summer of 2003, when a group of liberal and progressive Catholic figures held a closed-door meeting to discuss Church matters with several high-level prelates, including Archbishop Wilton Gregory and Theodore Cardinal McCarrick. Deal W. Hudson and others at the time observed that the group had a number of … Read more
As we saw last week, antique atheists like Bill Maher still imagine that people who take the Bible seriously must read it literalistically, as he does. However, there is a difference between literalistic interpretation — which is the habit of all fundamentalists, whether atheist or Christian — and the literal sense of Scripture. The Catechism … Read more
In dire days of the last dark world war, one man said after a papal audience: "Pius XII judges everything from a perspective that surpasses human beings, their undertakings and their quarrels. . . . Pious, compassionate, political — such does this pontiff and sovereign appear to me because of the respect that he inspires … Read more
Of the seven areas of life where Jesus spoils our fun, the subject of sex is one where He actually does least harm. Wistful, liberal Catholics like to point out that Christ spent much more time on earth denouncing the smugly rich than the randy. As usual, these people are missing the point: When it … Read more
“Now the last safe haven for Christians is gone,” said Canon Andrew White, the vicar of St. George’s church in Baghdad. During the past week, twelve Christians have been killed and more than 3,000 have left the city of Mosul, once considered a safe zone for persecuted Iraqi Christians. Mosul, on the plain of Nineveh … Read more
An Obama victory on November 4 is far from certain, but the momentum behind his campaign prompts me to wonder: What impact could an Obama administration have on the Catholic Church? The Bush victories in 2000 and 2004 brought a flood of commentary on the so-called red and blue states. If Obama wins in 2008, … Read more
Bill Maher is on the loose with his new film Religulous. Proving yet again that within the breast of every dime-store atheist beats the heart of a Christian fundamentalist crank, the latest pop paladin of Truly True Scientific Atheist Thought sallies forth to combat the ravages of faithheads like Louis Pasteur who promote irrational superstitious … Read more
Two weeks ago, I promised to lay out for you, one week at a time, the "seven key areas of life where Jesus ruins our fun." By this I mean the categories of normal human experience that make up the bulk of our lives — where our instincts, habits, and egos have patched together perfectly … Read more
“I would exhort people to say the rosary every day for life and for the success of the election.” These are the words of Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua, the retired archbishop of Philadelphia. When I spoke to him yesterday, the cardinal emphasized that he neither spoke officially for the archdiocese nor was he endorsing any specific … Read more
I think G. K. Chesterton is onto something profound when he says that when you abandon the big laws, you don’t get freedom and you don’t even get anarchy: You get the small laws. In other words, the paradoxical effect of attempting to be lawless is to become more and more legalistic, to parse words … Read more
I know that I promised last week to continue my analysis of “Seven Key Aspects of Life Where Jesus Spoils Our Fun.” And I will get back to it — in fact, I’ll do so relentlessly, seven times, until I’ve essentially written the core of my upcoming book on InsideCatholic’s dime. I look forward to … Read more
A few days ago Rev. Ray Schroth, S.J., posted “Why This Priest Votes for Obama” on the NJ Voice blog. Father Schroth teaches humanities at St. Peter’s College and is presently working on a book about Rev. Robert Drinan, S.J. Father was careful in making his endorsement: “I do not say this from a pulpit. I … Read more
The intricacies of Catholic moral theology have never been my strong suit. Rather than use the law to nitpick and condemn people, I’m far too inclined to be on the side of the sinner and give people the benefit of the doubt. For those who quibble over the morality of a particular action, I’m too … Read more
Last week I went fist-to-face with one of the “new atheists,” John Derbyshire of National Review. It’s not like I make a habit of badgering those who don’t share the gift of faith. Only God can give that out. At our best, we’re His bicycle messengers. We really can help people cut the twine and … Read more
Nearly two decades have passed since El Salvador’s civil war ended, but the 1980 assassination of a Roman Catholic archbishop may prove highly influential when voters elect a new president next spring. For many Salvadorans over 30, the disappearance of loved ones and the chatter of machine guns remain far more real than the 1992 … Read more
The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services. But other kinds of sacred music, especially polyphony, are by no means excluded from liturgical celebrations, so long as they accord with the spirit of the liturgical action, … Read more
The statements made by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Joseph Biden on Meet the Press have provided a wonderful, even providential, opportunity to present the Church’s teaching on abortion and explain its foundational importance to Catholic moral and political teaching in general. Already many bishops have issued clear and courageous statements correcting … Read more