If you examine an icon, you will notice that the figure in it will often be breaking out of the frame. Sometimes the hands, sometimes the halo, sometimes both are outside the border framing the image. That’s no accident. It’s part of what iconography is trying to get us to see: that the supernatural is … Read more
When I moved my family to New Hampshire in the fall of 2001 and we were casting around for a good parish (not as simple as it sounds — Catholic life here in the most secular state in the country hasn’t been done many favors during the reign of Cardinal Law’s former lieutenant, Bishop … Read more
The February 20 issue of the Denver Catholic Register published a column on the Jesuits titled "Some Questions for Father General" by George Weigel. In response, the president of the University of San Francisco, Rev. Stephen A. Privett, S.J., published "Attack on Jesuits Out of Place" in Catholic San Francisco, the archdiocesan newspaper. Father … Read more
Recently, the Mainstream Media (MSM) got itself all in a tizzy about "the Vatican" supposedly issuing "seven new deadly sins." As one particularly egregious headline put it, "Recycle or go to hell, warns Vatican." Given this view of the Faith, discussions in the press then break down into inane prattle about mortal and … Read more
One of the strangest charges tossed about in American politics in recent years has been the assertion that those on the “religious right” (i.e., conservative Christians, mostly Evangelical Protestants, who are active in politics) are “theocrats.” These folks, so the accusation runs, wish to transform the United States from a democracy into a theocracy. When … Read more
Last week, media agencies around the world took an interview with Archbishop Gianfranco Girotti to mean that the Vatican had revised the seven classic deadly sins and added seven new deadly sins to the list. In particular, they focused on “pollution” as one of the new sins that the archbishop was apparently promulgating for the … Read more
In her recent book The Party Faithful: How and Why the Democrats are Closing the God Gap, Amy Sullivan, the nation editor at Time, recalls the moment when Barack Obama “made himself a household name.” The scene was the second night of the 2004 Democratic Convention. Senator Obama’s address to the convention “displayed a gift … Read more
The moment Bill Donohue demanded that Senator John McCain repudiate the anti-Catholicism of Rev. John Hagee, the Democrats began rubbing their hands in anticipation. Between February 28 and March 10, Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, issued eleven press releases. By the time Donohue announced “this case is closed” the … Read more
Me? I like my beer cold, my cars fast, and my Catholicism — thank you very much — crunchy. “If we took the bones out, it wouldn’t be crunchy, would it?” — Monty Python, The Confectioner’s Sketch Me? I like my beer cold, my cars fast, and my Catholicism — thank you very … Read more
According to a new Pew Forum study, more Americans have left the Catholic Church than any other religious body. We asked 34 prominent Catholics why. Last week the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life released a study on the changing religious habits of Americans. Among many things, the researchers found that the Catholic Church … Read more
Father Thomas Euteneuer’s remarks on Coach Majerus need to be read in perspective. Almost 50 million innocent people have been killed via abortion, methodically and deliberately. This state-sanctioned genocide has been occurring in the United States for 35 years. Even pro-lifers are vulnerable to being inured to this stark fact. ► Click here to read … Read more
And be it always remembered that the goodness of God is dynamic — it leads to action; it not only fills the soul but it makes the soul love and makes it manifest its love in deeds. — M. Eugene Boylan, This Tremendous Lover On January 21, Coach Rick Majerus of Saint Louis University told … Read more
Speaking with Church leaders and lay Christians on the ground in the world’s hot spots leaves a lasting impression. During a recent interview with Pakistani Bishop Theodore Lobo, I was reminded that Christians are called to a truly radical way of life — a kind of forgiveness not shared by Muslims or Jews. Christians in … Read more
In Exodus 22, we read, “Whoever sacrifices to any god, except to the Lord alone, shall be doomed.” The word “sacrifice” in this passage means to offer an oblation whose consummation acknowledges the Lordship of Yahweh over all things. By extension, it forbids the performance of any act that implicitly praises or honors a god … Read more
Next week, my defense of religion in politics — Onward, Christian Soldiers: The Growing Political Power of Catholics and Evangelicals in the United States — will be published by Simon & Schuster. This book is both a history and apologia of religious conservatives in politics over the past 30 years. But this primary season has … Read more
In early January I wrote a column arguing that Barack Obama “will not win the Catholic vote.” Although Obama has won eleven primaries in a row, his “Catholic problem” is emerging in voting patterns and early media skirmishes. Catholic-vote expert Steve Wagner predicted two months ago that Clinton would beat Obama among Catholics. Clinton’s advantage, … Read more
Faith, Hope, and Charity are what the Church teaches, urbi et orbi, from day to day to cities and worlds embittering themselves by their attempts to deny Christ. But what first attracted me to Catholic teaching, from far off when I was young and still un-Christian, was the teaching on Reason. This wasn’t the church … Read more
Vatican watchers have noticed that Pope Benedict XVI is wearing fancier vestments than his predecessor. When he came out to bless the crowds after Christmas, he was wearing an ornate cope embroidered with gold and silver thread. On his head was an old-fashioned miter encrusted with gold and jewels. For Christmas vespers, and again on … Read more
In a “Window” from last week, I addressed Catholic law professor Doug Kmiec, who had written an article in Slate titled “Reaganites for Obama?” In that piece, Kmiec made an argument encapsulated in the following sentence:”Beyond life issues, an audaciously hope-filled Democrat like Obama is a Catholic natural.” I criticized him for exemplifying the kind … Read more
One of the curious side effects of my line of work as a Catholic writer is that people will sometimes confess very odd phenomena they normally wouldn’t discuss with people who aren’t known for believing in miracles. Some years ago, a woman I know cleared her throat awkwardly, looked very sheepish, and asked me: “If … Read more