It is recorded of the Abbot Pambo, of whom I know nothing at all except the following anecdote, that, upon a visit to St. Athanasius, he came upon an actress — not, I would suppose, inside the good saint’s cell. (I have only very dim notions as to what sort of women these Egyptian actresses … Read more
Elizabeth Scalia, raised between Rites, welcomes back the Old Latin Mass, and wonders if its return might help improve the New. A magnificently voiced organ and the clear treble of the girl’s choir combined to sound like angels from on high. The billowing incense seemed to charge the church interior with holiness and mystery, and … Read more
On Tuesday, a group of Catholics in Washington, D.C. issued a statement calling for a greater “spirit of civility” as Americans approach the 2008 presidential elections. When I saw the title of the statement — “A Catholic Call to Civility in Public Debate” — I thought, what a great idea! Then I read it, and … Read more
Here’s something you don’t read every day. The Middle East Media Research Institute reports the following: Media Uproar Following Egyptian Mufti’s Fatwa on Companions of the Prophet Muhammad Being Blessed by Drinking His Urine An uproar in the Egyptian media followed the recent publication of a book by Egyptian Mufti Dr. Ali Gum’a in which … Read more
Late last month, 33 sisters from 26 countries met in Rome at the invitation of the U.S. embassy of the Holy See and the Italian Union of Major Superiors. The weeklong meeting was no ordinary gathering of nuns; it was the launch of an international, intercongregational religious network of sisters to counter the scourge of … Read more
When the secular media suddenly start talking about Catholic liturgy, something is afoot in the life of the Church. By the second year of Pope Benedict XVI’s pontificate, that’s exactly what happened. The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, U.S. News and World Report — the subject was everywhere. The … Read more
From the Vatican comes news that resistance to Benedict XVI’s promotion of the Old Latin Mass is considered “rebellion against the pope.” You may recall that on July 7, 2007, Benedict XVI released an Apostolic Letter called a motu proprio (because the pope wrote it “of his own accord” rather than using an advisor or … Read more
There is a debate going on in Britain about Catholic schools. It is taking place at several levels. At the level of government, there is much lip service paid to the value of “faith schools” because of their undeniable popularity, but there is also considerable tension about them. The expression “faith schools” is irritating — … Read more
A little-noticed Fox News Channel poll released last week revealed that nearly half of voters — 45 percent — need to know a candidate’s position on abortion before deciding their vote. The spin put on the poll numbers by the article was that the abortion issue “doesn’t seem to draw as much attention as many … Read more
Journalists trying to assess the life of Jean-Marie Lustiger (1926-2007) are like the crowd at the foot of Mount Sinai trying to figure out why Moses was complicating their lives. An eloquent sadness in him was too ancient for any one race to claim; and when, in 1999, he read his own mother’s name, Gisele, … Read more
A couple of weeks ago, I made the case that the biblical warnings against confusing the traditions of men with the Tradition of God still apply in our day. A few days later, as if divinely ordained to illustrate my point, an outraged reader of my blog sent along a story that recently ran on British … Read more
One sunny morning in September 1860, a British widower broke the news to his 11-year-old son that he was planning to marry again. The boy paused to take it in, then demanded, “But, Papa, is she one of the Lord’s children?” The father replied that she was. “Has she taken up her cross … Read more
Here’s a really cool site called Paleo-Future, devoted to chronicling the History of the Future. I’ve often thought such a subject would make a great book. After all, people have been making predictions forever, and it would be fun to see how the Assured Prophecies of Yesterday have panned out. Browsing through Paleo-Future, I note … Read more
In July 1943, Italian partisans toppled Fascist leader Benito Mussolini and threatened the German-Italian alliance. Hitler, on learning of Mussolini’s ouster, concluded that “Jew-loving” Pope Pius XII was involved. A Special Mission: Hitler’s Secret Plot to Seize the Vatican and Kidnap Pope Pius XII Dan Kurzman, Perseus Books, 285 pages, $26 In July … Read more
Christianity is under attack — in the media, in the academy, and in the culture. With his latest book, What’s So Great About Christianity, Dinesh D’Souza meets this latest wave head on with his characteristic wit and erudition. Benjamin Wiker spoke with D’Souza about his debut role as a Christian apologist. ♦ ♦ ♦ Benjamin … Read more
The Jesuit College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, is in trouble. Bishop Robert J McManus, S.T.D., issued a statement on October 10th warning President Michael McFarland, S.J., that the official Catholic status of Holy Cross was at risk. The reason for the showdown? On October 24, representatives of both Planned Parenthood and NARAL … Read more
St. Paul tells us that it was Jesus who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, pastors, and teachers. So far as I can tell, however, there is no office in the Church of “Professional Bomb Thrower.” That’s just one of the reasons I don’t turn to Ann Coulter … Read more
“If Giuliani and Clinton are the nominees, then Hillary Clinton will certainly win the Catholic vote in 2008.” This is the opinion of a chief strategist behind George W. Bush’s success with Catholic voters in 2000 and 2004. Steve Wagner, president of QEV Analytics in Washington, D.C., isn’t happy in reaching this conclusion. “Hillary Clinton, … Read more
Since the bridge in Minneapolis collapsed, the world has become bridge-conscious. In natural law class this semester, I said to the students: “What is the ‘natural law of bridges?’” I was thinking of J. M. Bochenski’s chapter on “law” in his Philosophy: An Introduction. Bochenski shows that a relation exists between the mind and the … Read more
The loss of the Judeo-Christian vision in the West has many casualties, perhaps none so obvious as the degradation of our popular culture. We might think of art as the canary in the coal mine, the death of the canary being the early warning of foul air. In a like manner, art in the West … Read more