 The Congress and the White House have little to fear from the bishops’ official statements opposing the abortion provisions in the health care bill. Unlike with President Barack Obama’s appearance at Notre Dame, there is no chorus of bishops’ voices rising in protest against the bill; most of the Catholics in Congress support it, … Read more
In the late afternoon of July 10, President Obama met privately with Pope Benedict XVI for just over 30 minutes. According to official Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi, S.J., “The president explicitly expressed his commitment to reducing the numbers of abortions and to listen to the church’s concern on moral issues.” On July 13 in … Read more
“Health,” said a very bright and good-natured colleague of mine, “seems absolutely necessary for human flourishing. After all, if you don’t have your health, you can’t very well contribute your talents to the community.” Â Most of the other members of our seminar agreed. That in itself was illuminating, because we didn’t agree on a … Read more
President Barack Obama has selected a pro-abortion Catholic governor, who has been told by her bishop not to present herself for communion, to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Writing last year in his diocesan newspaper, Bishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, discussed a meeting with Gov. Kathleen Sebelius where he told … Read more
 Recently I’ve begun to notice a resemblance between Scranton’s Bishop Joseph Francis Martino and another Philadelphia-born bishop, John Cardinal O’Connor. Bishop Martino is outspoken, and his direct, almost pugnacious, criticism is reminiscent of the late cardinal of New York.  Both Martino and O’Connor attended St. Charles Borromeo Seminary before seeking graduate degrees — … Read more
No one is ever really ready for the death of a loved one, whether it’s an aging parent or a sibling whose life is cut short prematurely. This reality was brought home to me when two of my aunts (Fredrena and Loupenn), my mother’s sisters, both died within a few months of each other. While … Read more
The centerpiece of Obama’s Catholic outreach in the recent election was the “abortion reduction” trope. This was the cover provided by Catholic supporters for some of the most pro-abortion politicians in U.S. history. Doug Johnson, legislative director of National Right to Life, has detailed its deceptions and misrepresentations. By ending the Mexico City Policy, President … Read more
It was meant to be a slightly glamorous Christmas. Festive in the right sense, of gold vestments and Gregorian chant, rich dinners with friends too long unseen, a little bit of glitz to contrast with humming and drumming of the hard work done all year. I’d planned some slightly hectic travel, interspersed with a couple … Read more
Go to Change.gov, the Web site of President-elect Barack Obama, and you’ll find a document titled “Advancing Reproductive Rights and Health in a New Administration.” Signed by dozens of pro-abortion groups, including Catholics for Choice, this 55-page document provides an overview of the marching orders for the Obama administration in removing all present restrictions on … Read more
Toward the end of the 1880s, Francis Marchese, publisher of the New York Italian newspaper Il Progresso Italo-Americano, wrote about his fellow countrymen in New York: "The Italian colony are exploited economically and morally by other Italians and by Protestants. The Italians are hated, treated like animals, persecuted worse than the Negro." In … Read more
In the summer of 1993, a young woman on my staff came back from lunch one afternoon screaming mad. I had just started as president of the Catholic League and wanted to know what her problem was. It so happened that over lunch (in the New York Archdiocese’s cafeteria) she was berated by a young … Read more
Every election cycle, partisans distort the positions of those they oppose. I particularly recall one pro-lifer, a Mitt Romney supporter, who titled Sen. John McCain — he of the 0 percent NARAL rating — “the ultimate betrayer.” And I’ve heard many people, Catholic and Protestant, seriously suggest that Sen. Barack Obama is the anti-Christ, which … Read more
Sen. John McCain reached out to Catholic voters yesterday in Philadelphia at a gathering of Catholic lay leaders and clergy. The meeting, held at the venerable Union League on South Broad St., is one in an ongoing series being held nationwide by McCain and his Catholic surrogates — Sen. Sam Brownback, Gov. Frank Keating, … Read more
When Obama’s Catholic supporters attacked Catholic League president Bill Donohue for his criticism of their candidate, they did not mention Obama’s support for infanticide. The question will inevitably arise for the distinguished group of Catholics supporting Obama as to how they can defend his preference for infanticide in cases where a child survives a botched … Read more
“Do you think we’ll ever really be grown up?” I remember asking my next-door neighbor and best friend Krissy years ago. “Do you think we’ll ever talk about gas prices and health insurance and stuff?” We two ten-year-olds sat on our purple bicycles with sparkly tasseled handle bars and funky flowered banana seats as we … Read more
David Klinghoffer’s Shattered Tablets is painful to read. As a writer I slapped myself on the forehead frequently: Why didn’t I think of this? Shattered Tablets: Why We Ignore the Ten Commandments at Our Peril David Klinghoffer, Doubleday, 256 pages, $24.95 Â Â David Klinghoffer’s Shattered Tablets is painful to read. First of all, as … Read more
When Mike Huckabee was a young man, he was guided by three principles: Abortion is murder; save sex for marriage; and recognize our duty to help the weak and the poor. Now as a Republican candidate for president, Huckabee says that, if elected, he would govern the nation by the same values. It’s natural and … Read more
Bishop Richard J. Malone is “outraged” about the decision of the Portland, Maine, school board to make birth control pills available to 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-grade girls at King Middle School. On Wednesday, the Portland School Committee voted 5-2 to make contraceptive pills available to girls, ages 11 to 13, at the student health center. … Read more
The philosopher Aesop once related a story about a farmer who discovered among his livestock a goose that had laid an egg of pure gold. Every morning the same thing occurred, and soon the farmer found himself a wealthy man. But as he grew rich he grew greedy; and thinking to get at once all … Read more
If you know the name Huckabee, it’s probably from the popular movie or the highly publicized weight-loss campaign of the Arkansas governor. My wife is politically astute and very knowledgeable. When I told her I was meeting with Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, she quickly replied, "Oh, he’s the guy who lost all the … Read more