Every now and then, I stumble across a “film news” article so unexpected and shocking, it becomes an instant member of my “Awesome/Terrible Idea” file. For some (far too explicable) reason, these stories nearly always feature someone attempting to remake a classic masterpiece, and today’s entry is no exception: Who wants to see Johnny Depp … Read more
Archbishop John Nienstedt of St. Paul-Minneapolis made headlines recently when he distributed a DVD to his 800,000-member diocese reiterating the Church’s teaching on marriage. In an interview with AP about the project, reported by USA Today, he defended the Church’s involvement in what some see as a purely political issue — encouraging other Catholics to … Read more
When a parish is closed, what happens to the art? Lou McClung, an artist and jack-of-many-trades near Cleveland, Ohio, wondered just that and decided to do something unusual: open a museum for rescued statues. A local paper, the Canton Rep, carried the story. McClung, who owns Lusso Studio, recently bought a decommissioned church to show … Read more
Popular NPR and Fox News Channel political analyst Juan Williams lost his radio contract late last night after making a controversial remark about Islam. Williams appeared Monday on The O’Reilly Factor, and host Bill O’Reilly asked him to comment on the idea that the U.S. is facing a dilemma with Muslims…. Williams responded: “Look, Bill, I’m … Read more
Doug Johnson, legislative director of National Right to Life, got on a conference call yesterday hosted by the Fake Catholic Group Catholics United. Catholics United is insisting the healthcare legislation did not contain taxpayer funded abortions in spite of the fact the Catholic bishops insist it did. The Washington Independent published an account of Johnson’s … Read more
The Vatican released its list of new cardinals today. There are 24 total, including two from the United States. Two Americans are on today’s list, and neither a surprise, considering the positions they hold: Donald Wuerl, the Archbishop of Washington, D.C., and Raymond Burke, the former Archbishop of St. Louis. Burke is the head of … Read more
I’m so confused about which future climate scenario I’m supposed to be dreading: a mini ice age or an expansive drought? Live Science reported yesterday that some scientists are predicting a severe drought for two thirds of the Western hemisphere by the year 2030: “We are facing the possibility of widespread drought in the coming … Read more
Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York City is not happy with the New York Times. In a post from his personal blog yesterday, he bemoaned “the common, casual way [the paper] offends Catholic sensitivity, something they would never think of doing — rightly so — to the Jewish, Black, Islamic, or gay communities.” He cites … Read more
The last few weeks of Election Season news almost always leave me feeling overwhelmed and unsure as to what we will see when Election Day comes to an end, and this season is no exception. On the one hand, I find myself inundated by articles about the GOP’s potentially unprecedented lead amongst likely voters and … Read more
In the LA Times today, Jonah Goldberg defends conservatives against those who blame them for holding up infrastructure improvements. Goldberg says we just don’t build things the way we used to for a number of reasons — among them, low tolerance for deaths on the job and environmental regulations. Much of the liberal intelligentsia is … Read more
Cristina Odone is against doctor-assisted suicide, and she knows whereof she speaks: Her own father asked her to help him die. She tells the story of how she came to see that the medical community has it exactly backwards when it comes to matters of life and death: “Put me out of my misery.” The … Read more
On Saturday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel became the latest European politician to declare the end of multiculturalism. She was blunt: “Immigrants should learn to speak German,” she said. “We kidded ourselves a while, we said: ‘They won’t stay, some time they will be gone,’ but this isn’t reality. And of course, the approach [to build] … Read more
Sr. Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association, has been a frequent guest at the obama White House. Visitor logs just released reveal that Sr. Keehan visited the White House 15 times since the beginning of the present administration. However, on seven occasions, Sr. Keehan met with President Obama himself — that’s a remarkable … Read more
Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha has been forced to suppress the Intercessors of the Lamb, a formerly-Catholic association of the faithful in his archdiocese. After the group requested recognition as an official Catholic organization, the archbishop undertook a canonical visitation: “It was my hope from the beginning that the Intercessors and the archdiocese would move … Read more
Pope Benedict released a letter to seminarians today, encouraging them in their vocation. It starts with an incredible story from his youth in Nazi Germany, explaining why priests are so desperately needed — “today, tomorrow, and always”: When in December 1944 I was drafted for military service, the company commander asked each of us what … Read more
And you thought liturgical dancers were just harmless distractions… According to Catholic News Agency (CNA), Cardinal Gabriel Zubeir Wako was almost assassinated during an outdoor Mass in Khartoum, Sudan, by a man who disguised himself as a liturgical dancer: The man disguised himself and joined the liturgical dancers at the crowded stage where the altar … Read more
Here’s part 5 in 1953’s serial “Catholics in Action,” an exploration of living the Church’s social doctrine in one’s day-to-day life, no politics necessary. Today, the focus is on evangelizing. As always, these pages come from Catholic University’s online archive of Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact. This fits in so well with the “New … Read more
I’m about to post some links to some videos by Bill Whittle from PJTV. The purpose of this post is to help readers of InsideCatholic understand the Tea Party folks and their manner of thinking about government. Why This Post? First, a bit of justification: It is worthwhile and apropos to write a post at … Read more
Our friend Elizabeth Scalia — known to the online world as The Anchoress — spoke to NET-NY about enduring economic and personal crises through the consolation of the Rosary. Elizabeth is a true font of spiritual wisdom, being both a contemplative and naturally thoughtful, so this is well worth a listen. (One of the reasons … Read more
Time for some Friday morning links: Archbishop Burke addressed obedience and the magisterium at a Human Life International conference in Rome, touching on the scandal of Catholic politicians who disregard moral law: “When a person has culpably espoused and cooperated in gravely sinful acts, leading many into error and confusion over fundamental questions regarding respect … Read more