Challenges to the New York Times piece on the abuse scandal in Milwaukee keep on coming, and they damage is piling up. The latest comes from a priest who directly oversaw the case against Father Lawrence Murphy, though he was never contacted by the Times for comment. Now, he says, he wants to set the … Read more
Over the last year or so, I’ve discovered that one of the biggest problems with not blogging on something “as soon as the idea strikes me/while the iron is hot” is that I can’t always remember where I found the story in the first place. (Of course, I have trouble remembering what happened 5 minutes ago, … Read more
Hubble images: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1ivSpc/coolvibe.com/2009/100-epic-images-from-hubble-space-telescope/ Sistine Chapel: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1kpcQm/www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html
You’ll recall the law recently passed in Baltimore requiring crisis pregnancy centers to advertise that they don’t provide birth control or abortions (thanks to some prodding of the city council by Planned Parenthood). The archdiocese, however, isn’t taking the ruling lying down: Archbishop Edwin O’Brien announced yesterday that they are suing the city of Baltimore, … Read more
A new wrinkle has emerged in the beatification process for the late-John Paul II: The sudden healing of a French nun suffering from Parkinson’s disease may not have been a miracle at all. [A] Polish newspaper recently reported that doubts had been cast about whether the nun might not have had Parkinson’s at all. … Read more
Thanks to Margaret’s helpful reminder last week (and “aided” by the unexpected appearance of a fever that nearly wiped me out for the entire weekend), the boys and I were able to catch up on the first four episodes of Life – Challenges of Life, Reptiles and Amphibians, Mammals, and Fish – airing on The Discovery … Read more
The recent attacks on Pope Benedict and the Church have brought forth some excellent responses. First, over at National Review Online, Fr. Raymond J. de Souza says that the New York Times‘ Friday expose’ of the pope’s alleged intervention into a Milwaukee abuse case is undercut by the very evidence the reporters cite. The documents … Read more
The apostolic visitation of the Legion of Christ was wrapped up this month, and the contents of the final report will be revealed in late April. Meanwhile, the organization has come forward with an official statement about their founder, Father Maciel, and the future of the order: We had thought and hoped that the accusations … Read more
I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard “Stupak” in the past couple of weeks, but I can’t say the same about the name “Lipinski.” Yet, Rep. Dan Lipinski of Illinois seems like exactly the kind of pro-life Democrat so many were hoping Rep. Bart Stupak would be. Lipinski voted against the health care … Read more
Here’s part two of Frank Borth’s 10-part 1962 serial. As always, these pages come from Catholic University’s online archive of Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact. I like the litle civics lesson they snuck in there…
Today’s YouTube treasure is neither particularly humorous nor stop-motion-animation-y. But what it lacks in those departments, it more than makes up for with its high “math geek” quotient and sheer mind-blowing awesomeness: Cristóbal Vila, the man behind the short, has a fascinating website documenting the ideas and process behind his creation: Artists and architects have … Read more
It would be funny if it were not so frightening: British spies with MI5 say Al Queda is outfitting female suicide bombers with explosive breast implants : The shocking new Al Qaeda tactic involves radical doctors inserting the explosives in women’s breasts during plastic surgery — making them “virtually impossible to detect by the usual … Read more
A few links to kick off your Friday: CNS on the Vatican’s response to the New York Times article yesterday claiming that the Holy See was involved in covering up the horrifying abuse of boys at a school for the deaf in Milwaukee. Social security goes into defecit for the first time, six years ahead … Read more
This morning at Mass, while trying to keep my pack in line/sitting on the pew/speaking in a stage whisper rather than shouting/etc., I was struck by how unsettling yet fitting it is to be celebrating the glorious commemoration of the Incarnation only a week before Good Friday. In many ways, the seemingly awkward juxtaposition is a perfect example of … Read more
I found Todd’s post particularly interesting today, especially as I had just stumbled across a very different take on Stupak’s health-care capitulation over on Ross Douthat’s New York Times blog. While he would agree with Todd that the executive order is “probably meaningless,” and that the new health-care legislation “effectively tilts public policy in a … Read more
Rep. Bart Stupak’s stupaking on the health care reform bill has led Wall Street Journal columnist William McGurn to wonder if the pro-life Democratic politician, already an endangered species, has finally gone the way of the Dodo: By caving at the last hour, he discredited all who stood with him. (What does it say about … Read more
Last week I mentioned that food companies are beginning to phase out high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Some of the discussion that followed my post questioned whether HFCS was any different than regular table sugar. Now a Princeton University research team says it is. Research, the results of which were published in the Journal Pharmacology, … Read more
In yesterday’s Washington Post, columnist Kathleen Parker debuted a new term: Stupak. Etymology: Eponym for Rep. Bart Stupak. Function: verb 1: In a legislative process, to obstruct passage of a proposed law on the basis of a moral principle (i.e., protecting the unborn), accumulating power in the process, then at a key moment surrendering in … Read more
This story from Catholic News Service bears the headline: Cardinal praises expanded health care but fears remain on abortion The cardinal in question is Cardinal George of Chicago, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He gave an interview to Nancy Frazier O’Brien and said the following, which prompted the headline: We … Read more
This story from Catholic News Service bears the headline: Cardinal praises expanded health care but fears remain on abortion The cardinal in question is Cardinal George of Chicago, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He gave an interview to Nancy Frazier O’Brien and said the following, which prompted the headline: We … Read more