Political discussions here on IC tend to include numerous commentors who have chastised the Republican Party for paying lip service only to their erstwhile pro-life plank, observing that, since 1973, despite years of GOP control over both Congress and the POTUS, we still haven’t seen any real progress toward outlawing abortions in our nation. The … Read more
Father Longenecker is all for the new translation, but he says we shouldn’t expect any miracles when it comes to the solemnity of the Mass: What is more important than the words is how the Mass is celebrated by both the priest and the people. I am quite sure that when the new Mass is … Read more
Over at the National Catholic Reporter, John Allen says that too much has been made lately of letters sent by officials in the Vatican to various American and Irish bishops, letters that appear hesitant about immediately reporting sexual abuse allegations against priests. Allen says some people want to turn such letters into smoking guns, as … Read more
Last month, we mentioned that some exciting changes would soon be coming to InsideCatholic. Today over on the home page, you can finally get a glimpse of what some of those changes will be. In addition to an expanded mission that will offer greater coverage of how our faith affects every arena of our world … Read more
The first Norbertine convent has just been established in the United States, and 9 of their 20 sisters made their solemn profession on January 29 in Fresno, California. More than 50 priests and hundreds of guests were present. The Norbertines, also called the Premonstratenisan Order, was founded by St. Norbert in 1121 in the Valley … Read more
Here’s part 2 of Frank Moss & Frank Borth’s ten-part serial from 1952, “The Treasure of Paradise Island.” As always, these pages come from Catholic University’s online archive of Treasure Chest of Fun & Fact. It’s interesting… I like the plot, and each individual panel is very nicely drawn (if occasionally a tad stiff), but … Read more
Time for some Friday morning links: Can Rick Santorum win the Republican nomination in 2012, and possibly even the presidency? George Will thinks so. In case you were wondering, the pope is not an organ donor (though Cardinal Ratzinger was). So no holy kidney transplant for you. Personalities of the Catholic combox. Pat Archbold hits … Read more
I’m not a sports fan. But like many others, I do watch the Super bowl. It’s my annual opportunity to get together with the guys, engage in some armchair quarterbacking, raise my triglycerides by eating, uh, organic dip, and LMAO at the commercials (hey, can I say “LMAO” on this blog?). Margaret blogged below about … Read more
Over at Whispers in the Loggia, the hard-working Rocco has an interesting post on Cardinal Wuerl’s most recent article on the issue of civil discourse, “Speaking Truth in Love”, noting that the cardinal’s high-profile (and, as head of the Archdiocese of Washington, unique) position in the American Catholic Church makes his thoughts on the matter … Read more
If it’s Super Bowl season, it must be time to talk about what ads did — and didn’t — make the $3 million commercial cut. Last year, all the fuss was about the ad with Tim Tebow and his mom (which turned out to have such a gentle pro-life message as to be lost on … Read more
The pro-life group LiveAction released a video earlier this week where members posing as sex traffickers received advice on their “business” from a New Jersey Planned Parenthood clinic manager. Yesterday, the clinic fired that manager. Today, LiveAction released a second video that shows a similar scenario playing out in a Richmond, VA, clinic. LiveAction president … Read more
Last week, Sughar Daily reported that the U.S. government and numerous international Christian organizations are working to free two Christians in Afghanistan who have been jailed for converting from Islam. If convicted on apostasy charges, both of them could face the death penalty: The U.S. has called on Afghan authorities to respect the Universal Declaration … Read more
Yeah, that about sums it up: Hope any IC readers out there who got buried in this latest blizzard are keeping warm! And remember, when shoveling snow, lift from the knees. Or, you know, make your kids do it.
The protests in Egypt may continue unabated, but not everyone is so ready to see Hosni Mubarak removed from power. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, many of the nation’s minority Coptic Christians are concerned for their future in an unstable Egypt: Fear of what may follow the removal of Mr. Mubarak, … Read more
From the Boston Globe: A Massachusetts antiabortion group has unveiled a bill that would let individual taxpayers opt out of paying for publicly funded abortions. Under the measure, a taxpayer could choose to have whatever portion of their state taxes pays for abortion coverage directed instead to the Baby Safe Haven Law. That law allows … Read more
Last Thursday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) had approved the unrestricted planting of genetically modified alfalfa sold by Monsanto Co. and Forge Genetics. Nevermind the protests from organic food groups and public health advocates, as well as about 250,000 citizens. The Atlantic reports: With this announcement, the Obama … Read more
Certainly one of the English language’s most charming grammatical dictums (okay, likely its only charming grammatical dictum) is this: “The male embraces the female.” For hundreds of years, the masculine pronoun did double duty, referring specifically to persons of the male sex and generally to persons of either sex. As such arrangements go, the “universal … Read more
Many people have commented on the speed with which John Paul II seems to be progressing toward sainthood, with some raising questions about whether it’s appropriate. Over at the National Catholic Reporter, though, John Allen says that John Paul isn’t the first to travel quickly through the process — just ask St. Francis (18 months … Read more
Gerry Garibaldi, a teacher at an inner-city school in Connecticut, talks frankly in an article for the City Journal about why his kids are failing in school — and why the problem won’t be solved by more money: Thanks to the feds, urban schools like mine—already entitled to substantial federal largesse under Title I, which … Read more
Hollywood, despite a history filled to overflowing with brash, bravado-driven, larger-than-life personalities, has seen few directors laden by such undeniable talent and bloodied by so many self-inflicted wounds as George Orson Welles. Recently, reports surfaced that, through the painstaking work of to Danny Huston, Peter Bogdanovich, and others, we were soon get the chance to … Read more