A friend of mine recently called the police to lodge a complaint about a Halloween display in her neighborhood: a life-size figure of the horror-movie slasher, Freddy Krueger holding the bloody, butchered body of a baby in his clawed hands. The police responded that the display was not illegal in any way. My friend, intrepid … Read more
[Editor’s Note 5/18/23: This article was originally titled “Voting for Abortion is a Crime Against Humanity” but the author asked it be retitled to better reflect his views.] Abortion is an intrinsic moral evil. It involves carrying out or arranging to carry out the deliberate killing of an innocent human being. An intrinsic evil is … Read more
As the grandson of immigrants, I was raised to think that to be Catholic automatically meant being a Democrat; after all, it was the Democratic Party that had been so involved in assisting the newly-arrived with possibilities for financial security and upward mobility. The first presidential election in which I could vote (as a seminarian … Read more
We’ve been hearing a great deal of noise lately from Democrat politicians about Judge Amy Coney Barret, in whose dark soul they are horrified to find that “the dogma lives loudly…” So intolerable is the threat she poses, they tell us, that in thwarting her nomination to the Supreme Court they are engaged in the … Read more
“I am not the Catholic candidate for president,” John F. Kennedy famously declared. (At least he was honest.) Throughout the 1960 election, JFK struggled to overcome the old Know-Nothing myth that, were the United States to put an Irish Catholic in the White House, he would have a direct telephone line to the Holy See. … Read more
“Day to day pours forth speech,” we read in the Psalms; and so it does. Having read the news these past few mornings, and listened to some of the broadcasts, I’ve since been preoccupied by two questions. The first concerns Hillary Clinton: Why is the lady not in jail, or at least in the dock? … Read more
According to devotees of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s personality cult, the ideal Supreme Court Justice is many things. She’s well-educated and professionally successful. She’s articulate. She possesses gravitas. She balances career and family. She cares for the vulnerable. Yet Democratic senators and progressive pundits insist that Amy Coney Barrett is definitely not that woman. But, eager … Read more
Bishop Heinz-Josef Algermissen recently published a letter claiming that, during an October 7 meeting with Pope Francis, the Holy Father expressed “dramatic concern” with the state of the German Church. As well he might. Francis has always been wary of the German bishops’ synodal journey, which is being convened to discuss “authority and separation of … Read more
In a mid-September webinar on “The Church and Catholic Voters in the 2020 Election,” Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, weighed in on a question often asked these days: Can a Catholic vote for Joe Biden? Cardinal Tobin, long a stalwart of the U.S. Church’s liberal wing, dissented from the reigning consensus. “I think … Read more
As our readers must know, Amy Coney Barrett, whom President Trump has nominated for a position on the Supreme Court, was a long-time member of a charismatic and ecumenical Christian group called People of Praise. The women in the group are called handmaids, after the world-changing fiat of Mary: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be … Read more
Perhaps the nicest thing that could be said about the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden was that it was a mess. This takeaway from the debate misses the bigger point that Republicans and conservatives need to see: the Democrats are following a script and it’s completely at odds with reality. The … Read more
“All has been occupied by Noise—Noise, the grand dynamism, the audible expression of all that is exultant, ruthless, and virile—Noise which alone defends us from silly qualms, despairing scruples, and impossible desires. We will make the whole universe a noise in the end. We have already made great strides in this direction as regards the … Read more
Joe Biden is Catholic. This is, apparently, a controversial take these days. Picking up on the political utility of the label—a much needed counterbalance to the radical and secular spirit that has overtaken the party at large—the Biden campaign has been hammering home “Joe’s Catholic roots” in a last-ditch effort to retain those voters who … Read more
For many well intentioned Catholics, determining whom to vote for in the upcoming presidential election is a difficult decision. The Church has no official, clear criteria to aid in the decision. Yet, the fact is that Rome, the highest authority in the Church, has provided the faithful with contemporary, official teaching concerning political decisions. Pope … Read more
From his first Mass as pope to the last days of his life, John Paul II often repeated what became a primary theme of his pontificate: “Be not afraid!” At the heart of this call was that all people — Christians and non-Christians — should not fear to open their hearts completely to Jesus Christ, … Read more
Catholics for Biden held its national kickoff call on the evening of Thursday, September 3. It was, predictably, an hour-long attempt to make us all forget that the candidate is implicit in—and his party is devoted to—the vilest crime ever perpetrated against humanity. It was a less than brilliant exercise in misdirection. The distraction was … Read more
The Catholic blogosphere and Catholic Twitter are abuzz with the clicking and tapping of comments on Father James Martin, S.J.,’s August 20 benediction at the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee. Some have complained that Father Martin’s inclusion on the last night of the DNC is a hypocritical and inconsistent contrast to the treatment of Priests … Read more
Speaking on the tarmac at the Cleveland airport, President Donald Trump warned that, if elected, Democratic presumptive-nominee Joe Biden would “hurt God”—an arresting thing to say, and worthy of some consideration. While it is possible that Mr. Biden will in some sense be able to hurt God—as we all do with our sinfulness—he is more … Read more
For those of us who recall Senator Biden’s leadership in crafting the most racially biased drug and incarceration policies throughout the 1980s and 1990s, it is difficult to take him seriously when he claims to believe that black lives matter to him. Biden did not seem to worry about black lives in 1984 when he … Read more
As expected, Hollywood is lining up to support Joe Biden with lavish fundraisers and high-profile endorsements. According to Variety, Biden’s campaign is tapping a “network of donors and fundraisers who raised millions for the Obama-Biden ticket.” Last month, film producer and co-founder and CEO of DreamWorks Animation, Jeffrey Katzenberg, raised $6 million for the Biden campaign at a … Read more