As the Mysterious Get Benedict Society campaign to destroy Pope Benedict XVI continues shooting itself in the foot with various false starts, half-baked stories, and tales told by mainstream media idiots, the thing that continues to impress me is the sheer self-contradictory irony of the thing. It’s really quite crushing. We are instructed … Read more
With the upcoming retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens, the media have once again started counting the number of Catholics on the Supreme Court. A recent headline in the New York Times announced, “Stevens, the Only Protestant on the Supreme Court.” Well, so what? The Times article notes that Stevens’ retirement raises the possibility that … Read more
Last week, Peggy Noonan wrote that the media has done the Church a service in its reporting on the sex-abuse scandal. To a certain extent, I agree: Unfortunately, I believe that some in the Church would have continued ignoring or, in some cases, covering up instances of abuse. But the media has gone overboard with its misreporting … Read more
Sexual abuse is deplorable, no matter where it occurs. But one wonders: Why the near hysteria regarding sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, most of which occurred decades ago, from a society that celebrates the lack of constraints against almost every form of sexual activity, no matter how degraded? Is there any other instance of … Read more
It is an honor, of sorts, to have one’s Lenten penances externally imposed, and the whole Church has shared in this honor this year. Led by an ignorant and malicious attack in the New York Times, the liberal media internationally have been doing everything in their power to pin something — anything — on Pope … Read more
There’s a new movement afoot to restore the Sabbath, and it’s coming from a group of Jewish artists. A think tank called Reboot is behind the “Sabbath Manifesto,” a campaign encouraging people to take the seventh day of the week as a day of rest: Way back when, God said, “On the seventh day thou … Read more
As new clergy sex-abuse allegations come to light in Germany, some in the media seem eager to tie them in whatever way possible to the German pontiff. Damian Thompson of the Telegraph points to a Times headline — “Pope knew priest was paedophile but allowed him to continue with ministry” — as just one of … Read more
It was bound to happen: A survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project has revealed that more Americans now get their news online than they do from any other source. Not only that, but close to 75% say they learn of a news item first from either email or one of the social … Read more
“Do you watch The Bachelor?” the woman cutting my hair the other day wanted to know.  “No,” I answered.  But then, because I don’t want to become known around town as that crazy woman who has a million kids and is completely out of touch with the real world, I added quickly, “But I did … Read more
With 75% of the Massachusetts returns in, Martha Coakley conceded her defeat to Republican Scott Brown. Coakley was 7 points behind. The last time a Republican held the Senate seat, recently vacated by Ted Kennedy, was 1953! This election is for the Democratic Party what the 1755 Lisbon earthquake was to Enlightenment philosophers like Voltaire … Read more
I finally got around to reading Pope Benedict’s Christmas message — it’s both concise and rich, just like everything he writes. Unfortunately, it also seems to have gotten lost in the media coverage of that mentally ill woman who attacked him. Here’s a passage I found particularly striking: The first thing we are told about … Read more
I didn’t want it to be true.  I thought Tiger Woods was one of the good guys. After all, he worked hard at polishing his image in order to convince the world he was one of the good guys. And that polished image earned him over $100 million last year. Woods might still be a good … Read more
Leaving aside the popes, the person who has served as the public face of the Church in the United States for the past two decades is a little, crippled, chronically ill, old Italian-American lady who chats with Jesus daily, used to speak in tongues, and leaps before she looks. As I write this, she is … Read more
One thing you can give our media Chattering Classes: They are utterly consistent. After Major Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire on a roomful of defenseless people in Fort Hood, it was absolutely assured that we would immediately be told that this outrage had nothing to do with his Islamic faith and that it was … Read more
The last time I can remember big media taking an interest in the ecclesiastical affairs of Atlantic Canada was 20 years ago. There had been little interest before that, either, but the degree of attention that was suddenly granted compensated for many years of neglect. The issue was allegations of physical and sexual abuse against … Read more
“My obituary will now begin with the Valerie Plame story,” Bob Novak said with a wry smile. We were having breakfast at the Army-Navy Club in Washington, D.C., a year after the media furor began over his column identifying Plame as a CIA operative. Novak, of course, was right: On the day he died, the … Read more
What is being done to reinvigorate the next generation of conservatives in politics? Many new initiatives have been announced, but one of the few that will make a difference in coming elections is American Majority. Founded in January 2008, this organization is aggressively recruiting and training a new generation of grassroots activists and future candidates … Read more
When my oldest daughter was almost three, she was busy coloring a fairy’s hair when she announced, “Look, Mommy. I’m making her ugly.” I looked at the dainty fairy and didn’t see anything ugly about her. “What do you mean?” “I’m coloring her hair grey. Grey hair is ugly.” Sure enough, the sprite’s hair was … Read more
Matthew Lickona is a Catholic writer who understands the new media, as a visit to his classy Web site immediately attests. Already well-known for his book Swimming with Scapulars: True Confessions of a Young Catholic (Loyola Press, 2006), Lickona also understands the changing habits of younger readers, which is why he has published the first … Read more
In this Crisis Magazine classic, Todd Aglialoro explains the controversy without resorting to scientific jargon. This is the perfect introduction to the debate. Â Embryonic stem-cell research (ESCR) has taken a place next to abortion and same-sex marriage as a preeminent polarizing moral issue. Celebrities marshaled by the late Christopher Reeve agitated in favor of … Read more